Joyful Noise: Celtic Favorites From Green Linnet

Connecticut-based Green Linnet Records has diligently tended the flame of neo-traditional Celtic music for more than two decades, by far preceding the broad sweep of public acceptance that step-dancing musicals and Enya videos helped generate in the 1990s. While not as vast in scope as the label's 20th Anniversary Collection, Green Linnet's Joyful Noise double-CD package offers a splendid sampler of the cheerier side of the Celtic musical spectrum. Heavy on spirited reels and charming romantic odes, Joyful Noise presents 26 smartly paced tracks from 24 acts (including two each from Altan and Relativity) that nicely showcase the heart-lifting, toe-twitching allure of traditional Irish and Scottish instrumentation and vocals framed in contemporary settings. Tracks of special merit include Patrick Street's percolating, pulsating instrumental for guitar and accordion, "Music for a Found Harmonium," the Celtic bluegrass of Jerry O'Sullivan's "The Chorus Reel/Asmolean House," and the clever wordplay of Andy Stewart's Manus Lunny's "Take Her in Your Arms." A winning compilation, ideal for Green Linnet newcomers. --Terry Wood