The Essential Chieftains

Paddy Moloney's group of tin whistling, fiddling Irishmen, in their fifth decade together, have released the 2-disc The Essential Chieftains, and it's a welcome cobweb clearer for my musical brain. With guest artists like Sting ["Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero)"], Linda Ronstadt ("Guadalupe"), and Sinead O'Connor ("The Foggy Dew"), this set indicates the universal affection with which these musical veterans are held.

Disc 1 is more notable for its mellifluous Celtic tracks like "An Poc Ar Buile/ The Dingle Set," which evoke memories of authentic Irish pub's and sitting on top of a rolling green hill in the Irish countryside (if you have indeed done such things.. if not, make it up). More instrumental than the second, this disc will be harder for non-Chieftain fans to appreciate, as the adventurous CD buying public doesn't fit the demographic that this disc is aimed towards. But then there's the second disc where you have the likes of Sting and O'Connor showing up.

It's odd then that what you would expect to work is in actuality in contrast to what does. Though I still consider his contribution to be an immensely valuable one, Sting has been working in the electronic soundscape for far too long now to adapt easily to live instrumental performance. It takes him a few moments to work into his track, and it was possibly not a great idea to leave him without instrumental backing initially, as I've always thought that he's at his best when playing off the sounds around him in the studio or on stage. The worst being that Sting sounds slightly out of place, the best that can be said is that he lends The Chieftains more pop-culture relevance than they can achieve on their own.

The best contribution however on this disc belongs to consummate social pariah O'Connor. Though I always thought "Nothing Compares 2 U" was a timeless late 80s tune sung by a significant voice of the time, O'Connor's voice on "The Foggy Dew" sounds innately more suited to performances such as these, where her voice is able to wind around melodies more freely and melodically as if she were born to do nothing but sing Irish folk songs and bring large beer swilling crowds to teary silences.

Culled from live performances, the rest of this disc sounds at times lightly spontaneous and energetic, and though they're not The Rolling Stones, these guys prove that you don't have to be in your 20s to be relevant.