Innovation and tradition
10/20/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As a 25-year veteran Stivell fan, I still find this album my favorite. Traditional tunes done in a fantastically jazzy acoustic style mix with his own haunting and beautiful compositions to form an incredible tapestry. Stivell is THE motive force behind the contemporary Celtic music scene. At the beginning of his journey, he said he wanted to give European youth their own answer to American rock. I suppose he didn't succeed in sparking resistance the onslaught of American popular culture, but perhaps the battle isn't over yet."
Another great album of Celtic music
BENJAMIN MILER | Veneta, Oregon | 12/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I just started getting in to Alan Stivell through a copy of Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, a 1971 (or '72) release, an album of Celtic harp music that's really a cut above the rest, even convinced me who isn't a fan of Celtic music. So I went and bought another album, in this case 1978's Journee a la Maison. This one is a more band effort with harp, flute, bagpipes, concertina, guitar, sitar, tabla, etc. This is truly a unique bent on Celtic music, because one cut mixes sitar with Celtic styles, giving a sort of East Meets West hybrid. Another cut sounds a little like Crosby, Stills & Nash going Celtic, which I thought was a really stunning piece, while another is an upbeat piece complete with Scottish bagpipes. Vocals are on most of the cuts, and since I can't understand the language, I presume it's in Breton, after all Alan Stivell was one of Britanny's top Celtic musicians. I am not familiar with Breton folk music, but this is truly a winner for me, and bear in mind, I'm not in to Celtic music. Great stuff and I highly recommend this album."
Wore out the cassette...
Notchitup | 08/19/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I loved this album so much that I literally wore out the cassette by playing it over and over for years. It lived in my car cassette player until I traded in the car! I am so glad it's on cd now..."