Stage 32, Ireland Pats Day

Stage 32, We're still in Ireland and would you believe it, on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) the formal national holiday on which Ireland celebrates its patron saint, St. Patrick. In recent years the celebrations in Dublin have been extended to a week-long event called St Patrick's Festival, encompassing a spectacular fireworks display (Skyfest), open-air music, street theater and the traditional parade. It started to become a big feastday for the Irish , after those that emigrated wanted to display their heritage, and started parading thru the streets of Boston, Chicago and New York, on march the 17th, St Patricks Day. Well the idea caught on and after 270 years its became a global event for Irish Expats and everything relating to Ireland. Leprechauns not withstanding , of course it started of as a catholic thing. The Bishop, and former slave, that managed to elude the druids and convert the pagans to christianity, the story about snakes is a reference to the paganism that worshipped them. As the story goes he used the shamrock to explain people about the trinity (father, son , holy ghost). Well goodluck to the irish !


The music today is a crossection again, starting with The Undertones, who's Teenage Kicks kept John Peel going , i came across an EP of Stiff Little Fingers and a rarety by Wings - Give Ireland Back To The Irish, packaged together, all vinyl rips btw. Cruachan,  folk metal yes, Energy Orchard is another band from the northern part of Ireland, great music-wrong name-great for a techno trance outfit, HAL was the established musicpress hype of 2004 and well if only the world wasnt such a mess, Thin Lizzy would have made some sense of it, and im sure Phil Lynnot would create a Jailbreak riot, alas not to be anymore. The Thrills 2nd album turned out to be ok, but the next one must clich it for them. Lunasa , cant do with a class act folk band. I conclude
 with one of the biggest upcoming bands of the moment, Snow Patrol, they seem to be jinxed so lets cross our fingers for them.

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Irish Pots of gold..

The Undertones - The Undertones (79)
Cruachan - Pagan (04)
Energy Orchard - EN (90)
HAL - Hal (05)
Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak
Thrills, The - Let's Bottle Bohemia (04)
Lunasa - Sé (six) (06)
Snow Patrol - Final straw (03)

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The Undertones - The Undertones (79 * 377mb)

The Undertones formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1976. Their debut EP, Teenage Kicks, was released by Belfast record shop owner Terry Hooley on his Good Vibrations label in September 1978. The song captivated Britain's top DJ, John Peel, who played the song on the BBC air. This attracted a deal from Sire Records Company, which released the band's debut LP in April 1979. That fall, Undertones earned kudos as a support act on the Clash's American tour.
A second LP, Hypnotised, was recorded and released in 1980, followed in 1981 by their first LP for EMI, Positive Touch.

The Sin Of Pride was released in 1983, shortly before the Undertones split up in the summer of 1983 after a series of summer festival gigs. Feargal Sharkey launched a short-lived solo career
, while the O'Neills won critical plaudits -- but little sales -- for their tough-minded political band, That Petrol Emotion. Hopes of re-forming the original lineup for John Peel's 50th birthday fell apart after the O'Neills' father died. The first new album in 20 years, Get What You Need, was released on September 2003.



01 - Family Entertainment (2:37)
02 - Girls Don't Like It (2:10)
03 - Male Model (1:55)
04 - I Gotta Getta (1:54)
05 - Teenage Kicks (2:26)
06 - Wrong Way (1:24)
07 - Jump Boys (2:36)
08 - Here Comes The Summer (1:37)
09 - Get Over You (2:37)
10 - Billy's Third (1:57)
11 - Jimmy Jimmy (2:39)
12 - True Confessions (2:23)
13 - (She's) A Runaround (1:47)
14 - I Know A Girl (2:34)
15 - Listening In (2:22)
16 - Casbah Rock (0:44)
Bonus
17 - Smarter Than You 1:39
18 - True Confessions 1:56
19 - Emergency Cases 1:58
20 - Really Really 1:52
21 - She Can Only Say No 0:54
22 - Mars Bars 2:10
23 - One Way Love 2:16
24 - Top Twenty 2:14
25 - You've Got My Number (Why Don't You Use It!) 2:40
26 - Let's Talk About Girls 3:35

The Undertones @ Base
The Undertones @ Base2
The Undertones @ YouTube

The Undertones @ Amazon

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Cruachan - Pagan (04 * 311mb)

