The Chieftains - The Essential Chieftains
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Free Music Notes for The Essential Chieftains
Free Music Review: An excellent overview of Ireland's most famous band that isn't U2
Hit: 4 Stars
If there's a lack of green in your wardrobe, consider loading The Essential Chieftains on your iPod this St. Patrick's Day to celebrate your Irish side ... and avoid any unwanted pinches. This new two-CD, sprawling anthology features the best of Ireland's leading band. For novices unsure where to begin with the band's approximately 40 albums over the past four decades, "The Essential Chieftains" is the place to start. This compilation focuses on their work from the 1960s to 2003, collecting for the first time together their work on several different record labels. The Essential Chieftains is nicely split into two complementary discs: "The Chieftains' Roots," focusing heavily on more traditional instrumentals, jigs and reels, and Disc 2, "The Chieftains and Friends," which includes collaborations over the years with a cast of all-stars including Sting, Elvis Costello, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Jackson Browne and many more. If you're wanting that classic pipes-heavy, cheery Irish bounce, Disc 1 offers it in spades. Disc 2 has the sound of a slightly tipsy, mad all-star jam that lasts for hours, and the many voices contributing to the Chieftains sound gives it a nicely diverse feel. Particular highlights include Van Morrison's clarion voice on "Shenandoah," Irishwoman Sinéad O'Connor on the magnificently epic "The Foggy Dew," and Skaggs's countrified turn on "Cotton-Eyed Joe." You'll also find The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Béla Fleck and Nanci Griffith popping up on Disc 2. The Chieftains long ago reached beyond Ireland's borders for influences - you'll find guest stars like a Chinese ensemble in a track from 1987's The Chieftains in China, or a Spanish flavor to the jaunty "Guadalupe," which features guest spots by Los Lobos and Linda Ronstadt. Chieftains aficionados will appreciate the survey of their career this 35-track set offers, but it's perhaps even better for newcomers - who can get a healthy sampling of one of the leading popularizers of world music.Free Music Review: Celebrating a remarkable 40-year career
Hit: 5 Stars
It's probably best to just go out and buy every CD the Chieftains have ever released. Barring that -- or in addition to it -- The Essential Chieftains is a amazing two-disc collection spanning four decades of music.
Produced by Jerry Rappaport and band founder Paddy Moloney, the compilation spans the band's history from roots to branches. The first disc boasts 18 tracks from the Chieftains' extensive solo career, while the second provides 17 tracks from their numerous collaborations. Each track has been newly remastered from the original recordings to provide crystal-clear sound.
The very first track of disc 1, "Lots of Drops of Brandy" from the 2000 release Water from the Well, is the Chieftains at their prime. But as tracks progress, from 1977 to 2006, from 1992 to 1978, it quickly becomes clear that the Chieftains were always at the top of their game. Their musicianship is flawless, their arrangements clever and diverse, their devotion to Ireland's native music never in doubt.
But even in the band's solo albums, the Chieftains continued reaching out to other cultures with their music. "Full of Joy" seamlessly blends Irish sounds with a Chinese ensemble in 1987, while famed Spanish instrumentalist Carlos Nunez adds a Galician sound to the mix on 1996's "Santiago de Cuba." Within Ireland's borders, they joined forces with the excellent players of Altan for "The Donegal Set."
Samples from disc 2 include recordings with the Corrs, Van Morrison, Bela Fleck, Sinead O'Connor, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Emmylou Harris, Linda Rondstadt, Los Lobos, Sting, Elvis Costello and the Rankins. The music is diverse, but the quality is uniform. And the Chieftains' ability to find the common ground between various styles and cultural traditions is nothing short of remarkable.
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