Customer Reviews

Long Black Veil

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a terrific CD, with its wild meld of celtic, pop, folk, and country strains. The Chieftains, accompanied by such music greats as Sting, Mick Jagger, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Jones, Van Morrison, among others...who would have thought such an assemblage would result in such a cohesive recording of such wildly divergent music. Of particular note are Sting's mournful rendition of "Mo Ghile Mear" and Sinead O'Connor's stylization of "The Foggy Dew" and "He Moved Through The Fair". Mick Jagger also does justice to "A Long Black Veil". This CD is simply a great recording overall!

I've been a fan of the Chieftains for many years. I saw them play live in Millstreet, County Cork, and the band was simply phenomenal. They truly deserve the kudos they have received over the years for their musicianship and down to earth friendliness.

The Long Black Veil is a bit of a departure for them - the band serves as a background for many modern, popular artists. You might think that Sting, Mick Jagger, Tom Jones, Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison and others might overpower this group of folk players. But actually, the opposite happens. Sting's lilting voice fades seamlessly into the background as the gorgeous melodies intertwine. The songs are memorable not because a "famous name" is attached to the title, but because the classic tune is handled deftly by the Chieftains, and a well trained voice happens to supply the vocals.

It's fascinating in a way to see this diverse group of artists all singing traditional songs - songs that you might not otherwise ever hear them take on. But the real joy here is to hear your favorite classics done with such care and love. These artists all chose songs that had great meaning to them, and the Chieftains put their souls into the richness of the underlying tune. Each song here is a favorite for me for a different reasons.

Some Irish CDs are meant to be played in the background while people chug beer and talk in loud voices. Other CDs are put on for wild dancing and cheering the night through. This CD shines when you sit back, a glass in your hand, and you really listen to the nuances. You can hear the peat crackling softly on the fire, the wind whistling across the foggy meadows, and the textures of Ireland's past whispering through the beats. I've owned this for many years, and it's a CD I always come back to.

Highly recommended.

This is a wild, rollicking, fantastic blend of Celtic, Pop and American country music. I am forever amazed at the number of superstars clamoring to record with The Chieftains. Sting, Sinead O'Connor, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Ry Cooder, and others all excel on this collaboration, but one of my favorite selections is "Changing Your Demeanour" sung by The Chieftains' own Kevin Conneff. His Irish tenor is a delight to listen to!

"Rocky Road to Dublin", performed by The Chieftains and the Rolling Stones is a real hoot and a great way to close out the album! Check out the sudden launching into "Satisfaction" part way through the song!

The only weak spot I feel is "Tennessee Waltz", sung by Tom Jones. I have never been a fan of Jones and I feel his voice has deteriorated over the years. That is a minor quibble, however.

Buy this CD if you enjoy hearing wonderful collaborations!

God love Celtic music. There's no music as beautiful or as true on this planet. I love "Mo Ghile Mear (Our Hero)" with Sting! And as for Sinead O'Connor, I'm not familiar with much of her work, but Great Goddess, what a range! Even Marianne Faithfull's ravaged, cigarette-stained voice works with the Celtic arrangements. Slide-guitar master Ry Cooder sounds fantastic, and "The Rocky Road to Dublin" with the Stones & Chieftains together is pure magick! To summarize, buy this record. You will not be sorry.

`The Long Black Veil' by the Irish musical group, the Chieftains is a demonstration of the power of a guest appearance by Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones on the album of a well established group of a different genre.

I recall this album being previewed on our local NPR station on a Tuesday and when I went to my local Borders in the same radio market, the CD was completely sold out within a day of the airplay of the title cut on which the Mick does the vocal solo.

And, to make the mix even more interesting, this particular album has quite a large mix of guest stars, far beyond the previous Chieftains hosting a single guest, as they did with their album with Van Morrison. The other guests are Sting, Sninead O'Connor on two tracks, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder on two cuts, Marianee Faithfull, and Tom Jones. Even Frank Zappa makes a ghostly appearance as the host of the recording session with Tom Jones on the `Tennessee Waltz'.

The combination of this awesome collection of talent plus the great instrumental work by the Chieftans themselves makes each and every track on this album an evocation which survives relistening over the years.

One Irish music weakness this album escapes is the feeling that there is really only one `Irish song', done in many different styles with many different combinations of lyrics and instruments. While I never totally subscribed to this theory, there is a sense in which there is a great sameness to the melodies of many Irish songs. This is probably what is meant by the `lilt' of Irish melodies. Oddly, I think it is probably harder to identify the nature of this `lilt' than it is to exactly define what distinguishes a blues song, which must be an iambic pentameter, exactly the same meter as Shakespeare's verses.

