now playing: Cherish the Ladies

The Back Door


The Back Door is the first recording by the top notch Irish music ensemble Cherish the Ladies. At the time, each of the women in the band was the daughter of immigrants, a fact pointed up in the title track, which was written by singer Cathie Ryan. It is also one of the very first songs Ryan ever wrote. She’s ten years and more into a solo career now, and has grown as a writer. Still this stands well. It is a unique look at immigration through the eyes of an undocumented Irish woman, who could really be of any era. Her concerns, too, are shared with those who come from other lands.

Irish music played and sung in top form by women doesn’t seem such an unusual concept now, but when Cherish first formed, and still by the time of this first recording, it was. Joanie Madden is still leading the group, though the lineup has changed over the years. More to be said on that later, but meanwhile,The Back Door, fifteen years on, would easily best the work of any dozen other groups were it recorded today.

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