Blackwater is the first album Altan recorded after Frankie Kennedy's death; surprisingly, it is also one of their finest. If you are not familiar with Altan but are a fan of traditional - and instrumental - celtic music, and/or you are looking for good Irish fiddlers, this album will make a wonderful introduction to a wonderful band. There is something strangely PERFECT about this album, and although the instrumental pieces don't perhaps have all the energy and enthusiasm of those of their previous album, Island Angel, they are, nevertheless, some of the best that Altan has recorded.

Ní Mhaonaigh's singing is the aspect of Altan that most divides opinions, some fans of Altan being fans precisely because of it, others calling her voice shrill and her technique amateurish. Personally I belong to neither group, finding the instrumental pieces Altan's strongest point but considering Ní Maonaigh's voice, although often girlish and technically far from perfect, also quite pretty and, more importantly, suitable for the songs that she performs. In Blackwater her voice is certainly at its best; not merely pretty but with great character and expression.

What I, personally, sometimes find disturbing about Altan's songs is that it is in them, rather than the instrumental pieces, that Altan has experimented with arrangements and styles that are less traditional or more "pop" than their instrumental music. That having been said, I must point out that this album includes some of Altan's finest songs, and not least because of some great instrumental arrangements such as those of "Stor, A Stor, A Ghra" and track 9 (better I don't even try to spell the title of that one!). "Molly Na Cuach Ni Chuilleanain" (...or something to that effect!) with its synthesizer sounds is an example of those less traditional arrangements that I mentioned above; nevertheless, I can't deny that the result is fresh and pretty, and that the tune is one of the most "catchy" Altan songs. As for "Blackwaterside", this must be one of the most beautiful songs that Altan has ever recorded - and, as is pointed out in the album cover, exceptional in that it is written from a female point of view:

"But there's not a girl in this whole wide world
As easily lead as I.
And when fishes can fly
And the seas run dry,
It is then that you'll marry I."

When I have to go in to work on a Saturday to catch up, this is the CD that goes on the boom box first, and usually gets played one or two times more before I switch to something else or head for home. The reason -- it is as close to a perfect album as anything out there, diving into magnificent reels and carrying through the haunting end with great mood swings of ups and downs but never anything dull or weak -- it dances throughout. It is simply a masterful album of music.

I was in a traditional Celtic band for a few years in Michigan, and this album comes as close to a perfect performance (albeit studio) set as any other Celtic recording I know. I am a great Frankie Kennedy fan, and Dermot Byrne is a truly inspired replacement. His featured pieces are certainly among the high points of current Altan concerts.

One minor wish -- Ciaran Curran on the bouzouki could have beeen brought out more in the mix, as he is in the early and pre-Altan recordings and the most recent album (I apire to his talent), but maybe the seamlessness and selflessness of this recording is what makes it so strong. This is Altan diving back in with renewed energy and spirituality after what must have been a deeply emotional low point.

A short while ago I stumbled upon the song "Molly na nGuach ni Chuilleanain," almost by accident; after listening to it about half a dozen times, I realized that this rendition, done by Altan, was the most beautiful song I've ever heard.

Interested in finding out if this were just a fluke, or something of deeper significance, I sought out a full CD by Altan. Not finding any locally, I looked on Amazon.com to see what the customer reviews were like: and as they were unanimously glowing, I ordered two of them, paying with a credit card (which I never do).

I had previously been only vaguely aware of Celtic music, but after hearing Blackwater, my eyes have been opened -- as it were. I have never heard anything like it. First, I have not before heard the voice used as a musical instrument with such precision. And the songs in English are beautiful, it is true, yet not more beautiful than other traditional folk songs I have heard (such as the Finnish "Taivas on Sininen ja Valkoinen"). But the ones done by Altan in the Celtic language are something else: the music, lyrics, and the language itself forming an intense union producing an impression of surpassing potency. It is as though I have never heard real music before.

I see now that here we have a tradition of minstrelsy that goes back thousands of years, and Altan is among its heirs. These Celtic songs seem almost living things, not least because there still, still is an audience that can understand them directly, without the aid of subtitles or translations. And it has consequently been borne in upon me that I have the wrong mother tongue (missing it by two or three generations).

These songs are a treasure. Blackwater: buy it, hear it, and weep.

Buy anything by Altan, you can't go wrong. Perfect