CLANNAD Turas 1980 MIG

Celtic masters hit an early high point.

For many of us, it was the haunting tones of Theme From Harry’s Game that baptised us into the unique power of Clannad. It’s easy, then, to forget that before their mainstream breakout, the Gweedore, County Donegal group had complete mastery of Gaelic folk.

This previously unreleased album – recorded by Radio Bremen (but never broadcast) during the band’s 1980 concert tour of Germany – serves as a timely reminder of Clannad’s understanding of the roots material on which they drew. With the death of founding member Padraig Duggan in 2016, Turas 1980 also acts as a fitting tribute to him, and to the music of the band’s youth.

If nothing else, Turas reminds the casual listener of the fearsome skills and passion possessed by a band that have too readily been thrown into the New Age category. Recorded just before Enya joined the band, this album is a veritable feast of traditional music, Irish craic and beery crowd responses.

It begins gently enough with Moya Brennan’s dreamy harp and Pol Brennan’s flute on Turas O’Carolan.

It’s truly magical, and if this recording is nearly 40 years old and lacks all the high-tech production of later years, it’s a foretaste of their work on the Robin Of Sherwood soundtrack. What really gives this session take-off, however, is the interplay between Moya’s plaintive voice and the sweet harmonies of the men, as on An tOileán Úr.

There’s an amusing song about magic mushrooms and a shattering version of Down By The Salley Gardens, but the album’s lack of English-language songs allows the listener to get lost in a ravishing soundscape.

The between song banter is witty and, joy, there are singalong choruses on songs such as Crann Úll. The album closes with the incomparable Níl Sé’n Lá – a full 10 minutes of supple folk prog that both hints at the path the band would go on to travel, and which brings out Clannad’s rich roots. An absolute must-buy.