Among Frank Zappa's last public statements was this: "U2 is maybe
the most popular and successful export coming from Ireland today,
but there's no comparison between the musical quality of what they
do and what the Chieftains do." Glatt ably explains why. Zappa is
one of dozens of musicians, writers, and actors to go on the record
for Glatt (Rage & Roll: Bill Graham and the Selling of Rock,
1994, etc.) in this heavily researched account of the career of
58-year-old Irishman Paddy Moloney, the band's leader and driving
force, et al., from relative obscurity during the folk and rock
eras of the '50s and '60s to their Grammy-winning albums of the
'90s and their collaboration with several prominent musicians on
The Long Black Veil. All along, the Chieftains have enjoyed the
admiration of Seamus Heaney, Peter O'Toole, and the Rolling Stones,
and Glatt's legwork is apparent in interviews not only with such
diverse luminaries, but also with the the band's families, former
members, and associates, and even with actor/director Ron Howard,
whose film Far and Away is one of many scored by Moloney.
Particularly amusing episodes feature the always cantankerous
Ulsterian Van Morrison and a band visit to China that ultimately
led to their being named the official musical ambassadors of
Ireland. As an unofficial ambassador, Moloney has dabbled in the
music of French Brittany and Spanish Galicia, and Glatt does a fine
job of impressing upon the reader the Celtic heart of the
Chieftains, from their fluency in the Irish language to their
endless searches for links between Celtic culture and music in
other corners of the world. And unlike other writers, Glatt avoids
the temptation to slap a political label on this band that comes
from such a politically torn country. Though he offers little to
the uninitiated, Glatt has written an indispensable chronicle for
the casual listener, the die-hard fan, and all levels in between.
(Kirkus Reviews)
The history of the Chieftains over the last thirty-five years is
the remarkable tale of how an unlikely group of enthusiasts came
together to rescue some of the world's most beautiful music from
near-extinction, brought it to an audience of millions, and became
stars. Based on exclusive and extensive interviews with all the
band's members, their families and friends, and with many of the
international superstars who have recorded with them, The
Chieftains tells the group's own story for the first time, with
insight, wit, and charm.
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