Celtic Thunder's Ryan Kelly Dazzles With His Solo Debut, In Time

This year has seen the release of several highly anticipated albums, including Clay Aiken‘s collection of standards from the 50s and 60s, the Irish Rovers‘ 40th-anniversary CD, two LOST soundtracks and two offerings from Celtic Thunder. I was especially anxious to hear the Celtic Thunder Christmas release, but the one album I awaited most eagerly was from my favorite of its members, Ryan Kelly. As he began to send out messages on Facebook and Twitter about the recording process and offer up sneak peeks on ReverbNation, my excitement increased. I had it in my head, though, that we wouldn’t be seeing the album until next year, so when I got word that In Time would be released this month, when I’m already on Celtic Thunder overload thanks to the concert, the Christmas album and Neil Byrne’s EP, which just arrived in the mail, I was one happy camper.

I wasn’t the only one. CD Baby, the website from which the album is currently available, received so many inquiries about it that its release was pushed up by a few days, and along with many other fans, I stayed up late into the night, checking every few minutes to see if it had gone live yet. First thing the next morning, my search for Ryan Kelly still returned no results, so I turned my attention to the previous night’s episode of Criminal Minds, which starred Sterling “Little Ben Linus” Beaumon, and when he was done thoroughly creeping me out, I returned to CD Baby to find that in my absence, the album had come… and gone. In the first half hour, I learned, every copy they had in stock sold out. So I sighed, put in my backorder and ordered the MP3, which tided me over until I had my physical copy of the album.  And now, my first impressions of In Time…

On Simon and Garfunkel’s Old Friends boxed set, there is a live version of Poem On an Underground Wall before which Art Garfunkel memorably recounts the calamitous tale of the photo shoot for Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., from which they hoped to walk away with “the perfect James Dean shot”. Well, Ryan Kelly has managed it here, and I tip my hat to photographer Padraig Donnelly, who is also responsible for the striking shots that serve as backdrops to the liner notes, and Stuart Medcraft and Aidan Donnelly, who are credited with designing the cover and artwork. Ryan, dressed in jeans, a white t-shirt and a brown leather jacket, leans against a dilapidated building, his face inscrutable. A row of windows is behind him, but the light is most arresting toward the bottom of the photo, where sunshine pours in through a jagged hole in the wall, making the shadow he casts especially pronounced. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing album covers I’ve ever seen - but then, of course, I am rather partial to the subject matter... 

I also appreciated reading Ryan's note of gratitude within and would like to offer my own for his decision to include his lyrics.  By the time the album arrived I'd pretty much memorized them all, but there were a few lines of which I was uncertain, and anyway, I generally find that being able to read the lyrics makes a song easier to connect with, especially when I'm first familiarizing myself with it.

In Time includes 11 tracks, one of which can be ordered as an MP3 individually without buying the entire album. Though he’s released it under a different title, it’s one of several songs that Ryan had up on his music pages in demo form. Not all of those songs have made it to this album; I presume he’s holding them back for future releases. When I downloaded the MP3, I took a leap and guessed, based on my Googling efforts regarding the tracks on which I had no previous information, that Ryan has full writer’s credit on nine of the eleven tracks, with one being a cover and another a pre-existing poem for which he composed a melody. I was right on target except in the case of In Too Deep, which he co-wrote with Kieran Lavery.  The variety and intricacy of these songs reveals an artist who is not just a talented performer but a burgeoning songwriter of exceptional caliber.

Playing the piano and keyboards, which are so prominent on several tracks, is Dave L. Cooke, who also produced and arranged the album and, like Brendan Monaghan, who plays pipes, whistles and the bodhran, is a famliar name to Celtic Thunder fans.  So is vocalist Charley Bird, whose lovely voice augments several songs on this album and who performed a duet with Ryan on Celtic Thunder Christmas.  Other instrumentalists contributing to this album include guitast Andy Saphir, percussionist Tony Harris, lead violinist Oliver Lewis, violinist Paddy Roberts, viola player Lucy Morgan and cellist Nerys Richards.

Emily - I knew right off the bat that Ryan wrote this one, since he said as much after he put about a minute of it up as a sneak peek. I’m curious as to just who Emily is. A real person from his past? A fictitious flame? Or does he, like a young Paul Simon, have an odd fascination with Emily Dickinson? That I don’t know just makes this opening track all the more intriguing. It’s a fairly bouncy but angsty song backed by electric guitar, and it makes a perfect bookend with the album’s closing track, as it has to do with a young man who is anxious to get out of his “one-horse town” but finds himself, at the last moment, torn due to the love of a local woman. Romance and ambition battle within him, while we also get her perspective through Bird, who captures the heartache of realizing that you’re about to lose someone you’ve always taken for granted. This is probably the track I can most readily imagine hearing on the radio. “I can’t let myself be drawn into your world. It’s too late for me to stay for just one girl.”

In Too Deep - This track features lovely legato piano backing, along with the occasional strings. The verses proceed slowly, as though he’s grasping at images through the haze of a dissipating dream. It seems to describe a relationship that has gone sour; he yearns to make reparations and such scenarios haunt him, mirage-like, only to leave him feeling more empty than ever before, especially since he feels responsible for her disappearance. And yet there is hope, notably in the line “I’ll play guitar again,” as there is a solace to be found in one’s passions - particularly music - that can help one heal after even the most devastating loss. “It’s over now. What could’ve been could never be, yeah. So I’ll move on. I’ll find a new song. I’ll find a new me.”

Make You Proud - This song, another sneak peek that Ryan offered, first made me think of Taylor Hicks’ Do I Make You Proud and Clay Aiken’s Proud of Your Boy, both of which have to do with growing up and doing well by one’s parents, but some of the lines, such as “Tell me you need me,” suggest a more romantic angle. In any case, it’s about the realization of having fallen short of expectations and trying to be a better person. I particularly love the earnest delivery of the line, “Just don’t lose your faith along the way.” Electric guitars add a nice twang to this up-tempo song with a redemptive twist. “No matter how it turns out to be, all I wanna do is make you proud of me.”

Heaven Bound - The first time I listened to In Time, I played each of the tracks individually, and somehow I missed this one, so when I played the album through as a whole, it stopped me cold.  My first thought: Is he really singing about what I think he’s singing about? My second: I hope this isn’t autobiographical. Of all the tracks on this album, this is the one that best reflects Ryan’s musical theater background as he takes us on a dark journey into a shattered soul tormented by someone he thought that he could trust.  “He’s Heaven bound, but he’s closer to Inferno in that Hell that only I know.”  A searing social commentary through the lens of one meticulously drawn character, this is a gutsy track exploring a subject I have never heard tackled in song before: child molestation. 

My first inclination was that the song was connected to the pedophilia crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, though the backdrop of the funeral of the man in question may account for the abundance of religious imagery.  Clearly, whatever his vocation, he was widely respected.  Given the reference to "another night assault," I suppose it could even be the speaker's father.  In any case, it's a startling topic, and his performance is riveting, with the soulful back-up singers on the chorus emphasizing the disconnect between how this man is viewed by the townspeople and what the speaker knows about him. The only track to incorporate bagpipes, it’s the biggest surprise on the album, and I’m drawn to Ryan’s empathetic vocals and the way the careful orchestration slowly builds to heighten the turmoil. Utterly gripping. “I don’t blame them all, but those whose eyes were blind helped him leave this wreck behind. The years aren’t kind. Will he ever let me be, this pillar of my community?”

Go If You Want To - Ryan adopts a wounded and waspish manner for this rant against a woman who has spurned the speaker. It’s probably the harshest-sounding of the tracks, with whining electric guitars and stinging words - even a bit of mild profanity. It sounds like we’re hearing a long-drawn-out argument in its death throes; tired of fighting the inevitable, he throws up his hands and feigns indifference, but his acidic manner betrays his true feelings. “You can go if you want to, or stay, I don’t mind. Just remember, if you leave me now, there won’t be another time…”

Secret Bit of Right From Wrong - Peppy percussion and a repeated succession of swift violin strokes set the lively tone for this song that’s as infectious in its own way as Simon and Garfunkel’s Feelin’ Groovy. After the darkness of the last two tracks, it’s exhilarating to hear this joyful cry of a man with a new lease on life. There’s acknowledgment of past wrongs - particularly of the drinking variety - as the speaker basks in a rare sense of ecstasy with a song in his heart. Listening to this is like glimpsing Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning. “Your perfection caused my resurrection; that’s why I sing…”

Get Over You - Piano is in prominence once more on this mid-tempo song that again deals with a broken relationship. Ryan performs a harmonious duet in the chorus with Bird, who conveys an equally powerful sense of longing. There’s a lot of self-deprecation sprinkled throughout this album; sometimes these guys make amends and sometimes they merely wallow, but most of them mess up and freely admit it. Here, I love the equation of sensitivity with masculinity, along with the clever wordplay that fills the verses. Another song that feels like it’s itching to become a radio hit. “I wish that I could get over you. I wish it stopped when we said goodbye. I wish the memories would just fade away; if I was a man, maybe I’d cry.”

Broken Things - This was the first of Ryan’s solo efforts that I ever heard, and I was left breathless by the vulnerability that keeps a quaver in his voice throughout the song. It’s the only one on the album that Ryan didn’t have a hand in writing; credit here goes to Julie Miller, a singer-songwriter best known in contemporary Christian music circles. The main distinction between that intimate acoustic guitar-backed demo and this studio version is a bit more in the way of instrumentation, especially violins. Ryan also employs slightly different delivery on a couple of lines, and his accent seems a bit more pronounced here.

At first listen, this could be taken for a love song, but the air of total supplication and need for renewal suggests a plea for something deeper, especially with the hints of Scripture in the lyrics. It’s the prayer of a man who has hit his nadir and can’t extract himself from the depths of despair on his own. This gentle song ushered me into a whole new understanding of Ryan, and it remains one of my favorites. “I heard that you make old things new, so I’ll give these pieces all to you. If you want it, you can have my heart.”

