Foster & Allen's Ireland

Celtic superstars--apparently for the easy listening crowd--Foster (accordion) and Allen (guitar) perform 32 songs in this rather odd compilation of music videos which feature one or the other or both mostly walking and singing and, occasionally, play-acting across the Emerald Isle. Neither as bizarre nor as interesting as the rapid-fire imagery employed on MTV, this more Lawrence-Welk-paced effort includes such Irish traditional tunes as "The Old Boreen," "The Mountains of Mourne," "The Gypsy Rover," and "Bells of Tipperary," as well as some polkas and jigs and the slightly out-of-place "Wabash Cannonball." Unfortunately, the video aspect of this so-so aural effort is boring, at best, and often ridiculous. How do you respond to a pair of mid-to-late middle-age geezers (pot belly, silver hair) surrounded by languid eyed young lasses acting as if they're being serenaded by Ewan McGregor? Like a thinking human being, that's how: as in, I don't think so, danny boy. A very optional purchase. (R. Pitman)