The Dublin Legends: Live in Vienna

Featuring

Sean Cannon, Eamonn Campbell,
Patsy Watchorn & Gerry O’Connor

Sean Cannon, Patsy Watchorn, Eamonn Campbell & Gerry O’Connor are all true legends of Irish Folk music. Sean & Eamonn were members of The Dubliners for close to 30 years while Patsy joined “The Dubs” 10 years ago. Meanwhile Gerry was a member of the iconic Four Men & A Dog and has played with everyone from Sharon Shannon to Shane MacGowan and also tours with guitar legend Joe Bonamassa.

In 2012 the Legendary Irish Folk group THE DUBLINERS celebrated 50 glorious years in the music business by receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, followed by a magical concert at The Royal Albert Hall in London- a night to remember.

Sadly, however, they subsequently suffered a body blow with the sudden tragic death of founding member “Banjo” Barney McKenna. It was agreed that The Dubliners, as a touring band, would come to an end. THE DUBLIN LEGENDS were born and will continue the legacy started by the Dubliners back in 1962. As Barney said “It’s Too Late To Stop Now”.

From the get go THE DUBLIN LEGENDS played to enthusiastic crowds and the general reaction was: "They're better than ever!". THE DUBLIN LEGENDS continue the magic; their energy and stamina knows no bounds and will put many a teenage band to shame.

Their concerts in September 2013 were recorded for a very happy and captive audience at the Metropol in Vienna. The atmosphere was electric and the craic was ninety. On the CD THE DUBLIN LEGENDS  - "Live in Vienna" "the lads" perform rousing jigs and reels, melancholic ballads and the classic songs that are known the world over like Whiskey in The Jar, Dirty Old Town, and Molly Malone.

Audio

Track 1:Dicey Reilly

Track 2:Cooley's Reel

Track 3:Whiskey in the Jar

Track Listing

1. WELCOME
2. THE IRISH WASHERWOMAN
3. THE FERRYMAN
4. THE RARE AUL' MOUNTAIN DEW
5. ALL FOR ME GROG
6. (A) THE BELFAST HORNPIPE (B) THE FLOWERS OF RED HILL
7. FAINNE GEAL AN LAE
8. I'LL TELL ME MA
9. SONG FOR PJ
10. SHORES OF AMERICAY
11. (A) BILLY IN THE LOW GROUND
    (B) THE MOVING CLOUD
12. THE TOWN I LOVEID SO WELL
13. WHEN THE BOYS COME ROLLING HOME
14. DICEY REILLY
15. (A) COOLEY'S REEL
    (B) THE DAWN(C) THE MULLINGAR RACES
16. THE SPANISH LADY
17. DIRTY OLD TOWN
18. WHISKY IN THE JAR
19. MOLLY MALONE

Watch the Dublin Legends in Concert in London on youtube

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/]

Press Review

  Songlines    * * * *  The name may change but the song remains the same
The death of The Dubliners’ ‘Banjo’ McKenna in 2012 saw the surviving band members-Sean Cannon, Eamonn Campbell and Patsy Watchorn - retire the venerable name before re-forming as The Dublin Legends with fresh blood injected into the mix by erstwhile Four Men and a Dog stalwart Gerry O’Connor, the new quartet's debut on disc suggests ifs very much business as usual, name change or not.

Recorded live before a clearly appreciative audience in Vienna's Metropol hotel in September last year, this first outing is a familiar, tried-and-tested blend of rousing instrumentals, bittersweet ballads and crowd-pleasing singalongs and foot-stompers.

With a combined age of 209, Cannon, Campbell and Watchorn may well be past their best vocally, but instrumentally they play with a vigour and verve that few others can match: O'Connor in particular happily displaying the same virtuosic panache and obvious relish for making music.

They're at their best in set-piece instrumentals, and there’s almost as much pleasure to be found in the banter and blarney of the spoken asides. Poignantly released the day before the death of the Chieftains veteran tin whistle player Sean Potts.

Live in Vienna suggests there’ s plenty of mileage in the Dubs yet. Michael Quinn

www.folkwords.com
Musicians may come and go. Some masters of their art grace our ears for many years, others for a briefer span. Bands are much the same, through many vagaries bands remain and only the faces change. The statement ‘original line up’ becomes ‘latest line up, yet the music endures. The Dublin Legends may be a new (ish) name yet it springs from a half-century of Irish music delivered by The Dubliners and it was only the passing of original founding member Barney McKenna that prompted the birth of The Dublin Legends.

As I said earlier, the music endures and ‘Live in Vienna’ proves that beyond doubt. The stirring stories, racing tunes, relentless humour, wild songs and oft-irreverent twinkle-in-the-eye that was the Dubliners persists with The Dublin Legends. This delightful live recording presents some of the best-known traditional and modern Irish folk songs with some splendid tunes that will strike an instant chord in your heart although you cannot recall their name.

The opening notes of ‘The Irish Washerwoman’ and ‘The Ferryman’ reinforce the tread of familiar ground, while the breathless footsteps of ‘The Belfast Hornpipe/ The Flowers of Red Hill’ recall many a fine craic, while ‘Fáinne Geal an Lae’ (translated into English as The Dawning of the Day) leaves not a dry eye in the house. Whether reviving ancient tradition or reliving contemporary interpretation there’s pulsating life in every note. What’s to say about this music other than it endures and continues its vibrancy to withstand passing years or a lifetime of changes. If you cannot resist ‘I’ll Tell My Ma’, ‘The Town I Loved So Well’, Dirty Old Town’, Molly Malone’ or ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ and a dozen other ancient and modern classics, then this album is for you.

No matter that you’ve heard these songs and tunes a thousand times on a dozen different recordings, like a fine Bushmills with each opening the essence is worth tasting again.  Reviewer: Tim Carroll

The Living Tradition
The passing of Barney McKenna, the last surviving founder member of the Dubliners. led to the surviving group to decide to ‘retire' (their word) the old name and rebrand themselves as The Dublin Legends.

Mind you, those currently contributing are hardly newcomers - Sean Cannon joined the Dubs some 32 years ago and Eamonn Campbell over 25 years ago (even Patsy Watchorn has had a tenure of more than 10 years). Gerry ‘Banjo’ O’Connor is the only ‘newboy’ on the block (John Sheahan, a Dubliner since 1964, appears to have opted out of the soap opera at this stage).

The first gigs by the newly refurbished collective were in Vienna and were duly recorded for posterity over three nights. This CD, it can be assumed. features the best bunch of songs and tunes from the mixing desk. Those familiar with the Dubliners will note a virtually seamless transition to the new incarnation, although the renaming convention has reduced the potential for contractual ‘ wrangles due to the lack of 'originals’ in the band.

In essence though, the material is the same. O'Connor‘s inclusion has been a master stroke for the tunes - in particular the Billy In The Low Ground Set and The Belfast Hornpipe. I appreciate that without Luke Kelly or Ronnie Drew on vocals their sixties ‘voice’ is not extant. but what we have here is a group of hard working professionals who can and do deliver a rounded performance of songs and tunes in the best Dubliners style - and the audience lapped it up.

The co-producers - Hans Theessink and the DL’s own Eamonn Campbell have done a sterling job recreating the atmosphere of what was obviously a well- received trio of gigs. Grem Devlin