Search - Silly Wizard :: Wild & Beaitiful

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04/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How did I miss this band! I thought I knew celtic music. I guess they were a little before my time. These guys are amazing! I have never felt like I heard 'real' celtic folk music until now. This is the real deal."

Rollicking, down-to-earth music from Scotland

Brianna Neal | USA | 01/01/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is real music, of the sort you'd expect to hear on a Saturday evening at a local pub--warm, rousing, and authentic. Silly Wizard's distinctive sound is defined by the deft accordion-playing of Phil Cunningham and the heartfelt, unpretentious vocals of Cunningham and lead singer Andy M. Stewart. Martin Haddin on keyboards and guitars and Gordon Jones on guitar and bodhran round out the core quartet, which is joined on this album by fiddler Dougie MacLean and drummer Roy Ashby. The accordion-led dance sets, tracks 2, 6, 7 and 8, are lively and winning, and Stewart's broguish singing in the slow numbers, such as "If I Was a Blackbird" and "The Fishermen's Song", is so genuine and understatedly heartfelt that it just tugs at my heart every time I hear it. Browsers whose computers will only let them sample the first few tracks should be aware that this album starts out on the slow side but really ends with a bang on the last three sets. Something that both dates and distinguishes the music of Silly Wizard is the use of keyboards such as that featured in "The Pearl", which sound rather like a pedaled, electrified harpsichord. It's a timbre not heard much these days in the instrumentations of newer Celtic groups, but it actually compliments the reedy sound of an accordion and the plucking of guitar strings quite nicely. Good overviews of Silly Wizard's output include "The Best of Silly Wizard" and "Live Wizardry". For contemporaneous work of Phil Cunningham, check out "Gathering Pace" by Relativity, starring Phil and his brother Johnny, along with siblings Triona Ni Domhnaill and Michael O Domhnaill."

Couldn't have picked a better title...

Martine Rossignol-Winner | Rockville, MD USA | 11/04/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard the Fisherman's Song, I was stunned by its simplicity and poignancy, not to mention the beautiful and organic quality of the poetry. This song showcases the power of Andy Stewart's voice. It also shows his talent at staging a drama that sounds raw and inescapable, yet is somehow made bearable through the use of strikingly telling metaphors.Other songs on this album are worth their salt: If I Was a Blackbird is a classic of Celtic music and a favorite of mine. I like the rendition here. Hame,Hame,Hame is a wonderful song, followed by a lovely melody (Tha Mi Sgith=I'm tired) that speaks less of green fields than it does of introspection and internal landscapes, as the title suggests.The other instrumentals are also very good. A little less daring/modern than in 'A Gling of Silver,' but still masterfully executed. A powerful album, just as illustrated by the sun setting on the loch (on the cover) and the name it sports."