Not Far Apart * - This is the track that is the only one you can get online by itself at CD Baby, which is a nice gesture that I presume has to do with the fact that it’s a Christmas song and is primarily intended to console those who are mourning. I’m fairly confident that years prior to hearing Ryan’s demo last year, I received this poem by Wanda (Bencke) White in my Inbox; it seems to have been floating around for at least a decade, usually under the title My First Christmas in Heaven or Spending Christmas With Jesus Christ, which is how Ryan originally presented it on his MySpace page. The decision to rename it distances the song from specific seasonal connections within the context of the track list.

Ryan wrote an original melody for this reflection from the perspective of someone who has recently died and is trying to reach out to comfort those left behind. It reminds me a bit of both the Mary Elizabeth Frye poem Do Not Stand At My Grave and Weep and NewSong’s The Christmas Shoes. While I confess to finding the latter, a ballad that dominates the all-Christmas music play lists, a tad mawkish, Ryan wisely hangs back here, keeping this slightly altered version, which is accompanied by delicate piano that trips upon the ears like dancing snowflakes, tender but understated. I know that he’s sung this one at Christmas Eve services back home, and there’s an air of humble sincerity about it.

This song, incidentally, is one of the reasons I’m not particularly bothered by his use of the word “Christ” in the chorus of the closing track, which originally gave me pause. I choose to interpret the emphatic interjection as a fervent vow rather than a casual curse, and his decision to set this to music and record it, along with Broken Things, suggests that I might not be too off base. “Have a merry Christmas, and wipe away that tear. Remember, I’m spending Christmas with Jesus Christ this year.”

Perfect Man - In Celtic Thunder, Ryan has been cast as the Heartbreaker; here, he sarcastically skewers the whole notion of Bad Boy attraction, snarling his way through a bluesy, organ-heavy ballad about a woman undone by her gravitation toward Leader of the Pack-style men. Both characters are richly drawn, the silly romantic clinging to her unrealistic visions and the ne’er-do-well who seems to have sauntered in from the shady corner of a Jim Croce song. It took me a couple of times through to realize just what Ryan is doing in this snarky number, but it’s a fun throwback that also serves as a warning against favoring danger in relationships, and Ryan shows a real storyteller’s flair. “All her friends tell her how he’s gonna do her wrong, how she’s changed with her mini-skirt and her high heels on, but they just don’t understand; he’s her perfect man.”

The Village That They Call The Moy - Ryan Kelly was pretty firmly fixed as my favorite member of Celtic Thunder from the moment I heard him sing Desperado, but it wasn’t until a few months later that Broken Things led me to his demo of this song, introducing me to Ryan the songwriter, which took my appreciation for him to a whole new level. Odes to one’s hometown and songs about emigration are incredibly prominent in Irish music. Within the Celtic Thunder repertoire, we have Mountains of Mourne, The Homes of Donegal, Come By the Hills and Take Me Home, among others, while my beloved Irish Rovers have recorded such songs as the upbeat The Boys Come Rollin’ Home, the tender Bonnie Kellswater, the reflective Lincoln’s Army and the despondent Farewell to Nova Scotia (which is Canadian but has a very Celtic flavor to it). Up until last year, my favorite song of this type was their rendition of The Isle of Innisfree, a stirring instrumental version of which plays in the background of the John Wayne film The Quiet Man.

Then I heard The Village That They Call the Moy, and it immediately took its spot at the top of the hierarchy. In the song, an elderly man who left his hometown long ago explains his malaise to a fellow bar patron, a youth with the means and freedom to wander at will.  A sense of raw anguish permeates that first homemade recording, featuring nothing but Ryan’s heartfelt vocals accompanied by his acoustic guitar; although the chorus indicates “It’s there I was born and it’s there I belong, and it’s there my last days I’ll enjoy,” his vocals pierce right to the soul, suggesting that getting back there might never actually happen.  I listened to this demo countless times, particularly in the aftermath of the LOST finale, during which it was perfectly in synch with the melancholy I was feeling over leaving the Island, as it were, and as much as I love this full-blown version, I can’t help hoping that at some point, Ryan will put the demo on an album, or at least make it available to listen to on his website again.  It's there that the regret of the aged sage reigns supreme, while the studio version embraces the young man's more naive perspective.

In this edition of what I consider to be Ryan’s signature song, he quickens the pace, giving it a sprightly feel, and after reading all of his giddy posts in anticipation of this album, including his thrill at hearing professional musicians playing his songs, I feel like three decades’ worth of exuberance has been poured into this track. Instead of feeling wistful, it just comes across as pure gratitude to an upbringing in a town that so nurtured his creative spirit. After all, though Ryan did leave the Moy, the separation was not very long-term; now, when he’s not on the road, he makes his home there, and this joyous tribute to his tiny village acknowledges both that it was worth it to depart in order to chase his dreams and that he will always come back. I especially love the addition of the Irish whistles, which further root the song in that green isle I love so well. I doubt it will be long before this one starts getting the mileage of those old classics from many years ago; I can think of no other song that has so instantly transported me and made me nostalgic for a particular place, even though I‘ve never seen it. Maybe someday I will. “Leavin’, it never it easy. ‘There’s no place like home’ ’s what they say. Well, if it’s really that bad and it makes you so sad, sure, what’s the point movin’ away?”

“It’s a Moy man that I’ll always be,” Ryan declares through the vehicle of the grizzled emigrant, and every track carries evidence of his heritage. His smoky brogue creeps into the crevices of each phrase so that a deeper level of musicality seeps through. Words on a page could never adequately capture the qualities of Ryan Kelly’s voice, so seek out the first solo album of this versatile Irish charmer and listen for yourself. It won’t be his last.

Clay Aiken Goes Back to the 50s With Tried and True

When Clay Aiken was a contestant on American Idol, he sang a lot of songs from decades ago, and they suited his voice very well. Since then, most of his albums have featured more contemporary music, but with Tried and True, he returns to the types of standards for which he first became known. He goes back a little further than I would prefer - usually the Fifties rather than the Sixties - but then, that's because it's his favorite decade of music, and when an album is done with such obvious affection, I'm not about to complain about song choices.

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You - I always liked this Frankie Valli song, and Clay's version is melodious and energetic, with plenty of brass to back him up. It makes a solid start to the album.

What Kind of Fool Am I - I wasn't familiar with this Leslie Bricusse / Anthony Newley song before, but it's a smooth, jazzy tune with plenty of saxophone courtesy of David Sanborn. Clay sings it earnestly, and I have to chuckle at the line, "Why can't I cast away this mask of Clay and live my life?"

It's Only Make Believe - Another song unfamiliar to me, this Conway Twitty ditty also has plenty of brass in the background, along with finger-snapping and prominent piano. Clay sings it well, though he comes across as very peppy, while the lyrics are quite the downer.

Misty - Clay slows it way down in this Erroll Garner song, which is heavy on the violins and crawls along at a steady pace. Another saxophone solo halfway through the song emphasizes its melancholy nature. I'd never heard this one before either; it definitely gives off a loungy Fifties vibe.

Mack the Knife - Clay sang this Bobby Darin song on American Idol, and the showmanship suits him well, though the subject matter is pretty grisly. It's a little uncomfortable to listen to the lyrics and realize that he's singing about a serial killer. Still, this upbeat number is a perfect match for Clay's style.

It's Impossible - A vulnerable song complete with saxophone and chimes, though guitar is the most prominent instrument. Originally covered by Perry Como, it's one of the prettiest tracks on the album and another I'd never heard before.

Unchained Melody - Clay performed this Righteous Brothers classic on the penultimate episode of American Idol, and it was one that many fans had eagerly awaited. He recorded it on his self-published album pre-dating his appearance on the show, and listening to this rendition, it's clear how he's matured as a performer. This song, backed by gorgeous legato piano with occasional strings, is pretty understated up until the end, at which point he pulls out all the stops. I notice that in this version, he pronounces the word "to" correctly; in his earlier rendition, it's "toe," which I always found rather distracting. Anyway, probably my favorite track on the album.

Suspicious Minds - Another familiar cover for Clay fans. Clay does a great job with this peppy Elvis song. I've heard Clay perform this song on several occasions, and he seems to particularly relish it. Another great track.

Crying - This is an interesting rendition of the Roy Orbison hit. I tend not to think of this as one that lends itself easily to being a duet, since the tone is so desolate, but sharing the track with Linda Eder puts an interesting spin on it, emphasizing the pain of both parties. Some unusual harmonies, and Clay doesn't really go for the glory notes on this one, which he certainly could. It's a more subdued version, but it's still quite nice.

There's a Kind of Hush - Clay's tone is cheerful on this Herman's Hermits classic, which is a nice change after the despondence of the last track. You can tell he's having fun on this one.

Moon River - This piano-backed song by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini includes a nice instrumental section with guitar work from Vince Gill. A very slow, mellow way for Clay to end the album.

Tried and True is a nice collection with a nostalgic feel to it. All of the songs have a pretty similar sound to them, but it works well. I suspect that this is one that may appeal more to the older segment of Clay's fan base; even an oldies aficionado like me didn't recognize a third of the songs, and I have to admit the overall tone is a bit snoozy. But that's not really a bad thing. This is an album to play if you're in a laid-back mood and a good album to fall asleep to. Maybe not the best thing to play while driving due to its soporific effects, but if you like Clay Aiken or have a thing for lounge music, it's time you tried Tried and True.

Watching Celtic Thunder From the Best Seat in the House, Erie, PA, 10-15-10 Concert Reviews

On October 14, 2009, my parents and I attended our first Celtic Thunder concert at the Warner Theatre here in Erie, PA. On October 15, 2010, we attended our second, also at the Warner, this time with my brother Nathan in tow. Can we count on October 16, 2011, lads?

