The Chieftains :-?

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 09, 2006 8:40 am

I may be ordering my own crucifixion here but I am most curious. It seems to me that everytime The Chieftains are mentioned on the whistle forum (where I mainly post) there is always a bit of controversy. Now I know that, by definition, they are most definitely not considered "traditional" but I'm wondering if that's all the arguements are about or if they are really just disliked by those who prefer strictly traditional music. Or perhaps I misread and am making too much of this.
Feel free to explain.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Tue May 09, 2006 8:52 am

I only have a couple of their newer CD's. I hadn't bought any more,
because I rather felt it was like listening to a Symphony Orchestra
play jazz. My old Jazz teacher called the style "terminally caucasian".
i.e., overly polished, no soul. But, recently, I have heard some of their
much older stuff and it sounds very good, so maybe I'll have to get
some of the first recordings...

I don't listen to pure-drop by any means, so I don't think it was the
"non-traditional-ness" that bothered me..

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 09, 2006 9:03 am

fearfaoin wrote:I only have a couple of their newer CD's. I hadn't bought any more,
because I rather felt it was like listening to a Symphony Orchestra
play jazz. My old Jazz teacher called the style "terminally caucasian".
i.e., overly polished, no soul. But, recently, I have heard some of their
much older stuff and it sounds very good, so maybe I'll have to get
some of the first recordings...

I don't listen to pure-drop by any means, so I don't think it was the
"non-traditional-ness" that bothered me..

I'm not sure how new the stuff was you listened to but I don't care much for the "...Plank Road" stuff...honestly I haven't heard much of anything they've done recently. If you are going to check out some of their older stuff, it is significantly different... and a little harder to come by unless you order offline. I just finally got 1-4 on cd, I've had them on vinyl for a while... definitely their best work.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Tue May 09, 2006 9:13 am

straycat82 wrote:honestly I haven't heard much of anything they've done recently.

That may explain your wonderment vis-a-vis the controversy.

straycat82 wrote:If you are going to check out some of their older stuff, it is significantly different...
and a little harder to come by unless you order offline. I just finally got 1-4 on cd,
I've had them on vinyl for a while... definitely their best work.

Is this what you're referring to?

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 09, 2006 9:20 am

Yes, and how kind of them to number them! It makes it so much easier to refer to than to have to remember album names!

I really enjoy Bonaparte's Retreat as well (the 6th album). It has some very arranged trad tunes but I think they did it wonderfully. It still has their earlier sound, very gritty. It doesn't sound so... studio-orchestral-clean as their later stuff does. It has a fantastic version of "The Rights of Man" done in the key of C#

kenny · Post by **kenny** » Tue May 09, 2006 9:57 am

I have a lot of time for the Chieftains - when they play Irish music.

djm · Post by **djm** » Tue May 09, 2006 10:08 am

Nothing the Chieftains have done is traditional music in a traditional style. Their oldest stuff is traditional music in a non-trad style, so you get the trad people knocking them. Their newer stuff with every Tom, Dick and Harry getting in on the act is a matter of taste (definitely not mine). It certainly doesn't fall into the New Age "Celtic" goop. So where does that leave the Chieftains music?

I would guess that for some (many?) of us, the Chieftains are a popular act that has introduced us to the surface of Irish traditional music, and we retain a certain fondness for them from that. I would not read any more into their music than this. Isn't it enough?

djm

Fitzgerald · Post by **Fitzgerald** » Tue May 09, 2006 2:07 pm

First exposure was with "The Best of of the Chieftains". I found it very enjoyable, so much so that I purchased "Live From Dublin - A Tribute to Derek Bell" and "Further Down the Old Plank Road". These last two I listened to twice and they are now collecting dust.

Still, when the opportunity presented itself to attend a Chieftains performance at Christopher Newport this March, we went - AND had a great time!

The dancers were spectacular and we were introduced to yet another musical group - The Cottars, which by the way I recommend anyone checking out their web presence - they have a few samples of their music, so check them out.

Bottom line: Voted "yes" for The Chieftains.

Cathy Wilde · Post by **Cathy Wilde** » Tue May 09, 2006 3:32 pm

Ditto on djm's "fondness for the introduction" thoughts. And the guys definitely have chops. You have to respect that.

Fingers · Post by **Fingers** » Tue May 09, 2006 4:44 pm

I have a few of their early recordings tucked away on vinyl SOMEWHERE!!!. I enjoyed some of their music at that time but moved on to Planxty and the Bothy Band.

Some of the earlier stuff was okay!!

SteveShaw · Post by **SteveShaw** » Tue May 09, 2006 5:51 pm

I think that Paddy Moloney's ego is far too much to the fore on an awful lot of their recordings. There's a lot of treasure in there though.

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Tue May 09, 2006 6:04 pm

Agree with DJM on the start of things way back when. Even now, they still have gems on their albums. And who wouldn't want to play on stage with them??

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Tue May 09, 2006 6:07 pm

I love the Chieftains, but I could do without all the guests on their newer albums. If I want to listen to country music, I'll buy a country album...and if I ever find myself wanting to hear Sting murder "Mo Ghile Mear," I'll check myself into the nearest psychiatric institution!

Redwolf

colomon · Post by **colomon** » Tue May 09, 2006 6:10 pm

I think, for the modern lineup, anyway, it's one of those cases where the band somehow adds up to less than the sum of the individual players. I'd rather hear a Matt Molloy concert, or a Paddy Moloney concert. Though neither would be terribly high on my list solo, either -- I respect them, but they're not quite my thing.

(Patrick Street is another band like that. I'd soooo much rather see John Carty or Kevin Burke solo.)

With earlier Chieftains, I enjoy it, but there's lots of other music from roughly the same time period I listen to a lot more -- Music from the Coleman Country, Cooley, etc.

straycat82 · Post by **straycat82** » Tue May 09, 2006 6:53 pm

SteveShaw wrote:I think that Paddy Moloney's ego is far too much to the fore on an awful lot of their recordings. There's a lot of treasure in there though.

Do you say this because the pipes are featured a lot? Just curious.

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