The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The Chieftains

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 19, 2002)
• Original Release Date: February 19, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000060P2Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,807 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It took Paddy Maloney 15 years and eight LPs to assemble the incarnation of the Chieftains that plays on Boil the Breakfast Early, the band's ninth release. When former Planxty and Bothy Band flautist Matt Malloy joined up, the Chieftains were finally able to perform with a stable roster. Ironically, this would be one of their last recordings of purely traditional material before they set off on the series of collaborations that was the hallmark of the band's recorded output in the 1980s and 1990s. But the collection of tunes here crackles with the sort of excitement that only the finest musicians can generate. The dance tunes are played with such verve and vivacity that even the most slothful listeners will start tapping their toes, while the slow airs fairly ache with a majestic melancholy. Boil the Breakfast Early shows the Chieftains at their unadulterated, traditional best. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure and Clear, January 24, 2001

By	Amitai Adler (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early (Audio CD)

This is one of their best albums, if not actually the best. Each piece flows perfectly to the next, and the interplay-- the weaving of sound, especially bodhran, harp, and flute-- is richly complex and crystalline in its pure clarity. As Irish music will be at its best, the album is both lively and strong and yet also sweet and unexpectedly delicate in places. Most of the numbers are instrumental, the chiefest exception being "When A Man's In Love," which is single-voice a capella, making for a very interesting balance. I never get tired of hearing this album.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the one you have to have, August 24, 1999

By	G. Solomon (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early (Audio CD)

Before this, the albums were too eclectic and too studied, within a few years, they had become too celebrity studded and, in my opinion, too clever by half. This then is the Chieftains as clear as a mountain stream, tradition perfectly matched with enthusiasm.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating historic entry, February 24, 2004

By	Craig Clarke (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Boil the Breakfast Early was a landmark in the career of the Chieftains. Two longstanding members had just left, but coming onboard is fiery flautist Matt Malloy, ready to breathe some new life into their typically staid traditional music. This album was also one of the last to feature only the band without all of the "special guest stars" that they would collaborate with over the next couple of decades (see The Chieftains: An Irish Evening for an example).

Legacy Recordings released this remastered version of Boil the Breakfast Early as part of their Sounds of Ireland series (along with Chieftains 7, Chieftains 8, and The Best of the Chieftains, which is primarily a compilation of tracks from 7, 8, and 9) and the sound has never been crisper. Not one instrument overpowers another, even though Kevin Conneff's bodhrán playing is often hearty.

Highlights are many on this album, but I especially enjoyed the tracks that feature guest appearances from cellist Jolyon Jackson on "Bealach An Doirin" and the Rathcoole Pipe Band Drum Corps on the "March from Oscar and Malvina," as well as Kevin Conneff's always beautiful voice in an a capella performance of "When a Man's in Love." My education of Celtic music is minimal so sometimes the instrumentals can run together, but this is a perfect background music album for the uninitiated--something to listen to in the kitchen while cooking or doing dishes. Put Boil the Breakfast Early on your changer with Lúnasa's Redwood for a taste of the older and newer generations of Celtic traditionalists.