I’ve spent my life being mesmerized by Irish and Scottish music, so it’s no surprise to me that I would find Celtic Thunder enjoyable. Yet I have always gravitated toward artists who have been performing since long before I was born, and I’m fiercely loyal to the Irish Rovers, so I was cautious in my embrace of this PBS powerhouse quintet. I was certain that the two groups would never have to compete for my affections; my first impression was that Celtic Thunder took itself too seriously and felt too manufactured. Their vocals were impressive, and Ryan Kelly’s luminous rendition of Desperado, which introduced me to the group, remained firmly lodged in my mind, but they still felt very much like a passing curiosity rather than My Next Big Obsession. Little did I know...

I fell in love with Celtic Thunder slowly but completely. I first listened to them shortly before Christmas of 2008; by St. Patrick’s Day of 2009, I’d memorized the bulk of the first two CDs, seen the PBS special in full and watched some interviews. I had a much better sense of their personalities. And I was keen to trot off to Buffalo to see them perform. The timing wasn’t great, so we skipped it, and I feared it would be just as impractical when they hit a major city near us in the fall. “If only they’d come to Erie!” I moaned, convinced by my dad’s assertion that we’d never land such a hot act. I’m glad he was wrong on that score.

Last year’s concert was fantastic. We sat three rows back from the orchestra pit, where there were two or three rows of additional seating, and were able to get a wonderfully close view of these talented vocalists and musicians we’d been following all year. After the concert, we joined the crowd hanging around to wait for the boarding of the bus. I saw them all come out of the theatre to stash their luggage, and a couple of them stopped to chat and allow for some photos. Just as Ryan was getting to the bus, I worked up the nerve to ask him to pose for a picture with me, a request which he graciously accepted. It was a good night.

But this year’s concert was even better. This year, I decided that the time had come to thank PBS for all those years of watching everything from Sesame Street and Jakers! to Peter Paul and Mary’s Christmas special and Celtic Thunder itself. The inspiration for this generosity was the pledge level that included a ticket / Meet and Mingle combo for this year’s show. I called in and was surprised to find them still available. I’d already purchased three tickets to the concert, but I bought one for myself, even as I worried about being on my own for the entirety of the evening.

To calm my nerves a bit, I left a message on the official Celtic Thunder forum, hoping I might connect with someone and thus not risk being a complete wallflower during the pre-show event. I received a very kind response from a woman coming in from Ohio with her daughter, and much to my relief, I spotted them as soon as I walked in the doors of the theatre, and my arrival was early enough that by the time we were invited to leave the lobby, we’d introduced ourselves and pledged to stick together.

I did a little reading about the pre-show reception, a change from previous concert tours, which have included post-show Meet and Greets that are more like receiving lines, with each individual getting a short time with the vocalists in attendance, just enough for an autograph and a picture. The general impression I got was not very positive. I read many complaints about the new format favoring the outgoing; in most cases, people were seated around tables of six or so, and the guys came around to each table for a limited amount of time, so it wasn’t uncommon for someone with a forceful personality to dominate the conversation. What’s more, the format was hardly conducive to picture-taking, and it sounded like there was a constant feeling of them being rushed along to the next table by their manager.

I was pleasantly surprised, then, to find that there were no tables at our Meet and Mingle aside from a snack table and a couple of tiny tables just big enough to serve as a suitable autograph-signing surface. It really did feel like mingling as the vocalists and instrumentalists weaved their way through the room, sharing some unhurried conversation with each little cluster of people. We didn’t do such a stellar job of separating ourselves into six large groups, but that didn’t seem to make a difference; they arrived much earlier than I expected, around 6:35, and by the time they left, everyone had gotten in some brief but meaningful chatting.

I’m so thankful that my new friends Meileen and Shelley reached out to me as they did, since I would have felt very awkward otherwise trying to wedge myself into someone else’s group, and I’m not sure if I would have managed to get any pictures at all. As it was, the three of us took turns snapping each other. I haven’t seen any of the ones with me in them yet, aside from the one that someone nearby took of the three of us with my camera; I can’t wait to see how they turned out.

Another nice surprise was the fact that we got to spend time with not the promised two but four performers. With at least one person in close proximity to every point in the room throughout the event, the behavior was perfectly orderly, with each attendee cheerfully waiting his or her turn. We first met with violin virtuoso Nicole Hudson, who came over so quickly and started speaking with us so casually that at first it didn’t click with me that she was a member of the band. She asked us where we were from and which of the lads were our favorites, and we cheerfully replied. She was very easy to talk to and extremely friendly.

Next up was George Donaldson, the bald, burly Scotsman who is the oldest member of the vocal ensemble. I was especially excited to meet him, as I tend to think of his as Celtic Thunder’s anchor. An experienced balladeer with a tonal richness in each performance I’ve heard few vocalists achieve, he would be my favorite member of the group if I weren’t so smitten with Ryan, whose first solo album goes on sale this week. To my chagrin, I didn’t quite catch every word George said to us; his Glaswegian brogue is thick, and while it’s a joy to listen to, it’s also sometimes a tad difficult to decipher.

But I understood his main comment that he was feeling melancholy at the moment since his wife and daughter were flying out of Erie International Airport as we spoke, ending their week-long stint on the tour with him, and he hoped he wouldn’t be too sad to sing that night. Despite his wistfulness at the departure of his family, he was every bit as warm and wonderful in person as I would have expected. He seemed touched when I told him how much I’m reminded of my late grandpa, also named George, when he sings The Old Man, and he apologized that I wouldn’t be hearing it that night. I’m especially keen to see how that photo with George turned out. My only regret with his visit is that it began with him offering a firm handshake to each of us, but when he came to me, something else caught his attention, and soon we were talking and the handshake never did happen. I suspect he has quite the grip.

It was a little while before operatic tenor Paul Byrom made his way over to us. We told him how much we love his solo albums, and he informed us that he planned to stay on after the tour to arrange some solo gigs here in the US. He also told us to keep an eye out on Twitter for news about an upcoming solo project. Twitter, incidentally, has done wonders for allowing fans to truly feel as though they are getting a peek into these performers’ lives. Celtic Thunder is not a banter band; virtually no talking occurs on stage. But boy, do the quips fly on Twitter! That was also where I learned that enthusiastic Damian McGinty, the youngest member of the group who just turned 18, shares my passion for the TV show LOST, and I loved reading his thoughts on the final season, especially since they often were in line with my own. Anyway, Paul was lovely, and when it came time for pictures, Shelley went over to stand next to him, and he motioned for me to come join them. “I’m trying not to touch you,” said Shelley, in deference to their tour manager’s warnings about respecting their personal space; he chuckled dismissively and drew us in for a cozy three-person side-hug before moving on.

We were the last people Neil Byrne spoke with before heading out. He seemed to have a little trouble extricating himself from the back of the room, but we were told not to worry, he didn’t need to change as the others did, so he wasn’t quite so pressed for time. All-star musician Neil has been an integral part of Celtic Thunder from the beginning, switching instruments with ease and doing his best to make the jigs and reels as entertaining as possible. Recently, however, he has come to feel like a shadow member of the ensemble, even getting his own solo tracks on albums and joining the lads on vocals in group numbers. Indeed, I had sort of gotten the impression that Celtic Thunder had morphed from a quintet to a sextet, but the program covers, posters and t-shirts all exclude him, so it’s hard to say precisely what role he plays. What is clear is that Celtic Thunder would be much poorer without him.

He came over to us in his black suit and matching kilt and was completely charming. Like Paul, he hails from Dublin, so his urbane accent is lilting but poses little challenge in the way of comprehension. I felt a little silly with my program from last year, in which the only pages that feature him are so dark that I figured his autograph wouldn’t show up; the page he ended up signing was Watching Celtic Thunder As a Woman, which was simply because it was the last light-colored page in the book. I hope he was not affronted by the randomness of this autograph placement; if he was, though, I think all was forgiven when I informed him that I’d just ordered his EP, which caused him to break out in a large, grateful grin. It’s quite a perfect storm of Celtic Thunder goodness - the Christmas album, the concert, Neil’s EP and Ryan’s album, all within the space of a couple weeks. Not that I’m complaining!

The Meet and Mingle officially lasted from 6:30 to 7:30, but by the time Neil left at 7:05 or so, several people had already made their way out into the theatre at large or to the merchandise table near the front entrance. My new friends, printed e-mail from the Warner in hand, had to get to the front desk to sort something out with their tickets, which had gotten lost in the mail; I stuck around for a couple more minutes to grab another cup of punch and a few goodies before I headed down to see what I could plunk my money down on. Naturally, I bought a program, but when I saw that there was a calendar, I couldn’t resist snatching that up too, while wishing that the kiosk where I work sold it so I could get a smile out of looking at the lads throughout my shift; goodness knows I never hear them on the mall radio. I also indulged in a pair of green glow sticks and a pack of buttons, and it all came in a snazzy, heavy-duty gift bag with “Celtic Thunder” printed on it.

My parents met up with me at the merchandise table, but we soon parted ways again as they made their way to their seats, which turned out to be closer than I thought, about the same distance away as last year but more toward the middle. I, meanwhile, could scarcely believe it when I was ushered to a seat in the front row of the orchestra pit at the dead center of the stage. I’d somehow managed to finagle the best seat in the entire house.

To my left was a man who’d traveled from a couple of hours away, and this kind gentleman caught Keith’s guitar pick when he tossed it off the stage after his Beach Boys medley in the second act but later gave it to the teenage girl sitting behind us. To my right was an empty seat, and next to that was another young man who became a source of much amusement when he returned to his seat halfway through the first song of the second act, prompting Paul to tap his wrist with exaggerated exasperation and then, during the final song, reach down and shake his hand to show that there were no hard feelings. The lights came down so suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, that I can’t help wondering if this was a planned shtick - that they intended to catch people by surprise and then integrate the resulting tardiness into the act. Even I was a couple seconds late sitting down, and I was standing just outside the pit for the entirety of the intermission.

