ALBUM REVIEW: The Bells of Dublin
RCA Victor, 1991 | 09026-60824-2 (CD)
RCA Victor, 1991 | 09026-60824-3 (VIDEO)
By Sarah Adams
The Bells of Dublin released in 1991 marks a wonderful star studded Christmas album with a video featuring some of the songs from the album.
It starts out with the ringing of the bells at Christchurch in Dublin and the album ends with the ringing of the bells, thus creating a wonderful collection of music that may reflect any day in the holiday period.. The album has pieces that reflect traditions and music of the Celtic lands. Many of the pieces featured guest artists including Jackson Browne, Marianne Faithfull, Nanci Griffith, Kate and Anne McGarrigle, Ricki Lee Jones, and Elvis Costello. The work with guest artists reflects the true spirit of the holiday season of friendship and good cheer. The album has some of the old standards but has some pieces that are unfamiliar to most people.
It is an overly strong album in listening quality and the arrangement of the tracks. There are several tracks that standout in my mind. The first track is the intermingling of the Bells of Dublin and the piece "Christmas Eve". It gives the person a feeling of building excitement and good cheer. The track that is the most interesting and stands out in my mind is "St. Stephen's Day Murders", a collaboration with Elvis Costello. The song was written by Costello and Moloney. From what I can determine from the lyrics, it is a screamingly funny look at family wranglings at Chirstmas time. At times that song rings so true.
"The Wren Medley" reflects music that may have been heard when the wren boys came callling to bury the wren on St. Stephen's Day (December 26). The boys would chant: The wren, the wren , the king of all birds. Up with the kettle and down with the pan. Give us a penny to bury the wren. The medley features dance music, a couple of pieces played by Northumbrian piper by Kathryn Tickell and a song by Kevin Conneff called "The Wren in the Furze". It is a well woven medley and truly reflects the camaraderie and spirit of an old Irish Christmas tradition. The video has a wonderful portrayal of this tradition.
The track that also caught me was the Chieftains along with The Renaissance Singers of Belfast recording of "O Come All Ye Faithful". It is wonderfully done and ends the album on a wonderful note. The end of the song has the ringing of the bells of Christchurch.
At the time of this writing, The Bells of Dublin, is one of two gold albums for the Chieftains.
The video, The Bells of Dublin, features some of the songs from the album and the recording of some of those tracks. The video contains some traditions, scenes of winter in Ireland, Belfast and the Chieftains recording in California. In the part of the video with Jackson Browne, the viewer can even witness Moloney tickling the ivories with Browne. The best part of the video is the recording of Don Oiche Ud I mBethil with Kevin Conneff doing the vocals in Irish and Burgess Meredith doing the narration. Molloy's flute playing the setting of the various scenes really give the piece a haunting, beautiful feel. The other strong part was a reenactment of the wren boys calling upon a house. It is quite fun to see.