Public Television has always been a constant in my life, even at a young age. Sure, we all remember watching Sesame Street, Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and Captain Kangaroo. But there were also shows like Reading Rainbow, and The Electric Company, and even into my junior high/high school days, my local PBS channel, Channel 45/49 in Akron/Canton (Ohio) ran shows like the Tom Baker Doctor Who series, which my brother would video tape and we would watch over and over again. In college, after watching his concert from London on PBS, I became a major Barry Manilow fan, which started my fandom of his work to this day, and I love watching every Saturday night The Lawrence Welk Show to watch the great Anacani.
Late last year, I was flipping through the channels and came across a PBS special concert by Nathan Carter, titled Celtic Country, which was a replay of his concert in Dublin at the 3Arena. I not only was impressed with what I saw, but had to get a hold of this man’s music.
For those not familiar with him, Carter is a country artist who is big in Ireland. He has hit the top of the charts there (which was last done by Garth Brooks) and combines country songs, with standard folk songs. I mentioned him in my 2020 Christmas post, listing one of his songs, comparing him to a mix between Michael Bublé and Kenny Chesney. Since finding a copy of this concert is somewhat hard in America, I found that PBS distributed a version of the CD and DVD for us here in America.
The DVD starts off with the PBS ad for the show for some odd reason. Why show the ad for the product we already bought and are going to watch? The announcer even misnames one of the songs that is on the show (more on that later).
Opening the concert is “Two Doors Down,” the Dolly Parton hit, and goes into the old standard “Good Time Girls.” The original “Temple Bar” gets the crowd moving, with Carter showing his musicianship; he plays accordion, piano, and sings all throughout the show. Here, he displays playing the accordion (similar to a young Manilow, who also played the instrument perhaps?). The classic “Can’t Stop Loving You” and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band hit “Fishing in The Dark” continues the country vibes.
An Irish song called “Caledonia,” is a nice ballad, and the crowd sings along, as well as bringing out their cell phones to shine during the last verses. The string section of the group adds to the feel of the song, and is nice to watch the lights of the phones, bringing back the times people were allowed to use lighters during ballads in concerts of the past.
After this, a quick fade out on the concert occurs (like when the TV break would occur for the pledge attempts on PBS).
Guest violinist John Sheahan of the group The Dubliners comes out to the song “Dublin in the Rare Auld Times,” bringing a traditional history to the Celtic music for fans who are not familiar with the genre. Carter joins accompany him on the piano.
The band gets the spotlight during the next two songs, a Glen Campbell melody of “Try A Little Kindness/ Southern Nights/Rhinestone Cowboy.” “Nights” shows the backing vocalists, three females (again similar to Manilow) of Roberta Howett, Hayley-Jo Murphy, and Lucia Evans. Howett was a contestant on the reality show The X Factor, and has some good music of her own released. Evans sings a verse on the bluesy “Let The Good Times Roll,” which Carter lets the others on the stage to showcase some of their talents, which, again, gave me a throwback to Barry Manilow and Debra Byrd trading verses on songs in the past on stage.
The misnamed song is next. The announcer in the ad called the song “Hallelujah,” but the song is called “Jealous Of The Angels,” which was recorded by a Celtic singer Donna Taggert. The fact that Carter even introduces the song by giving the title, is even more baffling why the mistake was made, more less kept in the product. The song is another nice ballad with strong string section and Carter on the piano.
After another quick fade to black, the Irish standard “The Irish Rover” is next, bringing an up tempo part where the audience sings and jumps during the song. This must be a crowd favorite, because they are really into it. The song is one of my favorites off the release, but the slow motion shots during the song (not once , but twice) takes a little away from the total live experience for me. I do not like concert video recordings where it seems like a film, or where there are so many cuts throughout the song, that it loses what is going on. I want to feel like I am there live with the crowd. A good song, but the direction on this part loses the feel just a tad.
The Line-Up Choir from Dublin joins Carter onstage for a good version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which, again, cuts out quick to black losing the momentum of the power of the song.
The conclusion of the concert is the breakthrough song “Wagon Wheel,” a Bob Dylan song that was popular on the country scene by Darius Rucker as well. Carter gets the crowd to sing along, with guest accordionist Sharon Shannon, playing while sitting on a chair during the song.
The last song on the show is “Shut Up And Dance,” a song I never heard until I saw this concert, and is a great ending for the show. The song is up tempo, the crowd sings throughout with him, and has a nice saxophone solo to rock out the show. Again, another quick fade out, before coming back just to run the credits.
The extra songs is labeled as a Kenny Rogers medley, but only “The Gambler” is played. In searching more online, “Daytime Friends” is omitted on this, so why is it called a “medley” if there is only one song?
A Dan Fogelberg style ballad called “Liverpool” brings a nice reference in the lyrics to The Beatles, and a ode to Carter’s birthplace.
Lastly, another one of my favorite tracks is a remake of “Summer In Dublin,” which was recorded by a group named Bagatelle. This concert gives an introduction to many Irish and Celtic artists that Carter remade songs by, which some of us in America are not aware of. Much like Bublé bringing some of the crooner songs to a new audience, Carter succeeds in bringing the Irish culture to us fans. After listening to the original, I like Carter’s version more, where at the end of the song, the band gives an more rocking end to the ballad.
Thanks to PBS I have once again discovered an artist I normally would not have known about, and am looking forward to more of his work. I have started following more of his music via Youtube, and am enjoying both his covers and original music, along with Howett’s work (her song “Broken Wings” and “Something About You” are both beautiful ballads and a must listen).
Overall the DVD is a nice watch, although short at under one hour run time, including the bonus songs. There are several quick cuts that makes the flow of the show a little bit of a letdown, where the live feel gets diminished, and the packaging of the CD is a little amateurish; the print is hard to read, and there is just a list of the names of the band members without stating who is playing what. If this was intentionally done, why wouldn’t the label let people know which artist is playing what instrument, especially if this is a somewhat rare find in America? With that said, the CD and DVD is well worth the price, and is perfect for fans of blues, pop, county, and Celtic music. Carter’s music will please any music fan, as well as educate others in the different genres. His unique voice is full of soul he puts emotion in his songs, as well as keeps the audience entertained and engaged throughout the show.
Track List: Two Doors Down 2. Good Time Girls 3. Temple Bar 4. I Can’t Stop Loving You 5. Fishing In The Dark 6.Caledonia 7. Dublin in the Rare Auld Times 8. Glen Campbell Medley 9. Let The Good Times Roll 10. Jealous of the Angels 11. The Irish Rover 12. Bridge Over Troubled Water 13. Wagon Wheel 14. Shut Up and Dance 15. Kenny Rogers Medley 16. Liverpool 17. Summer In Dublin
lancewrites: Reviews By Lance Lumley 