The concert began as last year’s did, with the dramatic extended instrumental opening of Phil Coulter’s Heartland, toward the end of which the lads emerged from the darkness and mist to strike dramatic poses as the thunderous drums continued. I watched the fog slowly creep down the steps of the platform on stage, as deliberate as a slinky, before leaving the stage to pass directly through me, causing me to shiver with cold and delight. I hope that Celtic Thunder will always begin their concerts with this song; I can’t imagine a better way to start. The choreography was much the same as it was last year, as were the vocals, though I found it fascinating to be able to watch them harmonizing from such a short distance away, especially during Paul’s big line toward the end. The main difference I noticed - one that caught me enjoyably by surprise - was Ryan singing the stirring “Déan trócaire, déan trócaire, a Thiarna” toward the end.

That was the first of many surprises of the night in terms of performances, particularly during the first act. I hadn’t read up much on what songs would be featured in this concert, nor had I glanced at the list of songs in the program, so most of the first half caught me entirely off-guard. I’d heard of Heritage, the upcoming album that focuses on traditional Celtic music, but all I knew about the set list was the fact that Damian would be singing Buachaill Ón Eirne (Come By the Hills), which I would probably consider his signature Celtic Thunder song, but that the entire thing would be in Gaelic instead of just one verse. Because Damian’s voice has deepened dramatically, the song already has a different flavor to it than on the first DVD, and it’s magical to hear his tongue dance over those Irish words in such a seemingly effortless manner.

Prior to the final three songs in the first act, it was all new stuff to me from then on. Keith Harkin, who has ditched his feathery hairdo in favor of more closely cropped locks, mesmerized me with his delicate finger-picking and tender vocals on Michael Peter Smith’s The Dutchman, which is threatening to overtake Mountains of Mourne as my favorite of his songs. The only unfortunate part of this performance was that a large speaker stood directly between him and me, with the result that I couldn’t see much below his shoulders for a majority of the song, but that did nothing to reduce my sense of wonder at his masterful performance.

I had heard a rumor that George and Ryan would soon have a duet, and I was thrilled when this came to fruition as they joined forces for Coulter’s Gold and Silver Days - which, curiously enough, is not on the set list, though some of the lyrics to the chorus are featured elsewhere in the program. Each of them had a solo in the first act; George’s gentle vocals breathed serenity in the Skye Boat Song, a traditional lullaby dealing with the legendary 18th-century figure of Bonnie Prince Charlie, and Ryan tore his saucy way through the equally traditional Black Is the Colour, seemingly relishing the sense of power that came with the lights changing color every time he pumped his fist in the air.

These were great moments, but Gold and Silver Days was pure enchantment and is poised to be my favorite track on the new album. The closest George and Ryan have really come to a duet before is the first verse of Christmas 1915; here, their magnificent voices complement one another wonderfully in an ode to simple childhood pleasures that seems especially fitting for both of them. This one goes right along with George’s usual family-centric fare, but it’s a departure for Ryan - and yet I get the sense that the sentiments contained therein may be closer to the real Ryan than just about any song he’s recorded for the group thus far.

My other favorite among the songs I’d never heard before was Home From the Sea, another Coulter song, which is a rousing ballad that pays tribute to those who risk their lives to rescue sailors out on the ocean. It’s an ideal group song because of the lengthy verses that allow each singer to take several lines, so each man gets the spotlight before joining with the others on the harmonious chorus, which was simple enough and repeated enough times that by the end, I was singing along.

Paul waxed romantic with the somewhat familiar traditional Robert Burns tune Red Red Rose, and I got a kick out of seeing him and Damian do a duet, singing Clifton Bingham’s Just a Song at Twilight as they sat on the steps. Though it’s a serious song, they inserted a bit of fun into it by making moony eyes at each other throughout the performance, but Neil played it entirely straight on his only solo of the night, Coulter’s gorgeously aching Noirin Mó Stoirin. The lyrics aren’t available online yet, but as best I recall, it had to do with a man in exile hoping to reunite with his true love. Sad, heartfelt, and a perfect vehicle for Neil’s impressive upper register. This delicate performance demonstrates that he’s got just as much in the way of vocal chops as the main five. He shared the spotlight with Keith on the electrified Whiskey in the Jar, which was easily the most hard-rockin’ part of the first act and which involved both of them playing electric guitars and zooming across the stage so fast that I swear I felt a breeze from Neil’s kilt.

For the most part, though, Neil was stationary and playing the drums, the guitar or some other instrument. He and the other members of the band were highlighted in the rollicking Belfast Polka and later, in act two, in Appalachian Roundup. Keyboardist David Cooke, who also serves as the musical director, is the oldest member of the band, but his energy was infectious, particularly as he led the clapping in Belfast Polka. Declan O’Donoghue really knows his way around a drum set, and Brendan Monaghan furnishes most of the distinctly Irish-sounding instrumentation, which is so prominent in the first half of the show. Nicole Hudson and Katie Holt are swift as the wind with their bows racing across the strings of their violin and cello, and Joanna Byrne completes the Celtic sound with her flutes and delicate harp-plucking.

I just about fell out of my chair when the lads, Neil included, burst onto the stage for the initially a cappella, then hoe-downish version of Bill Staines’ Sunday School classic A Place in the Choir. This is an ideal way to show off each member’s vocal range, since the verses speak specifically of different types of singing voices. Hearing Damian take the “bass,” “the one at the bottom where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus moans and groans with a big to-do,” was a hoot, especially since the rest of the guys feigned shock and mock-fainted. There was more silliness going on in this number than any other, with the guys taking every opportunity to joke around. Their moves included a couple of endearingly goofy line dancing routines and the imitation of several of the animals mentioned in the song. I tried to mouth the words to this classic I know so well, but I was so busy cracking up I couldn’t get too far.

This served as the exuberant finale for the first act, notable for its total immersion in traditional Irish and Scottish sounds. I immediately loved every one of the songs although I hadn’t heard most of them before, and it was a thrill to experience them for the first time on this night, when I was close enough to stage that if I’d stretched out my foot a bit more, I could have kicked it. Celtic Thunder’s last two albums have been pretty short on music that actually sounds Celtic, so I was very happy to see such a balanced presentation at the concert. I adored everything about the first act, from the old-fashioned outfits to the sense of discovery, and the intermission was just long enough to give me time to touch base with my parents and brother and my Meet and Mingle buddies before seating myself for the It’s Entertainment portion.

The vast majority of the songs in the second half come from that album, which came out in February of this year, though a few songs from earlier albums turn up, along with one whose album placement I haven’t figured out, as it hasn’t yet turned up on an album and doesn’t quite fit in with Heritage. Act two begins with the fantastic group song Take Me Home and ends with Ireland’s Call, the Celtic Thunder rallying cry that always gets everybody up and marching. Both were written by Coulter and predate It’s Entertainment; it’s hard to imagine the show without them. The lads seem to love ribbing each other during these big group numbers, whether that involves lifting up George’s kilt to reveal the boxers underneath or becoming so overcome with mirth, as Keith was in the most somber line of Ireland’s Call, that continuing to sing is impossible. The kilts only came out for that grand finale, during which the rather nasty scar that Damian received beneath his knee after taking a tumble from his bike a couple weeks ago was all too visible; the lads spent most of the rest of the second act in snazzy suits.

Despite George’s warnings about possibly performing under standard, he channeled his emotions as he faced another lengthy separation from his wife and daughter into especially heartfelt performances. From where I was sitting, his eyes looked moist during his poignant rendition of Neil Diamond’s Hello Again, and he and the audience bolstered each other’s energy during the exhilarating performance of the Proclaimers’ Life With You, a joyous celebration of a happy marriage. As wonderful as all the lads are at what they do, George has a special gift for connecting with the audience. I swear he aimed a Spockian raise of the eyebrow at me on a couple of occasions, but I imagine that most of the people there felt at some point that he had looked directly at them. He makes a real effort to include everyone, and while he is on the stage, particularly during Life With You, it feels as though he’s enveloping the entire audience in a great big bear hug.

Aside from the opening and closing numbers and the purely instrumental bits, the only repeat from an album prior to It’s Entertainment was I Want to Know What Love Is, the Foreigner ballad Keith sings on the second album. This is probably my least favorite of his songs, whereas I really like Chicago’s Hard to Say I’m Sorry, which is listed in the program and which I would have expected, given that most of the songs from this part of the concert come from It’s Entertainment. Keith does a perfectly good job with it, I’m just a little confused as to why they decided to go with that one instead of the more recent choice. I much preferred his Surfing Medley, which again allowed him the chance to pull out his electric guitar.

Paul was a shameless flirt throughout the second act, pulling out all the seductive stops for the old Dean Martin standard Sway and augmenting his show-stopping performance of Coulter’s Doo Wacka Doo with as much hat-tipping, cane-clicking and shoe-tapping as possible. He looked mighty classy in his top hat and tails, donning an upper crust accent as he sang of his delight in listening to his grandparents’ old records from the 1920s. A loving tribute to a distinct era in American music and a hysterical high point in the concert, this one shows off Paul’s cheeky sense of humor and his fancy footwork while also encouraging intergenerational bonding over music, which is something that has happened quite a bit as a result of Celtic Thunder.

Damian’s performance of Michael Buble’s Home felt sincerely wistful; he was in the United States for his 18th birthday, and after a month here, my guess is that he is getting a little bit homesick. I was especially looking forward to seeing him do Frank Loesser’s Standing on the Corner, which he sings with such relish while dressed in a blazing alabaster outfit worthy of LOST’s Man in White, Jacob. Unlike on the It’s Entertainment DVD, he has no girl to link up with here, but that in a way makes the song even cuter, since Damian still seems genuinely mystified by his own chick magnetism.

