At the height of their success, in the early ’60s, The Clancy brothers and Tommy Makem were being watched by 50 million TV viewers in the US, were outselling the Beatles, playing for JFK and had, in Liam Clancy, ‘the best ballad singer I’d ever met’ - according to Bob Dylan. Alan Gilsenan’s The Yellow Bittern is a well-structured documentary that captures the essence of Clancy describing, as he says himself in his own biography, ‘the countless nights on countless stages through forty years of acting, singing, and general foolishness.’
Much of the material here is Liam retracing that 2002 biography, Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour. Nevertheless, it is a great chance to hear Clancy himself telling these stories breaking out into poetry and song along the way. The memories are further brought to life through the use of some excellent archive footage; taking in along the way all the pain and pleasures of his public and personal life and the fascinating journey it took.
The DVD comes with an extras disk that includes interviews, Liam at home with friends and additional performances.
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