The live performances on Gaelic Roots are simpler than many of the studio performances on 20th Anniversary; closer to an older traditional music ambience and closer to walking into a session and hearing musicians playing for themselves. Their excitement is raw and lean. The artists and music on this CD are primarily Irish, with a showing from Canada (Cape Breton Island as well as Quebec), and some Appalachian-influenced artists, including absolutely brilliant mandolin playing by John McGann. Many of them are well-known (Jackie Daly, Natalie MacMaster, Dáithi Sproule, Eileen Ivers, Paddy Keenan) but many are lesser known but no less excellent. The CD is accompanied by excellent notes, including five page essay by Mick Moloney about Irish music in America; a short biography of each artist; and translations o the three songs in Gaelic.

In some ways, I feel like Gaelic Roots highlights the music a little more and 20th Anniversary highlights the musicians a little more. On Gaelic Roots, although the many musicians play as duos, trios or larger groups, and some are groupings that I seen on albums (Paddy O'Brien, James Kelly, and Dáithi Sproule, for instance), they are not bands. On 20th Anniversary, about half the cuts are bands (ranging from Altan to Wolfstone).

The (primarily) studio performances on 20th Anniversary cover a greater range of sound and style than Gaelic Roots, and tend to be more rich and lush. The excitement is often one of crafted arrangements; its often the big Celtic band sound that we are used to hearing today. Green Linnet has an absolutely astounding stable of artists; the ones on this CD generally are established bands and groups that have some name recognition; there was only one pair of artists I didn't recognize when I first scanned the track list. As always with Green Linnet, the sound quality is superb; the notes about the music, too skimpy (an interesting 6-page history of and ode to the label, but only a short and enthusiastic paragraph about each band or cut).

They are both great albums. If you were to buy only one, I'd recommend the Green Linnet CD if you don't already have a bit of a Celtic music collection. You can use it as a guide to building a collection (of Green Linnet artists, of course). On the other hand, if you already have a bit of a collection and want to hear less-packaged and produced performances, go with Gaelic Roots. Whichever you get, you'll be pleased.