Neil, Keith and Ryan joined forces for Hallelujah, and their harmonies were even more ethereal in person. After I listened to the album, I found myself wishing that I had the chance to watch Ryan sing Bryan Adams’ Everything I Do, since that one is not included on the DVD. Accepting Ryan’s invitation to “look into [his] eyes” as he sat scarcely ten feet away and sang one of the most romantic songs I’ve ever heard is an experience I’ll not soon forget, and as I listened to him caress each affectionate word, I couldn’t help thinking that if Ryan ever does decide to get married, this is the kind of husband he will be.

I loved the intimacy of that performance, but the one that completely threw me for a loop was Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, at the beginning of which he materialized seemingly out of nowhere, leaping over the back of the park bench on the right-hand side of the stage and landing neatly on the seat. I was looking forward to Jim Croce’s Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, but this performance was just as theatrical, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard any scuttlebutt about him covering such an explosively popular song. Exultation filled the chorus as he stood with his arms upraised in a gesture of triumphant supplication, eventually to be joined by Neil. So is this a sneak peek at an album so far off in the distance it hasn’t been named yet? Could it be a track on his solo album? Or was this just a concert exclusive? Whatever the case may be, I’m glad I didn’t see it coming. It was one of my favorite moments of the night.

Before the grand finale of Ireland’s Call, the lads all came together again for U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, a thrilling group number done mostly as an ensemble and featuring the full force of the backing band, particularly Nicole and Katie on the strings. When it came to expectations for the concert, it sure seemed like everyone in the audience found what they were looking for that night. I know I did.

Alice Helps Make New Moon Less Dreary On Film Than On Paper

I am not a fan of Romeo and Juliet. I suppose this means that I’m not much of a romantic, though I frankly don’t see what’s so swoonworthy about committing suicide in the wake of a loved one’s death. Especially when you’ve only known that person for a short period of time. In any case, I think the more romantic thing is to find a way of honoring the life of the one who has been lost. The only thing that makes Romeo and Juliet bearable for me is that the desperate actions of these two silly teenagers lead to the end of an equally silly feud between their families.

New Moon, the second installment in the Twilight movie series, makes the allusions to this Shakespeare tragedy apparent by showing Edward (Robert Pattinson) and Bella (Kristen Stewart) watching a movie version in class and discussing it. Within the first ten minutes of the movie, Edward starts in with the morbid talk, confessing how jealous he is of Romeo’s fragility. He comes right out and announces that if Bella ever dies - which she eventually will, as her birthday reminds her, since he steadfastly refuses to transform her into a vampire like him - he will kill himself.

Perhaps I should give him a break, since he’s lived more than a century and some world-weariness is bound to set in. But Edward has half a dozen people who care deeply about him, so it’s just as selfish for him to consider taking his own life as it would be for Bella, especially knowing that virtually the only way it could be done would be to go to the Volturi, the governing body of vampires to reside in Italy, and request that they tear him limb from limb, a pretty gruesome image for the rest of the Cullens to have to live with. But then when one is in love, there is a tendency to do things that don’t make a lot of sense, including tossing away life in the midst of despair.

There’s a lot of despair in New Moon, making it easily the hardest of the books for me to get through. The movie retains plenty of that, but it’s a little more tolerable, since we don’t have to put up with chapter after chapter of Bella’s morose narration.  Most of the voiceovers we do get are in the form of e-mails Bella writes to Edward’s “sister,” Alice, my favorite character in the series.  Although Bella isn’t actually sending them out, the very fact that she is framing these thoughts as writing to a friend - and such a relentlessly cheerful one at that - instead of wallowing in self-pity in complete isolation gives her musings a hopeful edge.

New Moon takes place three or four months after the conclusion of Twilight. Edward and Bella have spent every spare summer moment in each other’s company, often with Alice in tow, and now a new school year - Bella’s senior year - has begun. With it comes Bella’s birthday, which makes her despondent, since it means that she will now be older than Edward. Bella’s dad Charlie (Billy Burke) ribs her about her unsettled response to aging, as does Edward, while Alice is just overjoyed to be able to throw a birthday party for someone.

Bella’s misgivings about this plan stem from her own aversion to growing older, but it’s soon apparent that a birthday party in a house full of vampires is inadvisable for other reasons. A minor mishap leaves Bella bleeding and nearly lunch for Jasper (Jackson Rathbone), who hasn’t quite mastered the ability to control himself around human blood. It’s enough to convince Edward that she is fundamentally unsafe in his company, so he leaves, icily informing her that the family will be moving on, that she isn’t invited to join them and that she will never hear from them again.

The bulk of the movie involves Bella gradually moving away from her soul-deadened state. At first she moves through her days on auto-pilot, and night terrors torture her - and frighten her concerned dad - when the sun goes down. Still, somewhere deep down, she clings to the thought that Edward and Alice, who she misses nearly as much, will return one day. So when Charlie tells her he thinks she should move to Jacksonville to be with her mother and get away from the environment associated with so much sadness, she realizes that she needs to snap out of it if she ever wants to see them again.

On an outing with bubble-headed frenemy Jessica (Anna Kendrick), she discovers that when she is in a dangerous situation, Edward appears to her. Whether it’s just a product of her own imagination matters little, so deep is her craving for just the tiniest hint of Edward. This leads her to motorcycle mechanic Jacob (Taylor Lautner), the family friend who is as warm and jovial as Edward is cold and stiff. Lautner bulked up quite noticeably between the first two movies. There was talk of replacing the actor because he didn’t seem grown-up enough, but Lautner proves his mettle here in a performance that allows him to be both vulnerable and masculine while balancing his love for Bella with his strange new brotherhood with other members of the Quileute tribe. Like LOST’s Sawyer, he has a habit of taking his shirt off at every opportunity, and he’s got the muscles and the tan to pull it off. When Edward’s shirt comes off after we finally see him again toward the end of the movie, it’s not such a pretty sight.

This movie switches directors to Chris Weitz, which changes the tone a bit. In some cases, that’s good. For instance, the green-tinted scenery problem of Twilight is not present here; the cinematography looks much more natural, except during the action sequences, and then the special effects look pretty cheesy. Sadly, the sound mixing is, if anything, even worse in this second movie; not only does the music drown out the dialogue, but so do rainstorms and other ambient sounds. I wish I’d had the subtitles on because I know I missed a few things.

Speaking of which, my parents, whose knowledge of the books is limited to what little I’ve told them, frequently found the movie confusing, and I had to explain plot points to them. This suggests to me that the screenplay did not do a very good job of laying things out for those who don’t have book knowledge to help them connect the dots. And as in the book, the misunderstanding that precipitates Edward’s decision to seek out the Volturi is a pretty flimsy thing to hang the climax on. Additionally, while the violence is still pretty limited, there is a bit more of it than in the first movie.

On the plus side, we get a lot more of Alice in this movie, even if Ashley Greene still is only on the screen for maybe a quarter of the movie. This funky, effervescent counterpoint to all of Bella and Edward’s brooding just makes me smile every time she appears, even when she makes a couple of less than gracious remarks about Jacob, whose tribe has long been at odds with vampires. Just the device of Bella’s imaginary correspondence brings Alice’s character into greater prominence, which I appreciated.

I continued to enjoy Burke’s performance as the gruff but doting Charlie and, despite the brevity of his scenes, quickly grew fond of The Red Green Show’s Graham Greene’s chummy Harry Clearwater, one of Charlie’s closest friends. I also liked the introduction of Michael Sheen as the intriguing Aro, the member of the Volturi who does the most talking in the electrifying scene in which Edward, Bella and Alice have a private audience with them. He’s charming and has a giddy quality about him that almost reminds me of Arthur Weasley, Ron’s Muggle-loving dad in the Harry Potter series, but there’s also something deeply dangerous about him, as we see most plainly in an almost blink-and-you-miss-it scene that marks the conclusion of Bella’s whirlwind trip to Italy.

In retrospect, I tend to think of the first two books in this series largely as set-up for the last two, which I find much more compelling and less self-involved from Bella’s perspective. I don’t find Bella quite as insufferable in the movie version of New Moon, largely because there’s just not nearly as much time for her to moan about the heart-shaped hole in her chest. The movie only squeezes in two or three references in comparison to the book’s dozens of mentions. By the same token, while she still turns into a bit of an adrenaline junkie in the movie, she only does three really dangerous things before Alice shows up at her door to find out whether the suicide she thought she saw in one of her visions was actually true. So she’s easier to put up with here, though I still find her annoying.

Ultimately, I think I would mostly agree with my dad, who said he didn’t like the second movie as much as the first, but I did like it better than the book, and I think it sets us up nicely for the more interesting story to come in the third. I’m ready when you are, Netflix...

GLEE - Duets

The members of the Glee Club pair up to sing together in Duets.

No Ordinary Family - No Ordinary Marriage

The members of the Powell family try to figure out their powers and when to use them in No Ordinary Marriage.

Celtic Thunder Christmas Isn't All That Celtic, But It's Still a Great Album

I first listened to Celtic Thunder in December of 2008. While I found their music enjoyable, I couldn’t get too excited about them just then because from Thanksgiving on, I don’t want to listen to anything but Christmas music. Anything else, no matter how heartily I might embrace it at any other time of the year, just doesn’t quite cut it for me. So while they reeled my dad in hook, line and sinker, it took me a few months to become the raging green Thunderhead I am today. I suspect the process would have been a bit quicker if this album had been out then.

I’m actually a little surprised it took this long. After all, Christmas programs and PBS go together like milk and cookies, and Celtic Thunder, like its all-female predecessor Celtic Woman, has won most of its fans through the specials on PBS. Almost all of my favorite artists have released at least one Christmas album at some time or another, and Celtic Thunder seems tailor-made for this kind of thing. I was particularly looking forward to this album because Christmas 1915, the Christmas song the group recorded for the album Act II, is one of the most stunningly gorgeous songs I’ve ever heard. I set the bar of expectation pretty high.

