Four
to the Bar's Lost Classic Back in Print After Five Years!
On
June 23, 1995, Four to the Bar officially released Another Son,
its second full-length album, with a record-release party at
New York City folk landmark Tommy Makems Irish Pavilion. It
would turn out to be a standing-room only event, and the beginning
of a national tour during which they would share billing with acts
like Freddie White, Cherish the Ladies, Trisha Yearwood, and the
London Symphony Orchestra.
The
album received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic. Dirty
Linen magazine called the bands original songs powerful
and profound. Rock n Reel said the
recording was haunting. The Daytona Beach News-Journal
called it an eclectic mix of ballads, reels, and uptempo
story songs.
But
in spite of this success and the bands fast-rising star, Four
to the Bar stopped performing together in late 1995, and distribution
for this celebrated CD came to a halt. Not surprisingly, the band's
influence did not:
- Saratoga
Springs' hugely popular Celtic group The McKrells covered
Four to the Bar's "Something's Come In" on both 1997's
Better Days and 1999's The McKrells Live
- Irish
trad supergroup Solas included a unique version of "The
Newry Highwayman" on its self-titled debut in 1996
- Even
as late as 1999, for their contribution to Bleecker Street,
an homage to early-1960's folk, Black 47 chose "I
Ain't Marching Anymore," the Phil Ochs song that Four to
the Bar resurrected on Craic on the Road.
Now,
the Irish Side has arranged for a limited re-release of this classic
recording. If youre familiar with this album, you already
know about the strength of the songwriting, the emotional sweep
from tragic to comic, and the resonant vocals of David Yeates, quite
possibly the best folk singer since Liam Clancy.
Whether
the band will ever be back on stage again is a question only the
lads themselves can answer. In the meantime, though, we have the
recordings. The Irish Side is proud to be able to make this dynamic,
soulful collection available once again.
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