Ninety minutes: that's all it took to create this masterpiece.
In March 1958, one of the most celebrated Irish traditional music ensembles in history, County Clare's Tulla Céili Band, entered a state-of-the-art studio to record Echoes of Erin for Dublin Records, owned by James O'Neill, a resident of Queens, N.Y., and a native of Labasheeda, Co. Clare. The format was relatively new, the high-fidelity, long-playing record, and the actual process of making it was certainly new to band members.
"It was the first time we had experienced what they call close-mike tech-nique," remembered Martin Mulhaire, a button accordionist who often played with the Tulla Céilí Band from 1955 to 1958 and was featured on the LP. "We used separate microphones, wore earphones, and were isolated behind these dividing panels. It was strange for us, but it was good for the recording. Fast and smooth is how it went, because we knew the tunes very well."
James O'Neill also has a vivid memory of that recording date: "There was no take two. That's the beautiful thing about a group who have been playing together for so long. It was the right blend and the right chemistry."
Digitally remastered from the original analog master tapes kept by O'Neill, this CD captures all the drive and finesse of the 1958 LP. In the distinguished annals of the Tulla, who were founded in 1946 and won All-ireland céilí band titles in 1957 and 1960, Echoes of Erin is a crowning achievement still hailed by many as the finest céilí band album ever made.
"I was just 20 years old when I made that LP with the Tulla," Mulhaire said,
"and when I finally heard it straight through, I fully realized the power that this music had."
Now we all can.
Earle Hitchner
"Ceol" Columnist, Irish Echo
Contributing Writer, The Wall Street Journal
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