This box-set combines three of the Celtic folk-rock/new age act's albums, Sirius (1987), Anam (1990) & Banba (1994). 31 tracks. Three standard jewelcases with individual artwork housed together in a slipcase.

Some forty years from her emergence on the late sixties folk club circuit, Maddy Prior is one of the most enduring, influential and respected artists in British music. Born in Blackpool and, raised in St Albans, Maddy first came to prominence as a duo with singer/ guitarist Tim Hart, building a reputation around the folk clubs and releasing two albums. As the 70s dawned, they joined forces with Ashley Hutchings (of Fairport Convention) and Gay & Terry Woods, with the idea of fusing folk song with rock instrumentation and technique. The new group took its name from a traditional Lincolnshire ballad 'Horkstow Grange' - the tale of a character called Steeleye Span.

The Seer is the third studio album by the Scottish band Big Country, released in 1986. The album featured very traditional Scottish musical settings, reminiscent of the band's debut album The Crossing (1983). Kate Bush worked on the title song in a duet with lead singer and lyricist Stuart Adamson. The album's first single, "Look Away", was an Irish number one, and was also the group's biggest hit single in the UK, reaching #7. The album reached number 2 in the UK Albums Chart.

Few genres carry such a rich and deep history as Celtic music, which reflects centuries of culture of Ireland and the British Isles, as well as their North American inheritors. Music historian, musician, and folklorist Richard Carlin delves into this diverse world of traditional music, compiling a wide spectrum of 23 tracks that contrast the better-known early recordings with some of the best contemporary interpreters. Styles ranging from Sligo fiddle tunes to Northumbrian piping to sean nós singing are represented in this enjoyable introduction to the Celtic music riches of the Smithsonian Folkways archives. 58 minutes, 40-page booklet with photos.

The late '70s were a very fertile time for John Renbourn. The solo albums he'd done had explored early music and blues – the twin ends of a wide spectrum – and in his post-Pentangle period he mined a lot of the terrain in between. This album – recorded at BBC concerts on July 26, 1978, and May 21, 1980 – shows how far he'd traveled. His work with Stefan Grossman had been documented on a couple of albums, but adding flute and tabla to the lineup, as well as reuniting with former Pentangle colleague, singer Jacqui McShee, offered more possibilities, as on "Great Dreams From Heaven" and another visit to "Trees They Do Grow High," which Renbourn and McShee had performed with Pentangle.

Embark upon a wondrous musical and cultural exploration into the connections between the Gaels and their Northern European neighbors. Featuring ancient and modern texts, the songs speak to our past, present and future with music ranging from the simple voice to expansive arrangements and exquisite sound design. Celtic Music Radio wrote of the duo Brian O’Headhra and Fiona Mackenzie: “Two of the finest voices in Gaelic singing today.”

With their ringing, bagpipe-like guitars and the anthemic songs of frontman Stuart Adamson, Scotland's Big Country emerged as one of the most distinctive and promising new rock bands of the early '80s, scoring a major hit with their debut album, The Crossing; though the group's critical and commercial fortunes dimmed in the years to follow, they nevertheless outlasted virtually all of their contemporaries, releasing new material into the next century.

It's a simple truism of rock & roll that, as bands get older, they tend to insist more on competent production. Sometimes this works in their favor, and sometimes it doesn't. In general, it's worked well for Oysterband, whose feverish fusion of English traditional song, ceilidh-ready instrumentals, and old-time rock & roll sounded great when they were young and relatively sloppy and still sounds great now that they're greying and tight. And some of their best moments on tape have been the most lushly produced ones. Here I Stand finds them taking unabashed advantage of the opportunities afforded them by a modern studio, where artful multitracking can make it sound as if John Jones has a good voice (and make no mistake: he doesn't, though he's a fine singer) and where the careful manipulation of gain levels can allow the cello to cut through a mix that includes accordion, trumpet, guitars, bass, and drums.

Almost a forgotten album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart takes listeners to the deepest, most inward areas of Van Morrison's renegade Irish soul, the culmination of his spiritual jazz period and also – perhaps not coincidentally – the last record he made for Warner Bros. Four of the 11 tracks are moody instrumentals, which might partly explain the indifference of many rock critics toward the album, although the album's very title gives a clue to their presence. The mood is predominantly mellow but never flaccid or complacent; there is a radiance that glows throughout. "Higher Than the World" is simply one of the most beautiful recordings Morrison ever made, with Mark Isham's choir-like synthesizer laying down the lovely backdrop. The instrumental "Connswater" is the most Irish-flavored piece that Morrison had made up to that point, and would continue to be until he recorded with the Chieftains in 1988. "Rave on, John Donne" – in part a recitation invoking a roster of writers over a supple two-chord vamp – seems to have had the longest afterlife, reappearing in Morrison's live shows and greatest-hits compilations.

