The Long Black Veil - Chieftains (The) (CD 1995)

Only the most musically naive could live in this world without having heard of The Chieftains. They are the top drawer among Celtic Groups, and have been touring the world with their music for nearly fifty (50) years! Aye, Boy-o and Lassie, these lads began with darkly fuzzy cheeks and still continue with white-grizzled chins. What hasn't changed is their music and their Gaelic zest for life.

Let's face it, they're Irishmen one and all, and prototype Irishmen at that. By that I mean that for them life and music are synonymous, humor lives in every breath they draw, they will never grow too old to dream at the sight of a tasty woman, and will never be so withdrawn as to refuse a wee drop of good Irish Whiskey or a pint of stout. Yes, I'm Irish and can even trace my family roots back to Ireland. I've now decided to let the rest of epinions in on a little secret known mostly to The Chieftains and I, and to a few other intuitive members as well.

If you are ever fortunate enough to see The Chieftains live, don't be fooled by their appearance. Yes, they are old men. The oldest members are starting into their seventies and the newest members are in their late fifties. Musically, however, they are younger than you ever thought to be.

The Chieftains enjoy demonstrating the universality of all music, and of their Celtic music in particular. They have played with Rock groups, Country artists, East Indian artists - including Ravi Shankar, philharmonic orchestras (without being overwhelmed) and spread appreciation of Celtic music and The Chieftains wherever they went. In The Long Black Veil the group shares the bandstand with a variety of other artists who share Irish ancestry.

The first cut in the album is Mo Ghile Mear, which is pronounced "moh yehlly mahr" and translates to "Our Hero." Sung by Sting, the song is a traditional Irish Jacobite song written in honor of Prince Charles (Bonnie Prince Charlie) Stewart. The Chieftains are supplemented by Dominic Miller, guitar - Noel Eccles, drums - Joe Csibi, bass - Terry Tulley, Scottish Pipes - and the Anuna Choir led by Michael McGlynn. The ancient air is haunting in its complex simplicity and pulls you into the album before you can get away. A perfect opener.

The title cut, The Long Black Veil, is sung by none other than Mick Jagger who, surprisingly to me, actually does justice to this old Irish ghost story without trying to turn it into "Sympathy For The Devil." For this cut, The Chieftains are joined by Colin James on guitar and mandolin, James Biennerhassett on double bass, Daryll Jones on electric bass, and Steve Cooney on didjeridu.

Written in tribute to the men who died in the Easter Uprising of 1916, The Foggy Dew has Sinead O'Connor as vocalist, Tommy Igoe on drums, Ry Cooder on electric guitar, mandolla, and floor slide, and Carlos Nunez on gaitha - which is traditional Galician pipes. Between the instruments, Sinead's plaintive vocal, and Paddy Moloney's arrangement, this number will reach you for sure.

Van Morrison jumps in with one of his songs as arranged for the Chieftains by Paddy Moloney, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? The group is joined by Liam Bradley on drums, Phil Coulter on piano, Nicky Scott on bass, and Foggy Little on electric guitar. Morrison turns in his usual blues sensitivity while still living up to his Gaelic heritage in the overall theme of the album.

You've all heard the adjective, "rollicking." Well, the 5th cut of the album will provide you with the first full understanding of just what rollicking really means. It's Kevin Connett's Changing Your Demeanor, and is best introduced by quoting from the liner notes. "Kevin wrote the first verse of this ditty with The Wren in mind (you can hear The Wren in the Furze on "The Bells Of Dublin" album). A fleecing visit to the Punchestown race meeting in April '93 brought on verse 2. Further inspiration obviously comes from his place of abode near Hollywood in beautiful County Wicklow." The number features Kieran Hanrahan on banjo and Brendan Begley on accordian, and will definitely set your toes to tapping.

The Lily Of The West features Mark Knopfler on guitar and vocals, and is a traditional ballad from the 19th Century. It has a long and illustrious history in Irish ballads, and the air is much like The Lakes of Ponchartrain which was used as an arrangement model.

