This CD was my "gateway drug" to Irish traditional music.
My friend Rick gave me a copy in 2003, but this album was recorded in 1988, a collaboration between Belfast boy Van Morrison and trad kings The Chieftains.
The songs are mostly traditional Irish (with the Scottish "Marie's Wedding" thrown in), tunes played heartily by the Irish masters, and lyrics growled affectionately by Morrison.
Van Morrison is acclaimed by many as a great singer and songwriter, and while this album may have been a digression for him, surely his rendition of "Carrickfergus" must rank with the best of his efforts in any decade. (One of the great things about Amazon.com is that you can listen to samples by going to their product page for this album.)
For The Chieftains, this was the first of many collaborations with big-name musicians (Sting, the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, the Corrs, Elvis Costello and many others). Some of their best collaborations are included on "The Wide World Over: A 40 Year Celebration" (with audio samples available at Amazon as well).
Growing up as a fan of white Gospel Music (the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen, the Speer Family), I graduated in 1972 to Contemporary Christian Music (the Imperials, Andrae Crouch & the Disciples, Love Song) and in 1987 to Praise & Worship (Vineyard Music, Integrity's Hosanna! Music). But this music opened the door for me to World Music in general and Celtic Music in particular.
I'm glad the door was opened!
"Growled affectionately by Morrison..." Nicely put, Gary. And don't you love it when friends open a new musical (or artistic or literary)world to you? I felt that way when one of my best friends exposed me to the Jayhawks; that "alt-country" sound led to a great affection and appreciation for folk, traditional country, and bluegrass music. I have to say, though, that you've taken your love of Irish music a whole lot further than I have with alt-country; maybe it's just that it tapped into your roots. In any case, congrats on finding something relatively new to be passionate about - that keeps us young, I believe.
ReplyDeleteThanks Roger, that's a great comment. I'm sure there must be dozens of artists we don't know about who we'd really like, and who might open up whole new vistas for us. Thanks for introducing me to the Wailin' Jennys, I like them much better on the second listen, and that's a good sign...
ReplyDelete