Does Celtic Thunder deliver with this album? Well, mostly. I confess myself quite disappointed not to hear a group rendition of O Holy Night; I always list that as my default favorite Christmas song, but I’ve yet to find what I would consider the “definitive” recording. There’s such magic in the harmony between these lads - Scotsman George Donaldson and Irishmen Ryan Kelly, Paul Byrom, Neil Byrne, Keith Harkin and Damian McGinty - that I felt sure their rendition would be a serious contender. Don’t expect to hear much traditional Irish music, either; the predominant tone is American-style pop, though there is a breathtaking rendition of Silent Night that’s partly in Gaelic. Additionally, while Phil Coulter talks in the liner notes of having a good mix of the secular and sacred, the secular definitely wins out, with only three tracks on this version having any religious content and four not mentioning Christmas at all.

Yes, this version. That’s what really has me bugged about this album. At first, the track listing on Amazon included Christmas Morning, Donegal, a magnificent Phil Coulter original sung by Paul Byrom, but then it vanished, and that became a QVC exclusive. I bought the album last month - even though it was twice as expensive, since it came bundled with an album that I already had - because I really wanted that track, which was listed as a bonus, along with the previously released Christmas 1915. Plus it was fun not to have to wait an extra month.

I guess I wasn’t paying attention, though, because I was under the impression that that version included everything from the regular album plus two tracks. When it arrived, however, I realized that I was missing two - actually three, but I had the one on another album so I didn‘t really care. When the regular album came out yesterday, I bought the other two mp3 tracks, and with my promotional dollars there, that set me back a whopping 98 cents. So I didn’t end up having to buy the album twice to get all the tracks (although I'm sure I eventually will), but not everybody does mp3s, and anyway, Christmas Morning, Donegal is not available as an mp3; the only way to get that one is to buy the two-CD set from QVC (though you can listen to a live version from the QVC broadcast on YouTube). ‘Tis the season to be sharing, so I’m sure all these ardent fans can find someone else who might appreciate the album they already bought two or three years ago, but it’s still a little irksome. Also, if you play the QVC CD on your computer, prepare for confusion because the track list on the computer is completely different from the actual order of songs, with only one song actually matching up with its title.

Rant over. Moving on. Aside from my frustration with the "bonus tracks" business and mild disappointment regarding some of the song choices, I still think Celtic Thunder Christmas is a great album, and if you do manage to do get all of the available tracks, each member has two solo songs, and three tracks are ensemble efforts. That’s 15 Celtic Thunder songs to fill the house with cheer this Christmas and for many years to come.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - It’s nice that Neil, the newest member of the group, gets to start this album off. Of the six singers, he has the most purely poppish voice; whenever I hear one of his solos I flash back to my high school days and the Backstreet Boys or ‘NSync. His smooth delivery and the cheerful piano, violins and jazzy percussion get things off to a festive start on this Christmas classic. It’s a pretty straightforward and standard version, but very enjoyable. "A pair of hop-along boots and a pistol that shoots is the wish of Barney and Ben. Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk is the hope of Janice and Jen. And Mom and Dad can hardly wait for school to start again!"

Winter Wonderland - On to another seasonal favorite, one that revels in the beauty of the snow rather than the trappings of the holiday. Damian gets this one, whose accompaniment is pretty similar to the first track. Damian is quite the teen heartthrob, and while this song isn’t that overtly romantic, his delivery suggests a puppy love kind of reading. His surprisingly deep voice is on full display in this sprightly track. "We’ll frolic and play the Eskimo way, walkin’ in a winter wonderland."

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Drums, finger snaps and piano give this smokin’ little number a jazzy flavor. Ryan has a seductive tone to his voice that seems aimed at making hearts flutter; all of the songs he, Damian and Keith sing solo have a romantic flavor to them. His whispery repetition of "Let it snow" at the end of the song is particularly memorable. "It doesn’t show signs of stoppin', and I bought me some corn for poppin’. The lights are turned way down low. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow."

Last Christmas - I admit I groaned when I heard that this song would be on the album. There are very few Christmas songs I find more annoying. I suppose I’m supposed to feel sorry for the speaker, but I just find him whiny and full of contradictions. "If you kiss me now, you’ll fool me again." "This year, to save me from tears, I’ll give it to someone special." Are you over her or not? Make up your mind already. And I’m not big on such a bitter attitude pervading a Christmas song. I’m okay with melancholy, but this guy’s just caustic and pathetic. That said, Keith’s version annoys me less than most, partly because he engages in his usual vocal acrobatics, making me occasionally forget which song I’m listening to. Definitely one of the album’s poppiest tracks, it‘s one of three not on the QVC album.

Silent Night - Finally we arrive at our first ensemble song, and it’s a doozy. Probably my favorite new song on this album, it’s features understated piano backing and subtle percussion along with a choral counterpoint of part of the group singing "Hallelujah, hallelu..." As always, it’s fun to try to pick out who’s singing what. It’s easy during the second verse, which is sung entirely English and doesn’t include the choral backing; first it’s Neil, then George, then Paul. But it’s harder to determine during the more harmonic first verse, which is entirely in Gaelic and often features more than one singer at once.

Damian starts things off, and I’m pretty sure Ryan is next, and theirs are the main voices I hear for the remainder of the verse. Meanwhile, in the final verse, sung in English, everyone sings together, though certain voices are more prominent at particular times, particularly Paul’s during "son of God, love’s pure light". The addition of guitar also serves to give this final portion a fuller sound. Most of my favorite artists, from John Denver to Simon and Garfunkel, have covered this song, and this version stands among my favorite renditions. A truly beautiful track.

Going Home for Christmas - This first song on the album written by Phil Coulter includes a march-like drum beat and violins that sound like swirling winter winds, and the title is reminiscent of one of Scotland’s most famous folksongs. George is the only family man in the group and the one upon whom the months away from home seem to take the greatest toll. That’s not to say that he is any less gracious to fans or enthusiastic in performances than the rest, but it’s plain from his updates on Twitter that his wife and daughter are always on his heart and mind. This song, then, is tailor-made for him, as he basks in the wonder of some of the glorious sights that greet him on tour but thinks longingly of a return to those he loves so deeply. Definitely one of my favorite tracks - and one of three that is not included in the QVC edition. "Though my home is plain and simple, it’s the place where I was born, and Bleecker Street just can’t compete. It’s Christmas, and I’m going home."

When You Wish Upon a Star - Neil does a lovely job with this keyboard-backed Pinocchio lullaby that is synonymous with Disney. It’s not on the QVC album either, and I heard conflicting reports as to whether it would be on this one. The thing of it is that it’s a rehash, just lifted from It’s Entertainment. Hence, it feels like a bit of an afterthought, a response to people complaining that Neil was the only member of the group who didn’t have two solo tracks between the two albums. While the song fits in well enough with the album, it certainly isn’t one that I have traditionally associated with Christmas, and I can’t help feeling that Neil kinda got the short end of the stick here by only getting one new song. "Fate is kind. She brings to those who love the sweet fulfillment of your secret longing."

Our First Christmas Together - Damian sounds like he’s having a blast on this peppy number that allows him to go into full-on Rat Pack mode, a style that suits him especially well. Another Coulter original, it features chipper piano backing and rhythmic jingle bells, along with occasional contributions from back-up vocalists. The tone is cheerful and a bit flirty, especially the way he sort of hisses the word "just" in the phrase "just you and me". As a nod to the omnipresent jingle bells, we hear a brief instrumental quote of the song just before the track concludes. "With those jingle bells ringin’ as I’m holding you near, I’ll be making a toast, ‘May tonight be the most unforgettable night of the year!’"

Christmas 1915 - This song left me open-mouthed when I first heard it. The group harmonies are magnificent in this devastating song about the Christmas Truce of 1915. For the most part, individual singers switch off on the verses, while the choruses feature them in harmony. The simple guitar backing emphasizes the sparse nature of the celebration as German and English soldiers exchange pleasantries and appreciate the beauty of Silent Night together, then resume their hostilities the next day. First inspirational, then tragic, but ending on a note of hope, it’s probably still my favorite of their Christmas songs, so I’m glad they chose to include it, though I feel a little sorry for Neil being shut out of this one. I had thought they might re-record it with him included, but the original sounds so perfect as it is, so I can understand why they didn’t. (At the time the QVC album came out, this was listed as a "bonus" for that version; I wonder when the decision was made to add it to this edition?) "1915 on Christmas Day. On the Western Front the guns all died away, and lying in the mud and bags of sand, we heard a German sing from No Man’s Land..."

Baby, It’s Cold Outside - I get that Ryan makes girls go all weak in the knees. He has that effect on me as well. But was it really necessary for both of his tracks on the album to be sultry numbers that have nothing to do with Christmas? As good as Ryan is at slipping into the role of roguish romancer, I prefer his more profound songs, like Desperado and Brothers in Arms, and I can only imagine the depth of sincerity in his voice were he to cover a time-honored carol. I wish his song selection had been a little more balanced, but then as I said, Keith and Damian are pretty much in the same boat.

The only difference is that Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow and Baby, It’s Cold Outside are practically the same song, except in the first one the gal doesn’t need any convincing to extend their time together. They’re all about spending a cozy night snuggling indoors while a blizzard rages outside. This one is a duet with Charley Bird, who has a song to herself on It’s Entertainment; I presume that the album lists her in the credits somewhere, but the QVC version doesn’t, and if I were her, I’d be feeling a little bit dissed. More jazzy piano and percussion, with violins adding a touch of smoothness, and Ryan’s voice sounds smokier than usual as he and Charley switch off. They sound great together, and there’s a definite flirtatious chemistry there that works well. It’s a solid track, and I love the way it allows Ryan to showcase his theatricality; I just really would’ve loved to hear him do something a little more on the reflective side. "There’s bound to be talk tomorrow - // Think of my lifelong sorrow - // At least there will be plenty implied. // If you caught pneumonia and died..."

