Ride On (Christy Moore album)

Ride On
Studio album by Christy Moore
Released	1984
Recorded	March, 1984
Genre	Folk
Length	40:49
Label	WEA Ireland (Ireland) Roadrunner (United States)
Producer	Dónal Lunny
Christy Moore chronology
The Time Has Come (1983) Ride On (1984) Ordinary Man (1985)

Ride On is an album by Irish folk singer Christy Moore, released in 1984, and is widely regarded as one of his best. It contains one of his most popular songs, the title track. A number of songs – powerful and evocative – celebrate and remember the actions of those involved in political struggles, or the effects of those struggles; such as "Vive la Quinte Brigada" which is concerned with the Irish contingent amongst the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War; or "El Salvador" dealing with the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s and 1990s. Other songs deal with Irish history – "The City of Chicago", about emigration to America during the Irish famines of the late 1870s; "Back Home in Derry" written by Bobby Sands about the transportation to Australia of convicts; and "Lisdoonvarna" celebrating a music festival that took place annually in that town until the early 1980s. Lisdoonvarna is also well known for its match-making festival, very popular in the 1950s and 1960s to match young rural couples.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Since Ride On is a widely accepted album it has been re-issued ever since its release in 1984. It has been regarded as not only one of the best possible introductions to Moore but also to a vein of writing. The title track was written by one of Ireland's most famous songwriters Cork man Jimmy MacCarthy and many people have often given their own interpretation of the title song, which is thought to be the sign of its power.^[2]

Track listing

1. "The City of Chicago" (Barry Moore)
2. "Ride On" (Jimmy MacCarthy)
3. "Viva la Quinta Brigada" (Christy Moore)
4. "Songs of Wandering Aongus" (William Butler Yeats)
5. "McIlhatton" (Bobby Sands)
6. "Lisdoonvarna" (Christy Moore)
7. "Among The Wicklow Hills" (Pierce Turner)
8. "Sonny's Dream" (Ron Hynes)
9. "The Dying Soldier" (Ger Costelloe)
10. "El Salvador" (Johnny Duhan)
11. "Back Home In Derry" (Bobby Sands, Gordon Lightfoot)
12. "The Least We Can Do" (Gerry Murray)

Personnel

• Christy Moore – guitar, bodhran, vocals
• Declan Sinnott – acoustic & Spanish guitar, violin, vocals
• Dónal Lunny – bouzouki, bodhran, vocals

Cover versions

Due to the success of the version Moore recorded on this album "Ride On" has been covered by many other artists in the following years.

• This song also became a hit for Irish Jazz singer Mary Coughlan in 1987 on her album Under the Influence.^[3]
• In 1991 "Ride On" was released by its writer Jimmy MacCarthy on his debut solo album The Song of the Singing Horseman.^[4]
• More recently newer Irish band Celtic Thunder have recorded "Ride On".^[5]
• Australian band Molly Rusher has also covered this song.
• Canadian/Taiwanese recording artist Kandy Chen also covered this song in 1992.^[6]
• Irish Celtic Metal band Cruachan released their version as a single in 2001 and on their 2002 album Folk-Lore.
• British anarcho punk/hardcore band Sedition made their own version of the song, too.
• Dutch folk band Rapalje has covered the song in their Rakish Paddies (2000) album, while also executing a live version of the song.^[7]
• English band Coldplay joined Christy Moore for a rendition of "Ride On" to close the 2011 Oxegen Festival in Ireland on Sunday, 10 July 2011
• English band Crustation has covered the song in their album Bloom in 1997
• Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield performed "Ride On" with NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman accompanying him on flute at the United Space School's traditional Mexican Night in 2012. They dedicated the song to the late space pioneer Sally Ride.^[8]

References