Green Man Review

Green Man Review is dedicated to examining the roots of our culture. Some of those roots go very deep, others are just starting to dig down into the soil of the world around us. Wander through the main library here, and you'll find some great classic folk albums full of songs the youngest of which are three hundred or so years old, shelved right ne... xt to some great music from only a decade or so ago. Sure, we'll joke around in the break room about how something that's younger than most of us (and we're not that long in the tooth!) can be a 'classic', but there are some truly classic songs that are within the reach of most of our lives. David Kidney reviews a number of recent classics this issue, but perhaps foremost of those is his review of Collector's Choice/Rhino Records' recent 40 Years: The Complete Singles Collection, 1966-2006 by Tommy James and the Shondells. David has only to give us a few of the track titles for us to know we're in classics territory: 'Crimson and Clover', 'Mony Mony', 'I Think We're Alone Now'. Even though some of them are old enough to be recorded in mono, David tells us that, 'They sound great in the car!' David gets an Excellence in Writing Award for this great review of excellent music! It's the beginning of a new year, which means it's time for Mike Wilson to head back up to Glasgow to spend a few days at Celtic Connections, and subsequently provide us with this edition's featured live review. Mike was lucky enough to catch up with some traditional Irish and Scottish music from Kathleen Boyle, some country sounds from Kathy Mattea, and the inimitable songs of Dougie MacLean, amongst others. 'Celtic Connections is without doubt one of the premier events on the European festival calendar. Festival director Donald Shaw and his team work tirelessly to put on a festival that continually manages to innovate and excite, across a broad range of musical genres that complement the native traditions... a fantastic event, of which Glasgow can be justifiably proud.' You can read Mike's full ...Read More