Clannad 2

Before they started helping to define the parameters of mystical Celtic folk-rock, Clannad were flagbearers of hardcore traditional Irish music. On this 1974 release they deliver songs and tunes that tend more towards the tender and melancholy than the rollicking and danceable. At this point Maire Brennan’s voice was a bit more warbly than it would become later, and the group’s arrangements are quite minimalist, but also unfailingly tasteful. In their already unusual approach to arranging you can also begin to hear hints of the innovations that would come later and make them megastars of contemporary Irish music.