A soothing musical meditation inspired by the mystery and magic of the Emerald Isle. With three GRAMMYr nominations, 20 Billboard hits, and millions of fans worldwide, David Arkenstone has established himself as one of the best contemporary instrumental musicians of our time. Often compared to Mannheim Steamroller and The Chieftains, David has made over 30 recordings, has toured extensively, scored dozens of films and documentaries, and composed music for the Olympics that is used to this day.

Line-Up: Anders "Nobility" Nyberg - cembalo, pump organ and miniature piano | Anton "Quinton Taljenblock" Teljeback - viola pomposa, fiddle, mandoline, cable cutting crashes | Bjorn "Bellows" Malmros - squeeze box, hurdy gurdy and voices of madness | Eva "the Navigator" Maaherra Lovheim - violin, nyckelharpa and vocals | Frida "Freebird af Warmaland" Granstrom - violin, viola and vocals | Hampus "Monkey Boy" Holm - the big drum and other floggables | Hampus "Bojtikken" Larsson - percussions and vocals | Louise "Happy Lou" Gillman - feisty fiddle | Ina "Battery" Molin - cajon, marimba, pompous percussions and all things beatable | Jens "Wan Chou Zhong" Tzan Choong - obnoxious stringdrum, wee guitar, huge oriental fruit thing with strings and Chinese harpy harpy - aka Banjo/Guitalele/Sitar/Guzheng | Jim "Silent Jim" Sundstrom - mandolino, guitarra, irish tenor banjo, false chord-posing, wishful singing | Jonas "Hogeye McGinn" Nilsson - rusty old 5-string

A great deal of today's Celtic music has ventured far from its roots, adding a wash of new age keyboards and heavenly harmony. Fortunately for hardcore traditionalists, singers and musicians like Andy Irvine stick closer to their acoustic roots. Even when Irvine writes his own songs, they retain a strong flavor of traditional music. Way Out Yonder is a lovely album comprised of a number of ballads and jigs, and filled with good singing and fitting arrangements. Irvine adds words to the "The Girl I Left Behind," a song of love, betrayal, and reborn love. An American version of this piece, "Forsaken Love," ends in suicide, so this more upbeat version, while still melancholy, is refreshing. "Gladiators" covers the biography of one Tom Barker, a radical union worker (a Wobbly) from Australia who fought against conscription during WW I. "They'll Never Believe It's True/Froggy's Jig" conjures up Irish folklore in the form of faeries dancing, while the title cut is a lively Bulgarian jig with some nice harmonica work by Brendan Power. Many of the songs on Way Out Yonder are long because Irvine likes to spin a yarn, and fortunately for the audience, he's good at it. The acoustic guitars and whistles underline the music perfectly.

On Ravenchild, Maddy Prior teamed up again with keyboard player Nick Holland and multi-instrumentalist Troy Donockley, whose arsenal included Uilleann pipes and low whistle, as she had on her previous album, Flesh & Blood. The centerpiece of the album was a six song suite dubbed "In the Company of Ravens" (also the title of the first song), a series of Prior originals concerning the carrion birds who give the word "ravenous" its meaning. This was sometimes gritty stuff, as Prior described the birds' eating habits, though their mating habits were far more inspiring. The album also contained a three song suite, "With Napoleon in Russia," tracing that famous historical defeat. Then there was "Rigs of the Time," a condemnation of contemporary media culture set to a traditional melody, and the album concluded with what Prior herself described as the eerie traditional song "Great Silkie of Sules Skerry." The music and Prior's singing could be haunting, but Ravenchild was an album of disquieting material, whether the subject was aviary, historical, or contemporary.

'LESSONS OF WAR' is the 4th studio album from Irish songwriter Matt McGinn. The album has Matt collaborating with musicians from war affected areas across the world for a stunning collection of songs that explore the futility of war, its horrors, its affects, and after affects.

The Best of Clannad: In a Lifetime is a greatest hits compilation album by Irish folk group Clannad. It contains two new tracks, "Christmas Angels" and "What Will I Do", the latter of which is on the soundtrack to the Kevin Costner film Message in a Bottle. 2003 UK Limited Edition 26-track 2-CD album set comprising of 18-track CD including Theme From Harrys Game In A Lifetime - featuring Bono & duets with Paul Young & Bruce Hornsby plus BONUS 8-track CD featuring their most laid-back tracks & 3 previously unreleased chilled-out remixes & Saltwater by Chicane.