Hands Across the WaterBenefit for the Children of - Hands Across the WaterBenefit for the Children of (16 tracks) +Album Reviews

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Hands Across the Water-Benefit for the Children of
Hands Across the Water-Benefit for the Children of
Genres: International Music, Pop

Track Listings (16) - Disc #1
1. This Beggar's Heart - Scott, Darrell
2. Get Through It - Randall, Jon
3. Ae Fond Kiss - Burns, Robert
4. Standing Still - Barris, Sally
5. Fair & Tender Ladies - Traditional
6. A Man of Constant Sorrow - Lunny, Donal
7. Reasonland - Duvekot, Antje
8. 'Til a Tear Becomes a Rose - Rice, Bill
9. Be Still My Soul - Sibelius
10. 40 Shades of Green - Cash, Johnny [1]
11. Part of Your History - Hartford, Jamie
12. Let's Heal - NíMhaonaigh, Mairea
13. An Occasional Song - Traditional
14. Cumberland Plateau - Cowan, John
15. This World's Family - Elizabeth, Tania
16. In the Sweet By & By - Traditional

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CD Details

All Artists: Hands Across the Water-Benefit for the Children of
Title: Hands Across the Water-Benefit for the Children of
Members Wishing: 4
Total Copies: 0
Label: Compass Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2006
Re-Release Date: 12/20/2005
Genres: International Music, Pop
Style: Celtic
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 766397441122

Synopsis

Amazon.com

The first thing you should know is that this recording was released to benefit children who suffered from the devastating tsunamis that ravaged Southeast Asia in late 2004. So, obviously, you should buy it even if it's not that good because it's for an awesome cause. Thankfully, you get to hear some pretty groovy tunes as well when you buy this compilation. Produced by Nashville-based fiddler Andrea Zonn and Irish musician John Cutliffe, the disc pairs British Isles artists with American roots musicians. It's not only far better than it has any right to be, the album highlights the similarities and affinities the different musics have for and with each other. Who'd have ever thought a cover of an old Irish tune reworked in English, by Vince Gill with Celtic lite band Altan no less, would be so lovely? It is, as is the rest of this wonderfully-realized collection, which also includes Bonnie Raitt, Tim O'Brien, John Prine, and Jerry Douglas. ?Mike McGonigal

CD Reviews

Relief for tsunami pain

K. R. Williams | melbourne, australia | 01/15/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an outstanding musical salve to the pain of the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami. Overwhelmed by the devastation Nashville bluegrass fiddler Andrea Zonn suggested to Irish music producer-player John Cutliffe that they draw on their musical acquaintances to do something to help. A year later, this music, the Anglo-Celtic source of America's Appalachian stream, represents hope for healing: in Zonn's words, ''Profound moments in time to help rebuild the lives of children we may never meet.'' Indeed, it deserves the accolade ''prayer in voice and instrument''. If the statistics of the tsunami were

staggering, noteworthy too are figures involved in bringing to fruition this transnational project: 27 recording studios, 29 studio engineers and more than 100 musicians from Nashville to Glasgow to Sydney (on tour in Australia, Michael McGoldrick and Donald Shaw recorded flute and accordion

respectively for Beth Nielsen Chapman's "Be Still My Soul", from a theme by Sibelius). This is typical of the methodology: on "Fair and Tender Ladies" Tim O'Brien is in Nashville, Lunasa are in Dublin; the effect is seamless. This alluring collection closes on a note of surpassing beauty, "In the Sweet By and

By", where the aching tones of Jerry Douglas' dobro blend with the ethereal

whistling of Ciaran Tourish, fiddler with Irish traditional band Altan. (This is an edited version of my review which appeared in The Age newspaper, Melbourne, Australia.)

"

Terrific Irish-American collaboration in service of charity

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 03/21/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This collaboration brings together nearly a hundred American roots musicians and their Celtic counterparts in service of fundraising for the victims of the December, 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. Between two dozen studios on either side of the big pond, overflowing computer networks, telephone lines and email streams ferried ideas and material that were knit into these sixteen tracks. What's truly amazing, given the patchwork nature of the album's assembly, is how smoothly the players integrate within and across tracks. The material flows smoothly from track to track, and though these aren't typically live-in-the-studio performances, the musicians are pulled together by both purpose and shared musical roots. Highlights include Darrell Scott's "This Beggar's Heart," a demo that was movingly overdubbed by the band Danu with fiddle, banjo, whistle and a harmony vocal, Tim O'Brien's reading of the traditional "Fair & Tender Ladies" with Lunasa providing the backing, the high harmonies of The Brock McGuire Band with John Cowan for "Cumberland Plateau," and the closing duet of Jerry Douglas' dobro and Ciaran Tourish's whistle. This is a tremendously thoughtful album in support of a tremendously worthy cause. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]"