Let me again quote from the liner notes for the 7th cut, Coast Of Malabar. "My grandmother (Paddy's grandmother) used to sing this song at traditional house parties in the Sliabh Bloom Mountains of central Ireland. I can still remember her sitting on an old wooden milk churn in a country kitchen singing a version she called 'Little Maid From Malabar.'" The song features Ry Cooder on vocals, acoustic and electric guitars and floor slide, with James Keane on accordian.

The next cut of the album is my personal favorite, if it is at all possible to have "favorites" with Chieftains' numbers. It is Dunmore Lassies, an instrumental arranged by Paddy Moloney, with The Chieftains backed up by Ry Cooder on acoustic guitar and floor slide. This is a number to get completely lost in. It pours out of the speakers to fill your consciousness in a way I can't even describe, other than to say that the "you" that began listening is somehow changed to a "you" composed entirely of feeling. There are so many conflicting emotions stirred by this number that it almost frightens me to think of what totally incredible women the Dunmore Lassies must be! You will love it, I know.

Hey, folks, I hadn't intended to write a book about this album, but it is such a powerful grabber that it sort of got away from me. Cut 9 is Love Is Teasin', another traditional number sung by Marianne Faithfull with that dynamite double bass backup. He Moved Through The Fair brings Sinead O'Connor back, with Tommy Igoe on drums and Ry Cooder on electric guitar and floor slide. Number 11 is Ferny Hill, another instrumental with Artie McGlynn on acoustic guitar.

The 12th cut breaks away from the traditional with the Redd Stewart-Pee Wee King number, Tennessee Waltz segueing into Paddy Moloney's own Tennessee Mazurka. It features Tom Jones on vocals and is dedicated to the memory of Frank Zappa -- in whose house this little jewel was recorded!

The final cut is The Rocky Road To Dublin and uses the talents of The Rolling Stones, Colin James on guitar and mandolin, James Biennerhassett on double bass, Daryll Jones on electric bass, Brian Masterson on background vocals, and Jean Butler doing Irish dancing. The comment, most appropriately, comes from the liner notes by Paddy Moloney. "Perhaps the most enjoyable of all our recording sessions. More an ad lib "hooley" than anything we had planned. At one time I thought I was in control. Clearly I wasn't. Each time I tried to end the session, the song just went on and on, with our friends in the studio getting up to dance. The Rocky Road To Dublin, stone by stone... indeed!"

The Chieftains are Martin Fay - fiddle; Sean Keane - fiddle; Kevin Connett - bodhran and vocals; Matt Molloy - flute; Paddy Moloney - Uilleann pipes and tin whistle; Derek Bell - harp, tiompan and keyboards. Paddy does most of the group's arrangements, and Derek (the "little fat guy with glasses" already into his 70's) is their "R&D" member who checks out adapting foreign instruments into their music. He is currently studying the Sitar and Tabla.

Now, to let you in on that secret I mentioned at the start of this overly long review. If you are the kind of person who reacts and responds to music, who lets it bring both joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, pride and shame into your life: If you are the kind of person who doesn't flee from controversy and who isn't afraid to engage in an occasional fight even within your own family: If you are the kind of person who is capable of feeling love so strongly that it becomes your sole purpose in living: If you are the kind of person whose humanity makes you feel empathy for those in need of help -- even if you have been hurt by them and are still angry with them: If you are the kind of person who can face a sunrise or watch a sunset and know beyond words or conscious thought there is a God in Heaven: If you are the kind of person who is never so blase or sophisticated that you are incapable of feeling the awe of the miraculous at every birth: If you are the kind of person whose curiosity, instead of dying with age, sharpens and intensifies with each year and each new realization of how much you don't know, and are driven by it to learn....

If you are among these people, it doesn't really matter what race or nationality your ancesters claimed, it doesn't matter what color your skin is, or what language your parents or grandparents may have spoken. If you are among these people, you are actually Irish, and this album is definitely for you! Go get it, Boy-o and Lassie, and enjoy to the depths of your soul.