My most important message to non-Irish music fans is that you will like this album even if you have no taste for traditional Irish music. You will probably like it even if you don't like the Rolling Stones. Jagger's vocals on the title tune indicates how well he would do with other traditional material. I also have to say that Sinead O'Connor's performances on this album prompted me to get some of her albums, and I find her work alone is simply not quite as good as her two selections on this album.

Very highly recommended.

I have been a fan of the Chieftains- and Celtic music in general- for some time now, and I just adore this album!

Paddy Moloney did a terrific job matching up the singer's voices with the songs. They fit each other perfectly!

They couldn't have picked a better choice for the title track than Mick Jagger. Jagger resurfaces along with his fellow Stones on the last track, "THE ROCKY ROAD TO DUBLIN", definitely a classic, Irish pub song, and the Stones and Chieftains certainly make us aware of that factor here! And check out that "Satisfaction" guitar riff in the early stages of the song!

The first of Sinead O'Connor's two tracks is a beauty. "THE FOGGY DEW" really brings out the best in her voice. And being a pipes lover, this track just keeps on adding with it's features. As for "HE MOVED THROUGH THE FAIR" is another good song showing off O'Connor's talents.

Van Morrison singing one of his well-known tracks- "HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU?" with the backing of his fellow Celts. Classic Morrison.

The Chieftains have two tracks on this album that they perform alone without any people guest-starring along with them. The first is "CHANGING YOUR DEMEANOUR"- a very jolly, uplifting song, while the instrumental "Ferny Hill" is a an awesome song that would be ruined if it had words.

Again, Paddy has brilliant taste in matching voices for songs. Mark Knopfler's raspy voice is ideal for "LILY OF THE WEST".

Ry Cooder's instrumental "DUNMORE LASSIE" is my favorite track on this album. It's just a beautiful arrangement of instruments by talented artists. Cooder's other song, "COAST OF MALABAR" is a nice, dreamy song.

Like Mark Knopfler, Marianne Faithfull was a natural choice for "LOVE IS TEASIN'". That voice of hers is one-of-a-kind.

The Chieftain's Celtic cousin, Tom Jones, with his deep, DEEP voice is a fine choice to perform the lovely song, "TENNESSEE WALTZ/TENNESSEE MAZURKA"

Definitely a excellent album- great songs coupled with marvelous voices. What else do you want...?!

I just received this CD from two house guests traveling through the US whom I met in Ireland last year. It brought back enchanting memories of nights at the town pub being swept away by the improptu gathering of musicians and traveling around the gorgeous green island full of the most friendly people I have met across the 7 seas of this world.

I bought this simply because I love Sinead O'Connor. Her voice is superb on two songs here, "He Walked Through the Fair" and "The Foggy Dew". As for the rest of the album, it's pretty good too.

The Chieftains seem to be Ireland's traditional-music ambassadors, playing some of the most hauntingly joyful and melancholy airs, jigs, and reels. With 'The Long Black Veil' the acoustic sextet seems to be making its bid for a seat at the United Nations. 'The Long Black Veil' is stocked with guest appearances by the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Sting, Marianne Faithfull, Ry Cooder, Mark Knopfler, Tom Jones, and Sinead O'Connor, of course. All that's missing is Bono.

The title track, sung by Mick Jagger in a gnarly country-Brit accent, and Morrison's tender "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" are spirited interpretations. Faithfull's lived-in pipes are perfect for the world-weary "Love Is Teasin'," while Sting's Gaelic/English reading of "Mo Ghile Mear" ("Our Hero") possesses all the plaintive beauty for which the Chieftans are known.

Every collaboration on this album is pulled off with verve and energy. Perhaps the most impressive thing about this disc is that with so many flamboyant guest stars, it could've deteriorated into a gimmicky experiment; instead, the Chieftains are able to truly collaborate with each artist. And the artists seem to be eager to do so...listen to Sting sing in a Scottish brogue on the first track, for example... Sinead O'Connor's time-stopping rendition of "He Moved Through the Fair" is nearly a capella, with only the softest of pipe trills to support her amazing vocals. It's my favorite track on the disc.

This is a riveting a moving compilation of some of the most famous singers and musicians of the modern era: Sting, Mick Jagger, and many others. The Celtic feel to it is wonderful...sometimes making you want to just get up and dance a jig! Excellent work from the Chieftans. I consider it one of their best albums, by far. You won't be disappointed.