The Woman I Loved So Well

The Woman I Loved So Well
Studio album by Planxty
Released	1980
Recorded	April and May 1980, at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin
Genre	Irish folk music
Length	44:51
Label	Tara Music label
Producer	Dónal Lunny and Brian Masterson
Planxty chronology
After The Break (1979) The Woman I Loved So Well (1980) Words & Music (1983)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

The Woman I Loved So Well^{[2]:273–287} is the fifth studio album by Planxty. Like their previous album, After The Break, the album was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios and released by Tara Records. Co-produced by band member Dónal Lunny and engineer Brian Masterson, the album was recorded in April and May of 1980 and released on LP in July of that year. It remains in print on CD and in digital form from Tara to date.^[3]

Like their sixth album—Words & Music—the album features a total of eight musicians, more than every other Planxty album. The core line-up of Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Andy Irvine and Liam O'Flynn are joined again by flautist Matt Molloy, who had left the band shortly after the release of After The Break to join The Chieftains full-time. Newcomer Bill Whelan joined the group in the studio to play keyboards, as did the concertina/fiddle duo of Noel Hill and Tony Linnane, who completed a short tour of Ireland with the group prior to the recording.^[2]:275

The album concludes with an epic nine and a half minute rendition of the ballad "Little Musgrave", which Moore had previously recorded on his self-titled solo album, in 1976. Moore has stated that he first found the song's lyrics on papers scattered on the floor of an auctioneer's in Dublin,^[2]:279 although the song had previously been recorded by many artists (see "Matty Groves").

Track listing

All titles credited to: "A. Irvine/D. Lunny/C. Moore/L. O'Flynn", except where indicated.

1. "True Love Knows No Season" (song) – 5:29
   (Norman Blake)
2. "Out On The Ocean / Tiocfaidh Tu Abhaile Liom" (double jigs) – 3:20
3. "Roger O'Hehir" (song) – 5:33
4. "The Tailor's Twist" (hornpipes) – 3:14
   (Trad., Arr. L. O'Flynn)
5. "Kellswater" (song) – 4:59
6. "Johnny of Brady's Lea" (song) – 6:31
7. "The Woman I Never Forgot / The Pullet / The Ladies Pantalettes" (reels) – 4:19
8. "Little Musgrave" (song) – 9:38
9. "Paddy Fahy's Reel" (reel) – 1:48
   (Played on flute by Matt Molloy, with keyboard accompaniment, as the album fades out).^{[2]:279–280}

Personnel

• Christy Moore : vocals, guitar, bodhrán
• Andy Irvine : vocals, mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica
• Dónal Lunny : bouzouki, guitar, synthesiser
• Liam O'Flynn : uilleann pipes, tin whistle
• Matt Molloy : flute
• Bill Whelan : keyboards
• Noel Hill : concertina
• Tony Linnane : fiddle

References

External links

• Album sleeve notes on Tara Music website, Tara Records, retrieved 22 October 2012 
• Record label catalogue, 2009 (PDF), Tara Records, retrieved 11 May 2009