Product Description

Released on the heels of the Corrs' tour with Celine Dion and their appearance at the Olympic Games, 1995's FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN blends wistful Celtic motifs, slick production,layered harmonies, and adult-contemporary songcraft into a sound that won the Irish group instant international favour.The siblings' real achievement here is their balance of moody Top 40 melodies with traditional Celtic elements--Andrea,Caroline, and Sharon Corr play tin whistle, bodhran, and violin, respectively.
Though "Erin Shore (Traditional Intro)", the album's instrumental opener, sounds like an old-school Irish ballad, the song quickly segues into the pulsing title track--a dramatic, minor-key pop tune with a chorus fleshed out by the lovely harmonies of the Corr sisters. The group's Celtic roots are evident in quick, melodic phrases throughout, and on the occasional instrumental (the bodhran-driven "Carraroe Jig"), but the Corrs go better with MTV than a glass of Guinness, as the bright, hook-driven rock of "Someday" or the power ballad "Closer" attest. FORGIVEN, NOT FORGOTTEN's multi-platinum status speaks to the appeal of the Corrs' rootsy, yet highly accessible, formula.

Track Listing

1. Runaway
2. Leave Me Alone
3. Erin Shore (Traditional Intro)
4. Someday
5. Minstrel Boy
6. Love To Love You
7. Carraroe Jig
8. Erin Shore
9. Closer
10. Secret Life
11. Toss The Feathers
12. Right Time
13. Along With The Girls
14. Heaven Knows
15. Forgiven Not Forgotten

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7082 in Music
• Released on: 1996-02-19
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Four times platinum in their homeland, Forgiven, Not Forgotten, the debut from Ireland's cosy, family four-piece, took lilting Celtic folk away from the craggy old men in cardigans and gave it a glamorous, MTV make-over. All very nicely air-brushed, it's perfect Top Of The Pops fare, even spawning the hit single "Runaway"--a song which, when given the Top 40 sheen by producers Tin Tin Out, provided a staple diet for commercial radio programmers for the best part of six months. Forgiven, Not Forgotten is the first word in fiddles, jigs and whistles--but for young people, you understand. There are no rough edges on the likes of "Someday" or "The Right Time". Still, some elegant traditional instrumentals make a diverting change from the bland, cultureless pop-lite of endless boy-band clones. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

To the rock side of the corrs
I got this album years and years ago and still play it to this day because it is such a great album. It is the rockier side of the Corrs that you don't see on any of their other albums.
It is a great rock/pop/celtic album with many great songs on it, in fact all the songs on this album are fantastic and well worth a listen. I am sure if you like any of the other Corr's albums then you are bound to like their first album.
It is a true master piece and an album every fan should own and if you are not a fan of the Corrs then you might change your mind when you hear this.

Straight Pop/Rock with a hint of Oirish
Unusually for me, I was in on The Corrs from the very beginning. Oh yes. What a claim to fame, eh? Hearing their single "Love to Love You" played on the local wireless station in 1995 sent me sprinting down to the local gramophone record emporium as fast as my penny-farthing would carry me. Clutching the fragile 78 to my bosom, I pedalled home furiously and, as the needle touched the shellac, was rewarded with one of the most consistent pop/rock albums ever to grace my horn.

There are some excellent songs here - the title track, the aforementioned "Love to Love You", "Closer", "T*ss The Feathers" are all punchy, solid and do what they say on the tin. Sometimes the jaunty oirish fiddle does grate a little when it sashays in on a perfectly innocent pop song that was managing quite well without it. A couple of other songs sound great at first listen, but are subsequently revealed to be half-formed or (like "Secret Life") push the saccharine pop button just a little too hard.

However, minor complaints. This is better than the multi-mega-billion-selling "Talk on Corners".

I give it my highest rating!
The Corrs are an authentic Irish band, composed of three sisters and a brother, from Dundalk, Ireland. Jim Corr plays guitar and keyboard, Sharon plays the violin, Caroline plays the drums and Bodhran (frame drum), and Andrea plays the tin whistle and is the group's lead singer. Not only good looking, these young people are extremely talented, known for their unique blend of traditional Irish music and modern pop.

Their album, In Blue (a personal favorite!) leans heavily towards the pop side, while this album definitely has a lot of that great Irish sound! I guess that my favorite tune on this album is the title-track, Forgiven Not Forgotten, but they are all great, with Erin Shore being a wonderful instrumental.

So, if you like pop music and you like Irish music, then I would say that this CD is for you. As for me, I give it my highest rating!