All I Want for Christmas Is You - Keith takes on powerhouse Mariah Carey with this jingle bell-filled song that, like Keith’s other track, is pure pop. It makes sense that he would do a Carey number, since he so often seems to emulate her vocally acrobatic style. While there’s a mild sense of uncertainty about whether the speaker’s Christmas wish will be granted, his pleading comes across as sweetness rather than the neediness of Last Christmas, especially since the main impression I get is that he pretty much already has her. Keith doesn’t try to out-sing the original here, but he puts his own stamp on the song, and it’s a fun one to listen to. "And I won’t make a list and send it to the North Pole for St. Nick. I won’t even stay awake to hear those magic reindeers click."

Ave Maria - Naturally, Paul is given something majestic and operatic. Aside from the ensemble songs, Paul carries the entire religious weight of the album with this piano-backed Latin tribute to Christ’s mother Mary. I’m not too up my Latin, but four years of Catholic high school means I have a pretty good handle on the "Hail Mary," so I‘ve got the gist of this, and it truly is a transcendent performance. Solemn and perfectly controlled, it’s another favorite. "Ave Maria, gratia plena..."

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day - This is the only non-Coulter song on the album that I hadn’t heard before. I love the spirit George brings to this exuberant ditty. Some of the lyrics are a bit silly, and the key seems a little high for him, but I still get a kick out of this song exulting in fun-filled Christmas festivities, and I love the bells that chime in once in a while to augment the piano and backing chorus. "When we're skating in the park, if the snow cloud makes it dark, then your rosy cheek's gonna light my merry way..."

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year / We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Neil gets the first verse of this lively medley to himself, which is a nice way to bring the new guy into the forefront at the end of the album. The group performs the second verse, and the bridge alternates between individuals and the ensemble, which also does the third verse, with the exception of a single line that Paul sings. We Wish You a Merry Christmas is mostly a group effort, with Damian and George going solo on "Good tidings we bring to you and your king." Pretty sure it’s supposed to be "kin," but I’ll let it slide... Anyway, they do a great job with it. The guys performed this song several times on QVC, and it seems to be their signature song for the album. It feels as though they are directly inviting their fans to enjoy the season and wishing them happiness as the year concludes. Very upbeat and plenty of opportunity for harmonizing, and its message makes it a perfect album closer. "There’ll be much mistletoe-ing, and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near. It’s the most wonderful time of the year!"

Christmas Morning, Donegal - This is the one track you’re missing out on if you only buy the regular edition of the album. The maddening thing is, it’s arguably the best new song of the bunch. Another Coulter original, this Paul solo has a mysterious edge to it, starting quietly in a minor tone with the piano delicately falling like snowflakes alongside gentle chimes and understated violin. An unnamed, celestial-sounding boys’ choir soon chimes in with a snippet of Adeste Fideles, and during the second verse, an Irish whistle adds a much-appreciated Celtic touch to this song about recalling a magical childhood memory. As the song ends, bells ring out boisterously and the power of Paul’s voice is on full display as he pole-vaults his way through those last high notes. An exquisite recording. "I heard the Christmas story there, felt the power and the glory there, that Christmas morning in Donegal."

This song is so outstanding that it really seems a shame not to order the QVC edition, even though it’s twice as expensive, especially once you factor in shipping, whereas I always time my Amazon purchases so that I can get two things at once and avoid shipping charges. Yes, you’re getting twice the music, and if you’re a new fan, then I’d definitely say go for it. If you’re an established fan, I really doubt you’ll want to miss out on this song, so I still recommend buying it, but you may grumble a bit about having to get it as a package deal, and be aware, as I was not, that three tracks are missing.

Right now, the regular edition of Celtic Thunder Christmas is selling for about $12 in most places, which isn’t bad for 14 tracks. It’s a little frustrating that the sound of the album is so overwhelmingly poppish, with Silent Night and maybe Going Home for Christmas the only tracks with a Celtic flavor, and this is the only Celtic Thunder album thus far not to include a purely instrumental track. I call foul on the misleading marketing for the QVC edition, and I think it’s really crummy that Paul’s second solo was yanked from the regular album to be an "exclusive," though I’m intrigued by the murmurs I’m hearing that it’s a QVC exclusive "for at least a year". That suggests to me that there will be a second Christmas album and that Christmas Morning, Donegal will be on it. If that is indeed the case, you might want to just get the regular version and hold off until then. I’m hoping that if there is a second Christmas album, it will have more songs like that and fewer like Last Christmas, but until then, Celtic Thunder Christmas is an album that will be getting a lot of play around my house.

The Simpsons - MoneyBART

Lisa becomes the manager of Bart's baseball team in the Simpsons episode MoneyBART.

Heather Vogel Frederick Pays Tribute to Anne of Green Gables in Much Ado About Anne

One of my favorite literary heroines is Anne Shirley of L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. I love that book, so when I saw that it was the subject of the second installment of The Mother-Daughter Book Club series by Heather Vogel Frederick, that was what really convinced me to pick up the series. I loved the thought of reading a book steeped in references to irrepressible Anne, dreamy Gilbert and picturesque Avonlea, and once I finished the first book in the series, I knew that I would enjoy Vogel’s story and characters just as much as the classic to which she was paying tribute.

Much Ado About Anne finds Emma Hawthorne, Jess Delaney, Cassidy Sloane and Megan Wong about to embark upon their second year with the book club that their mothers instituted. These four live in Concord, Massachusetts, an ideal setting for a series about the way literature can help to shape a life. Frederick makes note of all the famous authors who once lived in this tranquil New England town. In the first book, Louisa May Alcott got the most attention; this time around, she devotes a chapter to a field trip to Walden Pond, which involves plenty of discussion about Henry David Thoreau, whose passion for the environment fits in very well with the book’s most pressing storyline.

Quiet, intellectual Jess, an animal lover whose mother only recently returned from a stint as the star of a soap opera filmed in New York, lives on historic Half Moon Farm. Even stylish Megan, who is no big fan of tromping around outdoors, agrees that there is something magical about this place. So everyone is horrified to learn that, due to a change in tax law, the Delaneys stand in very real danger of losing their farm. Even worse, a developer has already expressed interest in paving over the plot of land and building condominiums. Jess feels the same sense of deep attachment to Half Moon Farm that Anne does to Green Gables, the beautiful home where she comes to live with the stern Marilla and her gentle brother Matthew after they agree to take her in, despite having requested that the orphanage send them a boy to help with the farm work.

As with the first book in the series, Much Ado About Anne is written in the present tense and divided into four sections - one for each season. Once again, each section contains four chapters, each narrated by a different member of the book club. Underneath the name of the narrator for the chapter is a quote from either Anne of Green Gables or Anne of Avonlea; the girls read both books over the course of the year, up from just one in the first year - though admittedly, Little Women is an especially long book. Anne’s love of language, her propensity for getting into mischief, her knack for finding kindred spirits and her complex relationship with the dashing Gilbert Blythe all resonate with at least one of the girls, but it’s Montgomery’s profound sense of place that really sets the tone of this second installment. Most people who have read and cherished Anne of Green Gables would be disturbed at the thought of that gorgeous estate falling into the hands of developers, so the comparison makes Jess’s predicament seem all the more poignant.

While Jess frets over the potential loss of her farm, her best friend Emma joins the school newspaper, an ideal step for an aspiring writer. Unfortunately, this brings her into even closer contact than usual with Becca Chadwick, the Queen Bee of the mean girls at Walden Middle School. Becca and her overbearing mother have already invaded the book club, making it feel like less of a safe haven and more of a war zone. In the midst of all this Chadwick saturation, Becca’s older brother Stewart, a klutzy bookworm, becomes much more prominent, and as she begins getting to know him, Emma is startled to find herself wondering if her raging crush on handsome jock Zach Norton might be fading.

Cassidy doesn’t want anything to do with all this boy-crazy nonsense. She’s the only one of the book club girls who doesn’t have the hots for someone, and she doesn’t intend for that to change anytime soon. In fact, she’s downright hostile to the idea, which may be partly because her mother, former supermodel and current host of a cooking show shot in her home, has begun dating again. To Cassidy, a daddy’s girl through and through, this feels like a deep betrayal of her father, who died in a car accident two years earlier. Everything that we see of Stanley Kincaid suggests that mild-mannered accountant is a kind, generous man who wants to reach out to Cassidy, but she is too hurt to be open to that possibility.

The depth of her resentment becomes plain in the chapter in which Stanley takes her to a Bruins game for her birthday. I have a young friend who, like Cassidy, is a middle-schooler who plays on a local hockey team and adores the Bruins. Recently, she got to attend a game with her family, so reading this chapter, I felt as though I was able to experience her excitement. Cassidy can’t help being caught up in the thrill of the game, but that doesn’t stop her from seething when someone makes the mistake of asking if Stanley is her dad. The quote for this chapter is the only reference to the saddest event in Anne of Green Gables, and it’s presented in such a way that someone who hasn’t read the book might not be able to guess the context. It surprised me that Much Ado About Anne never mentions this moment directly, since there are several references to the death of a main character in Little Women in the first book. I wonder if someone complained about spoilers and Frederick decided to avoid that this time around?

Megan, who was so antagonistic to Emma, Jess and Cassidy at the beginning of the series, has been fully integrated into the group, but although she now is disgusted with Becca’s mean behavior, she doesn’t want to totally abandon her friendship with Becca and her cronies Ashley and Jen. After all, they have a lot of things in common with her that the other three don’t, most notably a passion for fashion. But Becca has been so cruel for so long that Jess, Cassidy and especially Emma have adopted an Us and Them attitude about her and her friends, leaving Megan is a tough spot. If she continues to hang around with them, Emma and her friends will feel betrayed. While this is largely Jess’s story, I find Megan the most interesting character to watch, since she is the only one with one foot in both camps. She is in a position to do what I had hoped the heroic Jack would do after spending a week with the Others in season three of LOST: use her knowledge of both groups of figure out a path to diplomacy. For much of the first book, Megan comes across as a pretty frivolous character, but in this book, she shows real maturity.

