A TEAR AND A SMILE

Tir Na Nog is probably best known in these parts for having toured together with Jethro Tull. A Tear And A Smile is their second album and my introduction to this Irish Folk duo. This is an album filled with pleasant and cute Folk and Folk Pop songs with only very slight Rock aspects like some drums and the occasional and discrete keyboards. The style and quality varies a bit over the course of the album. Bluebottle Stew for example is a real throwaway and totally silly, while the drowsy Down Day and particularly the gorgeous love song So Freely are just excellent.

While I find enjoyment in many of these songs, I fail to find anything particularly progressive about any of these tunes. Surely, Tir Na Nog are closer to Prog Folk than, say, Simon & Garfunkel are, but actually not very much. I think that Magna Carta and maybe Lindisfarne are good reference points. If you enjoy those bands (which I do) then you might like A Tear And A Smile also. It is clear from listening to this album that these guys have talent and are good at what they do.

Overall, this is good and pleasant music, but by no means essential for Prog fans in general or even for Prog Folk fans

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