★★★★★
Marking 50 years since their first recordings, the Irish legends have opened their doors to a mixed bunch of guests for their birthday party. However, there are no invitations for previous Celtic-connected collaborators of the old guard such as Van Morrison or Elvis Costello; this is a bash for a younger demographic. Hence, we have a whispered but double-tracked Bon Iver getting weepy on Down In The Willow Garden and The Decembrists adding spirited energy to When The Ship Comes In...
- recordcollectormag.com
2013-04-03
★★★★★
The Chieftains, who celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, are still the world's best-loved Irish folk band, both for their superb musicianship and their sense of adventure - working with anyone from Mick Jagger to Alison Krauss or Chinese ensembles. Their last album, San Patricio, recorded with Mexican musicians, was their bravest work to date. This new set has a fashionable cast list, but is more patchy...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2012-04-26
★★★★★
Inveterate collaborators, the Chieftains celebrate their 50th anniversary with a new generation of roots acts. That most are drawn from Americana circles allows Paddy Moloney et al to emphasise folk's transatlantic trade, with Bon Iver lamenting ethereally on "Down in the Willow Garden", an Appalachian murder ballad of Irish descent...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2012-04-26
★★★★★
There are many things the Irish are famous for, not least knowing how to throw a party. From births, marriages and deaths to St Patrick's Day, rarely a memorable day goes by without an excuse to get together and celebrate. So what better excuse to bring out the fiddle, bodhran and uilleann pipes than the 50th anniversary of some of the Emerald Isle's most notorious sons...
- www.musicomh.com
2012-04-23
★★★★★
Celebrating 50 years of making music, Irish national heroes The Chieftains have released this winning compilation album Voice Of Ages featuring a wide array of world class musical talent. Imelda May lends her distinctive voice to 'Carolina Rua', while Bon Iver's Justin Vernon's ghostly performance is a perfect fit for the haunting 'Down In The Willow Below'.Other highlights include The Civil Wars' beautiful cover of 'Lily Love' and The Decemberists spritely rendition of 'When The Ship Comes In'...
- music.thedigitalfix.com
2012-04-23
★★★★★
Another day, another Chieftains album festooned with celebrity guests...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2012-04-23
★★★★★
The Chieftains operate under the idea that most American popular music descends from Irish traditions brought across the Atlantic by generations of immigrants, up to and including the band members themselves. Their longevity--five decades and counting--is testament to the persuasiveness of that notion, as is their impressive breadth of collaborations over the past 20 years...
- www.pastemagazine.com
2012-03-08
★★★★★
In equal measure a curio, a lament, a history lesson and a hoedown, San Patricio is one of those albums that happily transcends its parts. If you only buy one Irish-Mexican album this year, in fact, The Chieftains and Ry Cooder should do you nicely. The Californian guitarist and the Irish folk heavyweights are seasoned collaborators as well as inveterate globetrotters...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2010-08-22
★★★★★
Mixing Celtic pipes and whistles with Mexican accordions and guitars proves a fusion too far, even for the Chieftains' intrepid Paddy Moloney. San Patricio is his tribute to the American brigade, mostly Irish, who swapped sides in the 1846-48 US-Mexico war, and who were later executed as deserters. It's a sad piece of history, but the cantina folk here, by the likes of Lila Downs, has little bearing on it...
- www.guardian.co.uk
2010-04-02
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