Clancy Brothers' Liam - the last man standing

The final link to the fabulous Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem

Even for a veteran warhorse like me who was too young to be hanging out in Carnegie Hall that night in 1963, but who was fortunate to see all four perform at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in 1984 to mark their 25th anniversary reunion tour, it helped explain the grasp of Ireland’s Beatles had on Irish Americans.

Donning their white Aran sweaters once again, they had the entire hall of almost 3,000 singing each and every song along with them throughout the night in rousing, humorous or reverent fashion, and with a touching familiarity that came from a devoted following.

Whether you are of an age where you still buy and listen to CDs or are more in the digital mode, this is one recording you want the entire CD package for your library.  

The folks at DARA Records can help make that happen, and it makes a perfect Mother’s or Father’s Day gift. Call 212-628-8251 or visit www.dararecords.com.   They have a huge catalog of other Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem CDs as well as loads of other essential recordings.

Last June at the Bitter End Café in New York City, Liam Clancy used that opening line as the “last man standing” for an unusual solo concert at the quintessential Bleecker Street folk club that I wrote about for the Irish Voice at the time. 

The concert was cobbled together to provide a nostalgic Greenwich Village backdrop for some video footage being assembled by documentary producer Alan Gilsenan for a biography on Liam Clancy. Rather than being one of those tedious stop and shoot and setup again affairs, it turned out to be an extraordinarily entertaining and intimate concert for those 200 or so crammed into the venue.  

While it took stamina and some patience to last the three hours-plus, the gaps were easily filled with conversation with table mates or chats at the bar and the music acts were well worth it as they flowed uninterrupted through three sets once the cameras rolled.

So captivating were the performances that they were able to spin off a DVD with the live concert material that includes one of the last public performances from folk-singing legend Odetta, who worked and played with the Clancys and Makem all those years ago and just passed away in January of this year. 

Entitled “Liam Clancy & Friends – Live at the Bitter End” on the RTE label, it proves that Liam never really stands alone, but is a magnet for music lovers and performers where ever and when ever he appears at festivals or folk clubs.

It is very much a tour d’horizon with Liam songs old and new and in-between spanning his august career with his brothers, Makem, nephew Robbie O’Connell and son Donal Clancy and his long list of friends in the music business. 

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Nster.com