The Wide World Over – A 40 Year Celebration

There may be only two – Paddy Moloney and Sean Keane – of the original band remaining, but The Chieftains have been at the forefront of Irish music for four decades. During that time, what has impressed as much as their long service increment is the fact that they have always been prepared to challenge many of the accepted notions regarding the music, and how it should be played and presented. This album, an encapsulation of some, but by no means all of their finest moments, is a shining example of how good music can prosper by changing, but not shedding, its skin.

There is much to admire about the material on display here, from ‘Full Of Joy’ to the heart-stopping version of ‘The Foggy Dew’ from Sinéad O’Connor, but it is their own music – full of sinew and bustle – that makes The Chieftains so special. Moloney’s genius for arrangement is well paraded on pieces like ‘Mna na hEireann’, and the entire affair, replete with three new tracks, is a vindication of the sometimes meandering jouney that our traditional music has undertaken since the ’60s.

It’s not the whole story, but many of the best bits are here. Thus far, it’s been quite a trip. Wonderful stuff.