The Fallen Angels - Happy Ever After (1998)

This Irish female vocal quartet sings beautifully, but its aggressively eclectic repertoire sometimes works against it. The best and worst of the group's approach are both in evidence on this album, which features traditional material like "Aililiu Na Gamhna" and "She Moved Through the Fair," alongside covers of songs by Neil Young ("Love Is a Rose"), Julia Fordham (the title track), and Sting ("Fragile"). It's the folkier material that comes off the best -- on "Aililiu Na Gamhna" and "Tha Mullad" the backing harmonies add richness and complexity to the traditional tune, and the group's arrangement of "She Moved Through the Fair" is spare and lovely. But the pop tunes have two strikes against them. First of all, they are poorly chosen; "Love Is a Rose" may resonate with Baby Boomers, but its hippy-dippy sentiments are bound to sound awfully dated to most listeners under the age of 45. And Sting's "Fragile" is simply a bad song, its bathetic fatuity uncomfortably exposed in this bare-bones arrangement. Julia Fordham's "Happily Ever After" fares a bit better, but a halfhearted percussion accompaniment leaves it sounding naked, and not in a good way. This album is pleasant, but not strongly recommended.