There's nothing quite like hearing Irish music in Ireland. Not on big concert halls or grand arenas, but in the small pubs in remote areas where the locals habitually gravitate for those informal sessions that invariably develop into a serious social occasion universally known as the craic. For those who play it, it's not a style of music, but a way of life, producing its own culture and characters. After 25 years visiting Ireland both as a music writer and a tourist, Colin Irwin goes in search of the craic. He talks to some of the leading Irish musicians like Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Paddy Moloney, Martin Hayes, Andy Irvine, Cara Dillon, Paul Brady and Frankie Gavin about their experiences and they direct him to places where the craic is mightiest. This is the story of his journey into Ireland's musical soul and the extraordinary characters he meets along the way.

In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl Through Irish Music

Arts & Photography

Irwin, Colin

Music

Andre Deutsch

There's nothing quite like hearing Irish music in Ireland. Not on big concert halls or grand arenas, but in the small pubs in remote areas where the locals habitually gravitate for those informal sessions that invariably develop into a serious social occasion universally known as the craic. For those who play it, it's not a style of music, but a way of life, producing its own culture and characters. After 25 years visiting Ireland both as a music writer and a tourist, Colin Irwin goes in search of the craic. He talks to some of the leading Irish musicians like Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Paddy Moloney, Martin Hayes, Andy Irvine, Cara Dillon, Paul Brady and Frankie Gavin about their experiences and they direct him to places where the craic is mightiest. This is the story of his journey into Ireland's musical soul and the extraordinary characters he meets along the way.

Offering a warm, amusing, and largely anecdotal commentary on modern England, Colin Irwin seeks out the traditional events, festivals and gigs that are becoming increasingly sidelined in our rapidly changing era of instant communication, multi-culturalism and Pop Idol. During his travels, Irwin drinks with eccentrics, sings with strangers and visits a succession of seriously bizarre events and rituals, such as a concert in Dartmoor Prison, sedan-chair racing in Lancaster, people flying in Bognor, and swimming in the Serpentine on Christmas Day. He discovers that there's an increasing tendency for communities to look inwardly at their own heritage, and while the old ways may be in hiding, they still thrive.

In Search of Albion: From Glastonbury to Grimsby: A Ride Through England's Hidden Soul

Offering a warm, amusing, and largely anecdotal commentary on modern England, Colin Irwin seeks out the traditional events, festivals and gigs that are becoming increasingly sidelined in our rapidly changing era of instant communication, multi-culturalism and Pop Idol. During his travels, Irwin drinks with eccentrics, sings with strangers and visits a succession of seriously bizarre events and rituals, such as a concert in Dartmoor Prison, sedan-chair racing in Lancaster, people flying in Bognor, and swimming in the Serpentine on Christmas Day. He discovers that there's an increasing tendency for communities to look inwardly at their own heritage, and while the old ways may be in hiding, they still thrive.

In Search of Albion: From Cornwall to Cumbria: A Ride Through England's Hidden Soul

Chatting with Bono, Sinead O’Connor, and Christy Moore; visiting the spa town where farmers come searching for wives; and drinking hot toddies with the legendary Keane sisters of GalwayColin Irwin undertakes a long journey into Ireland’s musical soulAfter 25 years visiting Ireland both as a music writer and a tourist, Colin Irwin goes in search of Irish music in Irelandnot in big concert halls or grand arenas, but in the small pubs in remote areas where the locals habitually gravitate for those informal sessions that invariably develop into a serious social occasion universally known as the craic. For those who play it, it is not a style of music, but a way of life, producing its own culture and characters. Conversations with such leading Irish musicians as Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Paddy Moloney, Martin Hayes, Andy Irvine, Cara Dillon, Paul Brady, and Frankie Gavin are detailed; they tell Colin about their experiences and direct him to places where the craic is mightiest. This is the story of Colin’s journey into Ireland's musical soul and the extraordinary characters he meets along the way.

In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl through Irish Music

This breakthrough series looks at great music from a unique vantage point. By considering the recording session itself, rather than the final album, Legendary Sessions showcases the creative process and all the elements that go into making music that reflected its time, commented on our society, and influenced our culture. How did these epoch-making sessions come about? What influenced the artists? What was it like to be there as the recording was made? Written by top entertainment journalists, Legendary Sessions answers those questions with an involving you-are-there style. What impact did the recording have? Who listened to it? Who imitated it? Who was inspired by it? Legendary Sessions looks at those questions, too, with groundbreaking interviews, eyewitness accounts, and contemporary commentary. Innovative and intriguing, Legendary Sessions is sure to change the way music fans listen to the great recordings of our time. In the midst of the backlash following his electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, Bob Dylan was in the studio with a shifting group of session musicians and producer Bob Johnston. The result of these sessions would be Dylan’s sixth album, Highway 61 Revisited, the classic that featured “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Desolation Row.” Author Colin Irwin examines the events leading up to the sessions and how they influenced Dylan’s music; the details of the sessions and the musicians involved, the development of the songs, and the controversy surrounding Dylan’s new sound. Today it’s part of rock history. Relive those world-changing times in Legendary Sessions: Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited.

Legendary Sessions: Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

Billboard Books

All conflicts are different, different peoples, places, cultures, languages, religions, histories etc. etc. So the solutions needed to resolve these conflicts are also necessarily very different. However, the road to peace, the steps that have to be taken to get to peace, the peace process itself is quite another matter and in this regard there is a very great deal that the world can learn from Northern Ireland. Of course the Northern Ireland experience is also littered with failure. Some things worked and some things didn't. But the purpose of this book is to review the things that did work in the hope that others can learn from that experience. Regrettably these lessons have not been learnt in Israel and Palestine, or if they have been learnt then they have been ignored. It may be possible to simply manage the conflict in the Middle East for some years to come but the world requires that this conflict is resolved. Best practice in Northern Ireland peace making can bring all the parties much closer to that objective.

20 Peace Lessons from Northern Ireland to Israel and Palestine

Politics & Social Sciences

Politics & Government

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

One of the most fascinating and respected singer/songwriters of all time, Leonard Cohen has built an audience across fifty years of music-making. Second only to Bob Dylan (and perhaps Paul Simon), he commands the attention of critics and younger musicians more firmly than any other musical figure from the '60s still working in the 21st century. This new book guides the reader from his first taste of success in his early thirties, to a position where classic tracks such as Hallelujah are covered by the top stars of every successive generation.

Leonard Cohen: Still the Man (Pop, Rock & Entertainment)

Humor & Entertainment

Flame Tree Press

Iconoclast, innovator, and inspiration to musicians everywhere, Neil Young's appeal crosses generations. Despite his reluctance to enter the mainstream, he's been captured throughout his career by some of the most renowned photographers in rock—and this is the largest collection of Young images ever assembled in a single publication. It covers six decades of musical excellence, from his early years with Buffalo Springfield to his huge success with Crosby, Stills, Nash &amp; Young, to his later proto-grunge period, right until today.

Neil Young: A Life in Pictures

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Carlton Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Irwin, Colin. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Irwin, Colin

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Irwin, Colin. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl Through Irish Music

In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl Through Irish Music

In Search of Albion: From Glastonbury to Grimsby: A Ride Through England's Hidden Soul

In Search of Albion: From Cornwall to Cumbria: A Ride Through England's Hidden Soul

In Search of the Craic: One Man's Pub Crawl through Irish Music

Legendary Sessions: Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

20 Peace Lessons from Northern Ireland to Israel and Palestine

Leonard Cohen: Still the Man (Pop, Rock & Entertainment)

Neil Young: A Life in Pictures

Neil Young: A Life in Pictures