It may help that as a result of a serendipitous encounter with a pair of fashion designers during a trip to New York at the end of the previous book, she has now been given a rare chance to follow her passion all the way to the pages of a premiere fashion magazine. She spends all year working on designs for the feature they intend to do on her in their new teen magazine, and even her mother, an ardent environmentalist who wishes Megan’s goals involved the betterment of Earth and humanity, asserts that she is very proud of her.

Frederick has created several wonderful characters who struggle together to overcome the trials of middle school. Their mothers are just as richly drawn, and it’s especially great to get to know Jess’s mother, who’s just as warm and encouraging as the rest, since I spent much of the first book suspecting that she would never return to Concord on a permanent basis. These girls feel very realistic, and they certainly don’t always make the most noble decisions. I was particularly disappointed in the girls - sans Megan - for concocting a prank to humiliate Becca on live television. Did she deserve it? Probably. But shame on them for stooping to her level. As in the first book, however, the girls learn from their mistakes, and this incident has deep repercussions driving several key events in the book.

I’ve started in on the third volume, in which the focus is on a book I’ve never heard of, but that doesn’t matter to me. I’m glad that allusions to Anne led me to this series, but Frederick has more than demonstrated that these are books that can stand on their own merits.

The Office - Andy's Play

Andy stars in a community theater production of Sweeney Todd; much laughter ensues.

The Event - To Keep Us Safe and Protect Them From the Truth

The Event keeps getting weirder, but I wish it would get a little more light-hearted once in a while too.

Stephenie Meyer's Story Gets Some Well-Deserved Editing in Twilight

A couple of weeks ago, my friend and I went to see Vampires Suck, a movie that spoofs the first two installments of the Twilight film series. This reminded me that I’d never actually seen the movies myself, though I read the books last year. I decided that it was time to remedy this situation, and not only did I put Twilight at the top of my queue, I told my parents that they had to watch it with me whether they liked it or not. They veered toward “not,” especially my dad, who is disturbed by the way vampires have become such a prominent part of pop culture of late. But when the movie was over, he told me, “Well, that was nothing like what I expected.” And he meant it in a good way.

Twilight, which is directed by Catherine Hardwicke with a screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, is based on the first installment of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling young adult series about a plain Jane named Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), who moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where she lives with her flighty mother, to rainy Forks, Washington, where her father, Charlie (Billy Burke), is a police chief. They haven’t seen much of each other lately, making the transition especially awkward, though Charlie is a kind man who wants his daughter to be safe and happy, and this comes across well in the movie. Though her insistence on calling him “Charlie” feels a tad disrespectful, Bella and her father have a pretty good rapport, and one of her more admirable traits is her concern about his well-being when she finds herself endangered toward the end of the movie.

Bella is a bit of a morose oddball who immediately reminded my mom of Lydia Deetz, the goth girl at the heart of the movie Beetlejuice and its subsequent animated spin-off series. I hadn’t made that connection before, but it’s pretty apt. One might also draw parallels with Beauty and the Beast, as Bella is an oddball with a self-sacrificial streak who’s close to her father and who falls in love with a man who is, in some sense, a monster. Additionally, her name means “beautiful swan,” calling to mind Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling; Bella is rather awkward and clumsy, but she dreams of one day attaining the otherworldly grace of the Cullens, the strange family of whom she is so enamored.

The trouble is that the Cullens are vampires. She can tell from the start that there’s something different about Edward (Robert Pattinson), who is standoffish to the point of being rude when they first meet in science class. He then vanishes for several days, but when he returns, he is much more polite, and they begin to forge a tenuous friendship that is complicated when he rescues her from a classmate’s out-of-control car. Bella can’t forget the superhuman strength she witnessed, and when he comes to her rescue again, she begins to investigate his idiosyncrasies in earnest, with some help from longtime family friend Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).

It isn’t long before Edward confirms her suspicions, confessing himself irresistibly drawn to the scent of her blood. Though he has tried to keep his distance from her for her own safety, Edward is just as smitten as Bella, and soon he agrees to attempt a romantic relationship, which leads to her meeting his adoptive family, all of whom have long sworn off human blood, instead satiating their thirst by hunting animals. Most of them welcome her warmly, but when they meet with a trio of vampires who are passing through the area, leaving a grisly trail in their wake, Bella gets a grim reminder of the fact that most vampires have not gone to such pains to make themselves civilized. Though Edward has sworn to protect her, will he be able to shield her from the vicious tracker who sets his sights upon her?

Perhaps the first adjective that comes to my mind in association with the Twilight series is “melodramatic”. Bella narrates the books, and we really get the sense that we are peeking into the diary of a teenage girl. Meyer isn’t a particularly stellar writer, and she gives us pages upon pages of Bella talking about Edward’s absolute perfection in the most eye-rolling of terms. Thankfully, though Bella does have a truncated narrative presence in the movie, almost all of this extraneous description is cut out, with the result that Bella becomes much more tolerable. The movie distills everything down to two hours, and for me, this is an improvement because, frankly, not all that much happens in Twilight. What does happen is interesting, but you have to read through a lot of rambling to find those nuggets of really compelling story. Some will argue that the movie leaves too much out or that it makes unnecessary changes; these are certainly complaints that I have had about the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies. But as a mere casual fan of this series whose chief complaint was irritation with Bella’s narrative style, I was very happy with how the movie zipped along.

Stewart does a good job of appearing sulky and insecure, while also highlighting some of her better qualities, including love for her parents and intellect. I’m glad that the movie gives us a little time with her schoolmates, who may seem a little bland in comparison to the mysterious Cullens but who allow her to at least enjoy a taste of normal high school life in Forks. Jessica (Anna Kendrick) is a bit of a pill, a rather phony girl who mostly seems drawn to Bella because she’s the new girl, which makes her inherently fascinating. More sincere in her friendship is the quiet Angela (Christian Serratos), whom Bella encourages when her timidity threatens to rob her of a treasured experience. Also part of Bella’s gang of school chums are friendly Eric (Justin Chon), who first welcomes her to school, and Mike, played by Michael Welch of Joan of Arcadia, who channels the same geek chic he brought to that show as a young man vying for Bella’s affections.

But mostly, it’s all about Edward for Bella. Pattinson, best known prior to this as golden boy Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, is uptight but chivalrous. He spends much of the movie with a pained expression on his face, but when he smiles, there is genuine sweetness there. When it comes down to it, he and Cedric are pretty similar: drop-dead gorgeous, athletic, intelligent and, most importantly, extremely ethical. Because he is so much stronger than Bella and because, despite having faithfully kept to his diet for decades, there’s still a part of him that thirsts for human blood, there are very practical reasons for the physical boundaries he places upon his relationship with her, but Edward is such an old-fashioned gentleman, I get the sense that even if he were wholly human, he wouldn’t be clamoring to get to second base with Bella. “It’s a movie about self-control,” was my dad’s comment when we had finished watching, and this is something that’s pretty refreshing to see in a teen movie in such a permissive age.

Lautner, who has turned into such a teen heartthrob in the past couple of years, doesn’t have a very large role in this movie, but he does a good job of capturing the boyish enthusiasm of this teen whose friendship with Bella dates back to their toddler years. I also enjoyed Gil Birmingham as his wheelchair-bound father Billy, one of Charlie’s closest friends. We don’t get to see too much of the Cullens either, except for patriarch Carlisle (Peter Facinelli), a deeply compassionate physician. I wouldn’t have minded more time with this clan, especially the effusive Alice (Ashley Greene), my favorite character in the series, but we see enough of them to get a good sense of their personalities. Well, not so much “brothers” Emmet and Jasper, but they’re not particularly well-established in the first book either.

Of the villainous trio who confront the Cullens during a game of baseball, I find the suave Laurent (Edi Gathegi), who speaks with a distinct accent and is the gentlest of the three, to be the most fascinating. James (Cam Gigandet) is sadistic, as is his main squeeze Victoria (Rachelle Lafevre), who vanishes for a while but turns up in the last scene of the movie in a moment that screams “sequel”.

While these three are responsible for some devastating carnage, the movie depicts it in the least gruesome manner possible, usually cutting away before we really see anything. There is one pretty intense scene toward the end, but the bulk of it is reminiscent of the battle between Gandalf and Saruman in Fellowship of the Ring, with two supernatural beings lobbing each other across the room and not really inflicting much severe damage. I appreciated the effort to tone down the violence. Moreover, there’s practically no profanity in the movie, and Bella and Edward’s romance is still all about restraint at this point, as it is for most of the series, so we don’t see anything more intense than a couple of kisses in terms of sensuality. For a PG-13 movie, Twilight is pretty tame.

If I have one major complaint about the movie, it’s the music, which is generally loud and raucous and often threatens to drown out dialogue. I found it incredibly intrusive. I was also distracted by the fact that most of the movie is bathed in a green haze, making it seem as though I was watching through tinted sunglasses. There were other elements of the cinematography I found annoying as well, though I did like the spectacular views of the meadow and of the valley that stretches out far below Edward and Bella when he takes her to a spot that serves as an incredible vantage point.

The special effects are, on the whole, pretty cheesy. When my brother was dragged to see the movie in theaters, he particularly complained about Edward’s sparkly skin. I’m sure it made more of an impression on the big screen, but it really only turns up in one scene, and from where I was sitting, I barely noticed it. More noticeable to me were the pasty complexions of Edward and his fellow vampires. Yes, they’re supposed to be pale, but this almost looked like somebody had just come along and slathered their faces with cream cheese. Not terribly impressive.

But for the most part, I must say that I preferred the movie to the book. It probably helps that this time around, I know exactly where the story is going, and I liked the last two installments in the series much better than the first two. I think that ending gave me a better appreciation of the beginning, as did reading Spotlight, John Granger’s book exploring the literary alchemy and symbolism he believes underpin the books. Mostly, though, I think the movie version of Twilight takes a good but overwrought story and gives it some much-needed editing.