Cruachan probably took their name from the ancient city of the same name, which was the capital of the old Irish kingdom of Connacht. they mix Celtic music, history and mythology with black metal. Cruachan's black metal influence, however, has become diluted in recent releases, and most fans only consider their first album Tuatha Na Gael to be black metal, recent work has become more melodic, with softer vocals, courtesy of Karen Gilligan, who joined after the release of Tuatha Na Gael. There is more of a metal sound to Pagan (as compared to The Middle Kingdom and Folk-Lore), very similar to the sound of their first album Tuatha Na Gael. However, there is still plenty of folk sound to it. That is probably what makes this release the most versatile: it can please the most diehard metal fans, but also those fans who have grown to love the folk aspect of Cruachan.



01 - Michael Collins (3:51)
02 - Pagan (5:08)
03 - The Gael (4:02)
04 - Ard Ri Na Heirann (5:03)
05 - March To Cluain Tairbh (2:00)
06 - Viking Slayer (4:15)
07 - 1014 AD (3:36)
08 - Some Say The Devil Is Dead (3:13)
09 - 1000 Years (3:51)
10 - Lament For The Wild Geese (1:28)
11 - Erinsong (5:19)
12 - Summoning Of The Sidhe (3:00)
13 - The Fall Of Gondolin (7:46)

Cruachan @ Base
Cruachan @ YouTube
Cruachan @ Amazon

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Energy Orchard - EN (90 * 330mb)

Energy Orchard were an Northern Irish guibased rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, from Belfast. Fronted by Bap Kennedy (brother of Irish singer-songwriter Brian Kennedy). Musically, Energy Orchard could be described as an Irish folk/rock/pop combination. But they aren't just taking old traditional songs and putting a faster beat behind them or just playing them with an electric guitar. They're taking those musical stylings and rhythms, throwing away some stuff, retaining the rest, pushing the result through the modern influences of rock, jazz and blues to create something really unique. They've got a great bluesy feel to them; the soulful harmonica that permeates the album just sounds wonderful..

Their first single, Belfast, which was their most succesful song reaching 37 in the UK charts. The first album, Energy Orchard, was released to some critical appreciation, but with some reservations about it being overproduced (producer was Mick Glossop), somewhat diluting the band's raw live sound. Subsequent albums compensated for this, the 1992 release Stop the Machine, 1993's Shinola (released on Essential Records), Pain Killer (1995) and a 1996 live album.

Despite extensive touring, the breakthrough to mainstream success eluded them, the band were dropped in 1996 and subsequently disbanded, though Bap went on to have some success with a solo career.



01 - Belfast
02 - Somebody's Brother
03 - Lion
04 - One, Two Brown Eyes
05 - King of Love
06 - Sailortown
07 - Walk In Love
08 - This House Must Fall
09 - Sweet Irish Rose
10 - Hard Street
11 - Good Day To Die
12 - Belfast (Instrumental)


Energy Orchard @ Amazon

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HAL - Hal (05 ^ 285mb)

Paul and Dave Allen, the Irish brothers at the forefront of quartet Hal, harmonize like the Beach Boys (Dave -vocals/guitar and Paul - vocals/bass), Stephen O'Brien (keyboards, occasional guitars and backing vocals) and Steve Hogan (drums) formed in 2003. HAL was signed to Rough Trade Records following a bidding war with several major labels.

Their first single, Worry About the Wind was released in 2004. This single was very well received in press and many claimed that HAL would become the band of 2004. Their debut album, "Hal" was one of the best reviewed albums of 2005. Their singles "What a Lovely Dance" and "Play the Hits" feature prominently on Match of the Day and World Cup 2006. The band also released a double 7" single with UK Indie band: The Magic Numbers. HAL contributed their song Keep Love As Your Golden Rule to this single. And more love from the musicpress; The Irish Post Best Newcomer Award 2005, Best Irish Album of 2005 in the Irish Independent, Nr.1 album van 2005 in French music magazine MAGIC. Yes nobody can deny they yearn for the good old days with beautiful harmonies like the Beach Boys and The Beatles delivered, retro is all over these 11 tracks like white on rice. Happy music with melancholy just around the corner...

