The Chieftains and Nashville

[davedove]

I went to an Alison Krauss concert last night, and I got to thinking that she took part in a session the Chieftains did with some Nashville artists. Their feeling was that some of the old mountain songs in the US were strikingly similar to Irish folk songs, due of course to common heritage.

Anyway, the paired with several different artists from the country music industry. They play some Irish and some American folk music.

Especially good, in my opinion, is the song where they team with Alison Krauss. She sings the old Irish song "Molly Ban". While the song is trajic, Alison's voice is hauntingly beautiful.

They did enough material to make two albums: Down the Old Plank Road and Further Down the Old Plank Road. Even if this isn't your normal music style, it's worth a listen.

[Bob C]

The Chieftains did an album called "Another Country" some years back.

Ricky Scaggs was featured on it, along with Emmy Lou Harris and a few other American country artists. It was actually recorded in Nashville. It's a really fun listen.

[Tiran]

Cheiftans do this a fair bit. They did an album Long Black Veil with rock performers (Mick Jagger, Sting, Sinnead Oconnor etc) and Stone of Tears (all women, Joni Mitchelle, Diana Krall etc) Diana Krall's version of Danny Boy is beautiful.

[macwilkin]

On a similar vein, Canadian western singer David Wilkie & his band, Cowboy Celtic, have three CD's which deal with the relationship between Scots & Irish music and the music of the North American West, particularly cowboys:

www.cowboyceltic.com

I HIGHLY recommend all three CD's! They are by far my FAVOURITE albums of Celtic music, with a nice mix of traditional Scots & Irish and western songs.

Slainte, y'all!

Todd

[Jimmy Carbomb]

Dave... my wife and I caught Alison Krauss and Union Station at "The Mann" in Philadelphia, and it was incredible!!! She's always been one of my favorites. You add-in the greatest musicians alive in bluegrass, and it's a sure hit. Dan Timinsky sang his "Man of Constant Sorrow" and brought down the house!

As for the Chieftains and the Nashville recordings, I own both CD's and listen to them often. Being a Kansan (born and raised) and being a proud Irishman by family, it's a perfect mix. It just goes to show how similar the sounds are.

Make sure to give a listen to the "Down the Old Plank Road" CD's. They're well worth the expense.

[macwilkin]

My boss sent this article to me the other day; I have read it before on a Scottish listserv I belong to, but it has been a while. It deals with the relationship between Scots & African-American music:

http://heritage.scotsman.com/traditi...m?id=609532005

Cheers,

Todd