ALBUM REVIEW: The Wide World Over: A 40 Year Celebration
RCA/BMG, 2002 | 09026-63917-2

by Sarah Adams

This particular release represents a cross-section of the Chieftains long nad distinguished career and barely dips into their extensive back catalog. It celebrates the breadth of the Chieftains 40 years in making music.

From humble beginnings in 1962 in Dublin, Paddy Moloney and the Chieftains have traveled the wide world over to every corner of the globe and taking Irish music to the people. Along the way they have explored the relationship between Irish music and its connections to other genres such as bluegrass and country. Their collaborations with other artists has allowed for the exposure of Irish music to audiences that might not otherwise have exposure to it.

The album gives the listener a brief sampler of the diversity of recordings that the Chieftains have done. The album is not entirely of previous recordings but four new tracks. On the track, Redemption Song a collaboration with Ziggy Marley, the group explores another genre of music, reggae from the West Indies. It is interesting to see how the melodies and musical themes from Irish music meshed with those of reggae. Another new track is Morning is Broken recorded with Diana Krall and Art Garfunkel on January 1, 2000 near the Antarctic on a Cruise ship.

This recording also shows collaborative work done with full orchestras as is the case with The Foxhunt, recorded with Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The album also has cuts from a number of Chieftains albums and some new arrangements of older recordings. Munster Cloak, a medley including Munster Cloak, An Poc Ar Buile and Ferny Hill-Little Molly. Munster Cloak harkens back to the Chieftains first recording in 1963. Other rearrangements included tracks from Santiago and Chieftains in China album. The new arrangements contribute to the strength of the album and give the the listener an opportunity to listen to different interpretations of a tune.

This album is a nice collection of the Chieftains career and a great primer for those who have just been introduced to Irish music and especially that of the Chieftains. All in all it is a great listen!