Ireland's Musical Ambassador

Yesterday's bummer story was news of the death of Paddy Moloney, multi-instrumentalist and founder of influential Irish folk band The Chieftains, who made their debut in 1962.  The Chieftains were, along with The Clancy Brothers and The Dubliners, were great revitalizers and popularizers of Irish traditional music in the mid-to-late 20th Century.  His contributions to Irish culture, and his introduction of it to the Whole Wide World were honored by Irish president Michael Higgins.

The Chieftains were particularly known for their collaborations with other artists, and their championing of World Music, particularly Galician music.  They collaborated not only with rock artists, but with astronauts (a particularly lovely story).  There could be no better celebration of Paddy Moloney's life than a brief review of his musical career, so here's a sampler.

From the Chieftain's first album, released in 1964, here's s;ow air/jig/air/reel combo:

 

From their second album, here's Brian Boru's March: 

  

From the 1970s, here's The Timpán Reel, which incorporates the hammered dulcimer into the band's sound:

  

In the 1980s, the Chieftains recorded an album with Van Morrison, beginning a tradition of collaborations with rock and pop musicians which continued for decades: 

 

Here's The St Stephen's Day Murders with Elvis Costello: 

  

They also released an album of American country music, here they are will Willie Nelson:

  

Perhaps their best-selling album was The Long Black Veil, on which they collaborated with a cast of rock-and-pop groups. Here's one of my favorite trad songs, The Rocky Road to Dublin performed with the Rolling Stones:

  

Here they are with an orchestra and Luciano Pavarotti singing the 19th century Neapolitan pop song Funiculì, Funiculà:

  

A particular favorite of mine was a collaboration with Irish pop group the Corrs:

  

I've saved some of the more global collaborations between the Chieftains and other artists for the tail end of the post. Here are the Chieftains with Bastard fave Akiko Yano:

  

 Perhaps my favorite song by the Chieftains is Guadelupe, a Galician folksong they originally recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos. Linda Ronstadt was unable to appear during a live performance which would have made Los San Patricios proud:

  

Here's NASA astronaut Cady Coleman playing with the Chieftains:

  

Now, here's a real marvel, Frank Zappa leading an ensemble consisting of Johnny Guitar Watson, Mongolian tuva singers, and the Chieftains. It's great fun: 

 

I figured I'd end with a concert performance by the Chieftains and the Pogues, a collaboration between two generations of musicians, the great virtuoso elder statesmen and the younger, punked out enfants terribles:

  

One thing I've noticed in the live performances is the ever-present look of joy on Paddy Moloney's homely, kindly face. By all accounts, he was a gentleman, and he just radiates a beatific look. Here was a man who loved music, and loved sharing his love of music with others. The news of his death is a genuine blow... pun originally unintended.

The 2017 Runup to the Solemn Feast of St Patrick

I am firmly of the opinion that holidays should be modeled on Hanukkah, at least as far as duration goes... they should be multi-day affairs. Today, I am working an uncharacteristic day shift- the local municipality's St Patrick's Day parade takes place today, and management has allowed the town to use our main parking lot as an overflow lot for parade participants. I had to arrive before 9AM to open up the lot, though we didn't get a trickle of cars in until almost noon. It's been a quiet day, the weather is cold and windy, so nobody has shown any desire to linger on the premises. Basically, I've spent most of the day watching videos. One peculiarity of the parade is that it takes place on the main thoroughfare in the region, rather than the main commercial drag of the town, which is not majorly significant from a transportation point-of-view. A couple of people have shown up in the parking lot looking for a way around the area... after an initial faux-Mainer 'you can't get there from here', I explain to them how they can go north and east to get south.

It's tough getting around the area on a day like this, which reminds me of one of my favorite 'trad' Irish tunes, The Rocky Road to Dublin, which recounts, in humorous fashion, the travails encountered by a young man traveling from Tuam in search of work. Here's a great version by the Pogues, a band near and dear to my heart:





This track was never featured on any of the band's albums, though they featured an instrumental version of the song in their medley on the album 'If I Should Fall from Grace with God'. I'm hoping that I don't have a 'Rocky Road to Yonkers' when my relief comes in a half-hour or so.

The Solemn Feast of St Patrick

Today marks the most solemn Feast of St Patrick. Today, I will be performing my religious devotions, among which are telling the beads beers... one pint of beer for each Ave, and after ten, a shot of Tullamore Dew for a Paternoster. Religious fervor is very hard on the liver, doncha know.

Because I will be occupied by my devotions all day, I figured I'd post a video of the Dubliners singing The Rocky Road to Dublin






Back in January, I posted a video of the Dropkick Murphys performing a rendition of the song. As I wrote back then, the song is pretty much 19th Century punk. Here's hoping that the road to Yonkers isn't so rocky tonight, unless by rocky we mean Rocky Sullivan's.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh, my dears!

Always Liked These Guys, Now I Like Them Even More

I have been a fan of the Dropkick Murphys since day one... the band carries on the fine tradition of Celtic punk started by the Pogues, one of my favorite bands. It seems like conservatives have lost their shit regarding the Dropkick Murphys because the band expressed its displeasure at Scott Walker using a song of theirs without permission, as Republicans often do, despite their expressed respect for property rights. Scott Walker's use of the band's music is especially galling because the band has always supported unions, even featuring the union anthem Which Side Are You On? on their album Sing Loud, Sing Proud. How could the band tolerate the anti-union, anti-worker Walker?

One of my favorite numbers by the band is their high-energy take on one of my favorite songs, Pete St John's "transportation ballad" The Fields of Athenry:





Longtime readers will recall my utter disgust with John McCain when he took a hardline anti-immigration stance in his latest (and hopefully last) Senate reelection campaign... at a pro-immigration reform rally in 2006, we serenaded that nasty old coot with a heartfelt a cappella rendition of The Fields of Athenry. Screw Walker, screw McCain, screw the entire GOP.

How about another video? The Rocky Road to Dublin is another of my favorite trad songs:





The song has traditionally been sung at breakneck pace- it was punk back in the 19th century.