Chieftains jam with next generation
The Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones are not the only groups marking their 50th anniversary this year. Spare a moment for the Chieftains, founded in 1962 and still going strong under the leadership of Paddy Moloney.
To help celebrate their halfcentury milestone, the Irish group – with the assistance of producer T-bone Burnett – has drafted the next generation to sing with them. And while the album could have used a bit of judicious editing, there are some rocksolid beauties here.
Rockabilly singer Imelda May sets the bar high in the opening track with a relaxed, but impossibly joyous take on the Midnight Well oldie Carolina Rua. The melodic standard set by the song is met by most of the subsequent performances, as the Chieftains hand over the frontperson spot to eager young country stars, indie rockers and neotraditionalists.
Among the highlights are the Pistol Annies connecting the dots to bluegrass with a slow, deliberate and rich version of the cautionary tale Come All Ye Fair and Tender Ladies, a sprightly collaboration with the Carolina Chocolate Drops on Pretty Little Girl, a desolate and haunting My Lagan Love, with Irish singer-songwriter Lisa Hannigan, the melancholy Ewan Mccoll composition School Days Over, featuring the Low Anthem, and Paolo Nutini showing near-masterful interpretive skills at only 25, on Hard Times Come Again No More.
Elsewhere, Bon Iver, the Civil Wars (who wrote a song especially for the project), the Punch Brothers, the Decemberists and the Secret Sisters sink their teeth into perfectly-tailored traditional songs and covers of more recent material.
If the album has an Achilles heel, it’s the final three tracks, which span more than 18 minutes and feel like footnotes. The Chieftains Reunion, clocking in at 11-plus minutes, shows the group in fine form as it breezes through a suite anchored by the traditional piece Toss the Feathers, but the marathon somehow feels out of place in this context.
NASA astronaut (and flute player) Cady Coleman’s guest stint, The Chieftains in Orbit, is essentially an audio document of her bringing instruments belonging to Moloney and Matt Molloy into outer space, while the album closer, Lundu, featuring Spanish gaita player Carlos Nunez, is simply less memorable than the other guest appearances.
Taken alone, these last selections would all be enjoyable enough, but coming after a virtual tour de force of strong collaborations, they blunt the album’s impact.
Still, the other dozen tracks that make up the heart of Voice of Ages are an enchanting celebration of a group that has always tried to keep Irish music alive in popular consciousness. Even better, they’re proof of the group’s continued vitality. Podworthy: Carolina Rua (with Imelda May)