| Product Summary | | Label: Bmg/rca Victor | | UPC: 00090266896820 | | Release Date: 2/23/1999 | | Buy.com Sku: 60154880 | | Item#: MG5GVY | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 25079 | Format:  CD |
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| Song Listing |  |
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| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | The Chieftains: Martin Fay, Sean Keane (fiddle); Derek Bell (harp, keyboard, tiompan); Matt Molloy (flute); Paddy Maloney (tin whistle, Uillean pipes); Kevin Conneff (bodhran). | | Additional personnel includes: Bonnie Raitt (vocals, dobro); Brenda Fricker, The Rankins, Natalie Merchant, Joni Mitchell, Sinead O'Connor, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Loreena McKennitt, Joan Osborne, Akiko Yano, Sissel, Diana Krall (vocals); Eric Della Penna (guitar); Annborg Lien, Eileen Ivers, Natalie MacMaster (fiddle); Mairtin O'Connor (accordion); Patrick Fitzpatrick (keyboards); Hutch Hutchinson (bass); The Screaming Orphans, Anuna (background vocals); Maire Breatnach, The Rankins, The Corrs. | | Engineers include: Jeffrey Lesser, Brian Masterson, Takahiro Nochimura. | | Includes liner notes by Paddy Moloney. | | Personnel: Joni Mitchell (vocals, guitar); Bonnie Raitt (vocals, dobro); Loreena McKennitt (vocals, harp); Sharon Corr (vocals, fiddle); Andrea Corr (vocals, tin whistle); Akiko Yano (vocals, piano); Caroline Corr (vocals, bodhran); Diana Krall, Brenda Fricker, Cookie Rankin, Raylene Rankin, Heather Rankin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Natalie Merchant, Sin?ad O'Connor, Joan Osborne (vocals); Erik Della Penna, Jim Corr, Russell Malone, Arty McGlynn, William Wittman, Zan McLeod, Jimmy Rankin (guitar); Derek Bell (harp, keyboards); Natalie MacMaster, Eileen Ivers, Martin Fay, M ire Breatnach, Annbjorg Lien, Se n Keane (fiddle); Una Ni Chanarim (cello); Matt Molloy (flute); Paddy Moloney (tin whistle, Uilleann pipe); Martin O'Connor (accordion); John Morris Rankin, Matt Rollings, Tracey Dares (piano); Patrick Fitzgerald, Rob Hyman (keyboards); Malachy Robinson, James Blennerhassett (double bass); Kevin Conneff (bodhran); Kweyao Agyapon (djembe); Noel Bridgeman (percussion); The Screaming Orphans (background vocals). | | Audio Mixers: Ciaran Cahill; Richard McCullough; Paddy Moloney; Brian Masterson. | | Recording information: Bias Recording Company, Springf; Dublin, Ireland; London, England; Nashville, TN; New York, NY; Ocean Way Sstudios, LA, CA; Olympic Studios, London, England; Washington DC; WindMill Lane Studios, Dublin, Ireland. | | Editors: Paddy Moloney; Troy Halderson; Brian Masterson. | | Photographer: James OMara. | | This album is a follow-up to the 1995 album The Long Black Veil. The idea is the same: the Chieftains play house band for many guest vocalists and musicians. The difference this time around is that all the musicians and vocalists featured are women. Sin?ad O'Connor is the one return performance, and she justifies that honor with her sorrowful and beautiful rendition of the traditional song "Factory Girl." The roster of guests is diverse, and it is a credit to the musical ability of the Chieftains to keep a common thread going and blend their arrangements with all the different voices. Bonnie Raitt sounds just as much an Irish folk singer on her track "A Stor Mo Chrio" as Loreena McKennitt does on her version of "Ye Rambling Boys of Pleasure." The trick is that Paddy Maloney's arrangements highlight the unique talents of each guest. Most of the songs are traditional Irish tunes with new arrangements, the exceptions being the haunting "The Magdalene Laundries" written and sung by Joni Mitchell and strange but somehow fitting "Sake in the Jar" written and sung by Akiko Yano. The song features Japanese percussion instruments and should stick out among the distinctly Celtic contributions here, but it blends right in. Paddy Maloney states in the liner notes that the point of the project was to "marry the many-faceted voices of contemporary women artists from around the world with the simple beauty of traditional Irish music." It is a job well done. ~ Susan Cruickshank | | The Chieftains have always worked in their own carefully defined middle ground between pop crossovers like Clannad and rigid, inflexible traditionalists. Maybe that's why they're one of the longest-lived and best-loved groups in all of Irish music. They never lose touch with tradition, but as past recordings have proven, they're not afraid to work with artists from different musical worlds. TEARS OF STONE is an album of collaborations with pop artists on original tunes (Joni Mitchell sings on a version of her own "Magdalene Laundries") and traditional ones (Bonnie Raitt proves an excellent folk balladeer on "A Stor Mo Chroi"). Bluesy American siren Joan Osborne's take on "Raglan Road" may not equal the version Van Morrison once recorded with the Chieftains, but what could? Countrywoman Sinead O'Connor puts in a particularly strong appearance on the traditional ballad "Factory Girl." |
Producer: Paddy Moloney |
Musical Guests | | Mary Chapin Carpenter | | Sissel | | The Corrs | | Loreena McKennitt | | Natalie Merchant | | Bonnie Raitt | | Sinead O'Connor | | Joan Osborne | | Anuna | | Brenda Fricker | | Joni Mitchell | | The Rankins | | Akiko Yano | | Natalie MacMaster | | Eileen Ivers | | Maire Breatnach | | Annbjorg Lien | | Dia |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 02/23/1999 | | Original Release Date : 1999 | | Catalog ID : 68968 | | Label : RCA Victor Records (USA) | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Runtime : 68m : 40s | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00090266896820 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Q (4/99, p.95)
- 4 Stars (out of 5)
- "...Guests include heavyweights Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt and Mary Chapin Carpenter; mid-table types like Sinead O'Connor and Natalie Merchant, as well as traditionalists Loreena McKennitt, Eileen Ivers, The Rankins and - there is no escape - The Corrs..."Uncut (8/02, p.100)
- 3 out of 5 - "...The Chieftains are a treasure and every home should have at least one of their albums..." Dirty Linen (6-7/99, p.88)
- "...There is some beautiful music here. Eileen Ivers and Natalie MacMaster kick butt with a colorful amalgam of Irish, Cape Breton, and Norwegian fiddling..." Mojo (Publisher)
(2/99, pp.97-98)
- "...Blending Irish music naturally and unobtrusively into other cultures and styles is the key to The Chieftains enduring success... and this sensitive album..." |
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