Command Studios, London (1972) Escape Studios, Kent, UK (1973) Sarm Studios, London (1974) Windmill Lane Studios (1979) Windmill Lane Studios (1980) Windmill Lane Studios (1983)
Between the Jigs and the Reels: A Retrospective (2016)
Between the Jigs and the Reels: A Retrospective is a two-disc anthology by the Irish folk bandPlanxty. It includes a 17-track CD and a 36-track DVD with over two hours of previously unreleased footage (1972–1982) from RTÉ archives.
Recording
CD
All but two tracks are re-released from the following albums:[1]
Two tracks are re-released from earlier singles: one is "Nancy Spain" (track 16) from 1981, and the other is Timedance (track 17), a three-part suite recorded with full orchestra and rhythm section. The latter was also performed during the interval of the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Dublin on 4 April 1981, and was the genesis of the work Bill Whelan would later compose for Riverdance.[2]: 296–299
DVD
The DVD features footage recorded during the following live performances:[1]
The Music Makers, Live from the National Stadium (1973) – (tracks: 2–10),
Live from the Abbey Tavern (1980) – (tracks: 11–18),
Live Aisling Gheal Special (1980) – (tracks: 19–22),
Festival Fold, Live from the National Stadium (1982) – (tracks: 23–36)
Critical reception
Between the Jigs and the Reels:A Retrospective received positive reviews from folk music critics.
In her review of the compilation for The Irish Times (28 October 2016), Siobhan Long stated:[3]
"The boys are back. This CD/DVD is a timely reminder, 44 years after their debut, of the revolutionary musical imaginations that fuelled Planxty's music and shaped so much of what has happened since then in the world of traditional music."
"There is a healthy balance between the show-stoppers (Little Musgrave) and the infinite complexities of the tunes (Baneasa's Green Glade), with plenty of space in between to make room for every listener."
"The gargantuan DVD, bursting with outtakes from a slew of RTÉ recordings, is a treasure trove, with complementary versions of seminal recordings that will have ally self-respecting trad anoraks comparing and contrasting album and DVD for months."
"Between the Jigs and the Reels is also striking for the riches of Planxty's ensemble contributions: all multi-instrumentalists, with three vocalists rambling from the west coast of Clare to the furthest reaches of eastern Europe, propelled by calculus-like rhythms and genteel vocals."
In his review of the compilation for the Irish Examiner (26 October 2016), Ed Power added:[4]
"Planxty are one of those seminal Irish acts doomed to bask in an aura of reverence while remaining essentially obscure to all but a tiny subset of the listening public."
"A new overview of their accomplishments, may go towards restoring the group to the prominence folk purists agree they deserve."
In his review of the compilation (5 October 2016), Roddie Cleere (of Roddie Cleere's Irish Music Show (IMS)) stated:[5]
"This wonderful and impressively assembled collection tells the story of a morphing ensemble of musicians, songwriters, collectors, arrangers, and singers with a mutual lust for the discovery of music from different times and different places. The songs and tunes they collected and arranged, including everything from soft introverted ballads to whirling regional fiddle tunes, from haunting airs to skittering Balkan jams, all somehow made sense within this unique narrative of traditional and folk music they had sculpted and named Planxty."
"This package of Planxty music is an arduously-curated goldmine of recordings, TV appearances and live sets that both the band and their fans deserve. Delve in. Lose yourself in it."