After a short tour through England, Ireland, Europe and Japan, the band went back into the studies at the end of 2005. Their highly anticipated second album is expected to be released in 2007.



01 - What A Lovely Dance ( 3:50)
02 - Play The Hits ( 3:21)
03 - Keep Love As Your Golden Rule ( 3:54)
04 - Don't Come Running ( 3:27)
05 - I Sat Down ( 4:26)
06 - My Eyes Are Sore ( 5:22)
07 - Fools By Your Side ( 4:03)
08 - Worry About The Wind ( 4:06)
09 - Satisfied ( 3:18)
10 - Slow Down (You've Got A Friend) ( 3:00)
11 - Coming Right Over ( 4:33)

HAL @ Base
HAL @ MySpace
HAL @ Amazon

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Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak (76 * 222mb)

Thin Lizzy was founded in late 1969 in Dublin, Ireland, by Lynott, guitarist Eric Bell, electric organist Eric Wrixon and drummer Brian Downey. Wrixon was gone by early 1970, and tiring of the limited possibilities in Dublin, the group relocated to London in 1971.Signing a contract with Decca Records, Thin Lizzy's first hit came in 1973, with "Whiskey in the Jar", a version of a traditional Irish song. However, the group initially had problems matching the success of "Whiskey..."

Bell left, and was replaced by Gary Moore who left too, Lynott and Downey regrouped, recruiting Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson as guitarists to make what was arguably the classic Thin Lizzy lineup.Fighting (1975) was their first album success(TL's 5th album), however the following album, Jailbreak, was their breakthrough, to this day the boys are back in time gets good air time on classic rock stations.Jailbreak is a tremendous effort from the band, Phil Lynott providing solid bass work along with his sly "ghetto" vocal, the incessant rhythmic rolling of drummer Brian Downey, a range of song styles that is rare for any artist from any decade, and of course.....there's Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson with guitar clash acrobatics throughout. A truly amazing record through and through.

During the late 1970s and early 80s, Thin Lizzy played to a rabid fanbase but was unable to break into mainstream markets. Their live shows were no-nonsense, no special effects affairs relying purely on the music and Lynott's rapport with the fans. Their critically acclaimed Live and Dangerous has been called one of the best live albums ever.

After a farewell tour in 1984, Lynott dissolved Thin Lizzy and focused on his solo career. Lynott continued his solo career, which he had begun while still with the group with the album Solo in Soho, yielding several hits, and "Yellow Pearl" (used in the early 80s as the theme tune for the BBC programme Top of the Pops-see Midge Ure). Lynott died in January 1986, a victim of drug abuse. The remaining members of Thin Lizzy (John Sykes and Scott Gorham, Brian Downey declined ) reunited in 1999 for a European tour and live album, currently, as of 2006, touring the UK and Ireland. They will support Deep Purple again in April and May of 2007 for their UK tour.



01 - Jailbreak (4:04)
02 - Angel From The Coast (3:07)
03 - Running Back (3:17)
04 - Romeo And The Lonely Girl (3:58)
05 - Warriors (4:12)
06 - The Boys Are Back In Town (4:30)
07 - Fight Or Fall (3:48)
08 - Cowboy Song (5:18)
09 - Emerald (4:04)

Thin Lizzy @ Fanbase
Thin Lizzy @ YouTube
Thin Lizzy @ Amazon

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The Thrills - Let's Bottle Bohemia (04 * 281mb)

The Thrills are an Irish indie/rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band is made up of lead vocalist Conor Deasy, guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their big break came with their debut album So Much for the City which became an Irish number one. The four members spent a Summer on vacation in San Diego where they wrote several of the tracks for their second album, Let's Bottle Bohemia, which enjoyed similar success to the band's debut, largely on the back of the single "Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?".
The Thrills are currently recording their third album, their third full-length will be out sometime in early summer 2007.



