Search - Four to the Bar :: Craic on the Road

New York City during the mid-1990s was a hotbed of Irish-American culture. And, in the midst of that atmosphere, Four to the Bar's live shows were the stuff of legend. To this day, Craic on the Road is the band's only authorized live recording. In its 11/2/1994 introduction to the album, the Irish Voice noted "the infectious energy of the band's performances, during which, it would seem, virtually anything can happen. Spontaneous, rhythmic hairpin turns will appear in the midst of a traditional Celtic jig or reel; lead singer David Yeates might take his bodhran out for an impromptu sprint atop the bar counter. "Not surprisingly, like other artists who have built their reputation out of providing outstanding live entertainment, Four to the Bar was besieged by demand for a live recording. On June 16, 1994 at Sam Maguire's Pub in the Bronx, with the help of the 400-or-so fans in attendance, Four to the Bar addressed that demand. Craic on the Road is the result. "The album's 11 tracks pay cheerful tribute to the rich musical heritage of Irish folk from which the band springs. The recurring themes that form the foundations of "Irish music" are all here--emigration and fortune-seeking (on "Murshin Durkin"), the trials of courtship (on "Mr. Maguire"), and, of course, the culture's enduring fascination with drink (on just about everything else). "On the more serious side, the haunting "Germany" is a widow's keening lament for the husband she has lost in another man's war, and serves as a dramatic preface to the album's most pleasant surprise, a inspired version of early-60s folk legend Phil Ochs' "I Ain't Marching Anymore," in which the band turns Ochs' defiant prophecy into an exuberant call for an end to all war.