01 - Tell Me Something I Don't Know (3:57)
02 - Whatever Happened To Corey Haim? (3:34)
03 - Faded Beauty Queens (3:40)
04 - Saturday Night (2:32)
05 - Not For All The Love In The World (4:06)
06 - Our Wasted Lives (3:46)
07 - You Can't Fool Old Friends With Limousines (3:12)
08 - Found My Rosebud (4:20)
09 - The Curse Of Comfort (3:02)
10 - The Irish Keep Gate-Crashing (3:10)

The Thrills @ Base
The Thrills @ MySpace
The Thrills @ YouTube
The Thrills @ Amazon

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Lunasa - Sé (six) (06 ^ 287mb)

The band is named after Lughnasadh, an ancient Irish harvest festival, and also the Irish word for August. Lúnasa’s self-titled 1996 debut album was considered by many to be a new chapter in the development of Irish music. By pinning traditional elements of composition and instrumentation to a fluid rhythmic undercurrent, Lúnasa achieved a new pinnacle of urgency and intricacy -– sparking off unprecedented acclaim and notoriety in the process. "The Kinnitty Sessions" was named Best Traditional Album by Irish Music Magazine in 2005..

Lúnasa’s sixth album Sé (pronounced "Shay-Irish for "six"), reveals the band at the top of their creative prowess. Sé was produced by double-bassist Trevor Hutchinson, the band’s trademark instrumentals are as tight, weightless and clean as ever, with a sophisticated perpendicular swing that sometimes knocks more typically straight up-and-down reels and jigs sideways. But despite the festal merriment of the dance pieces, the real standouts are the slow airs, with meandering melodies, gradually revealing themselves in full splendor. Piper Cillian Vallely, flautist Kevin Crawford, and fiddler Sean Smyth create a melodic context while introducing the alternating contributions of guitarists Paul Meehan and Tim Edey. Six years of constant touring has elevated the band’s already-formidable skill to peak brilliance, perfectly captured on Sé..

Lúnasa's concert at this years Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow will be aired on BBC4 sat 17th, St Patrick's Day at 1900 GMT. If you miss it or can't get the channel it will be available on http://www.bbc.co.uk/celticconnections after transmission.



01 - The Cullybacky Hop (4:52)
02 - Lecken Mor (4:24)
03 - Absent Friends (5:27)
04 - Loophead (3:24)
05 - Midnight in Aviles (4:40)
06 - The Dingle Berries (4:53)
07 - Black River (3:37)
08 - Road to Barga (3:05)
09 - Two of a Kind (4:35)
10 - Glentrasna (3:57)
11 - Boy in the Boat (4:53)

Lúnasa @ Base
Lúnasa @ MySpace
Lúnasa @ YouTube
Lúnasa @ Amazon

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Snow Patrol - Final Straw (03 ^ 298mb)

Snow Patrol formed in Scotland, however their members are from Northern Ireland, they started 1994 as "Shrug" by students Gary Lightbody and Mark McClelland at Dundee University, the band was performing gigs at the university and surrounding pubs before changing their name to "Polar Bear" (or "Polarbear") in late 1995. In mid 1997, they released a three-track EP, Starfighter Pilot, due to legal threats from an American band with the same name (led by Eric Avery, the former bassist of Jane's Addiction), they became "Snow Patrol". At this point, Jonny Quinn, also from Northern Ireland, joined as permanent drummer, the band released their next EP Little Hide on Belle & Sebastian's label Jeepster Records, that put some effort in to promote them. Two albums on Jeepster followed: Songs for Polarbears in 1998 and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up in 2001. Sales werent what they should be and Jeepster dropped them.

The benefits came with their next album Final Straw in 2003, meanwhile another North Irishman had joined the Patrol -guitarplayer Nathan Connolly .The album was a big success and reached #3 in the UK, a year later it sold well in the US. March 2005, original member McClelland left the band, apparently over unsurmountable differences with Gary, 11 years of partnership ended, Paul Wilson replaced him on bass. A busy touring schedule not withstanding the band recorded their next album Eyes Open during 2005, it was released last spring and became UK's biggest seller of 2006.



01 - How To Be Dead (3:21)
02 - Wow (4:02)
03 - Gleaming Auction (2:04)
04 - Whatever's Left (2:39)
05 - Spitting Games (3:46)
06 - Chocolate (3:02)
07 - Run (5:54)
08 - Grazed Knees (2:55)
09 - Ways & Means (4:47)
10 - Tiny Little Fractures (2:28)
11 - Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking (4:32)
12 - Same (6:54)

diet version
Snow Patrol - Final Straw (03 * 70mb)

Snow Patrol @ Base
Snow Patrol @ YouTube
Snow Patrol @ Amazon

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* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !