An Irish Evening: Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast [Live]

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During the early '90s, the Chieftains embarked upon a series of multigenre crossover recordings. Major pop stars were brought in as guest artists and a few had the goods, but others came across as wannabes or well-meaning if clueless PR victims. This Grammy-winning live album from 1992 features the Who's Roger Daltrey and American singer Nanci Griffith. Sadly, Griffith's husky, thin-textured voice is inadequate to the demands of Irish vocal ornamentation and phrasing. Daltrey, meanwhile, sounds raucous, unidiomatic, and amateurish; plus his presence with a traditional Irish music ensemble in the middle of British-occupied Belfast seems a bit much. In any case, courting comparison with the Chieftains' own singer, Kevin Conneff, is a risky business at best. The instrumentals are typically accomplished and future Riverdance diva Jean Butler provides charmingly percussive footwork, but the trap drummer on the last tune is glaringly out of place. --Christina Roden

Tracks:

Opening Medley: Dochas/King Of Laois/Paddy's Jig
North Americay
Lilly Bolero/The White Cockade
Little Love Affairs
Red Is The Rose
The Mason's Apron
The Stone
Theme From 'Tristan And Isolde'/Suisin Ban
Raglan Road
Behind Blue Eyes
O Murchu's Hornpipe/Sliabh Geal.../Wandering Minst
Damhsa
Rachamid A Bhean Bheag/Ford Econoline

Amazon.com

During the early '90s, the Chieftains embarked upon a series of multigenre crossover recordings. Major pop stars were brought in as guest artists and a few had the goods, but others came across as wannabes or well-meaning if clueless PR victims. This Grammy-winning live album from 1992 features the Who's Roger Daltrey and American singer Nanci Griffith. Sadly, Griffith's husky, thin-textured voice is inadequate to the demands of Irish vocal ornamentation and phrasing. Daltrey, meanwhile, sounds raucous, unidiomatic, and amateurish; plus his presence with a traditional Irish music ensemble in the middle of British-occupied Belfast seems a bit much. In any case, courting comparison with the Chieftains' own singer, Kevin Conneff, is a risky business at best. The instrumentals are typically accomplished and future Riverdance diva Jean Butler provides charmingly percussive footwork, but the trap drummer on the last tune is glaringly out of place. --Christina Roden

Customer Reviews:

Why'd you bring Roger?.......2005-09-24

In later albums, the Chieftains have been trying to go the Santana route by adding 'guest vocalists', and too often, the effects are jarring.

Case in point, Mr. Roger Daltrey; his rendering of "Raglan Road" (an overdone song in any event) is abysmal. If I were in attendance, I would have gone for a hot dog at that point. They follow up with a rendition of "Behind Blue Eyes" that might have worked as an instrumental, but it also falls flat.

That being said, the rest of the album isn't too bad; the band is in fine form, and the song selection is a good mishmash of the well-known and the obscure. The recording also sounds great, as "An Irish Evening" was one of the first digital CD recordings of the early 90s.

A fine "Evening," but maybe Roger could have stayed home.......2005-01-21

Representative of the fine mix of traditional Irish music the Chieftains perform, this concert gives the fan of the Chieftains a nice sampling of what they're good at with the occasional error in judgement that accompanies a live performance.
Highlights include a fine opening medley that gives the band a chance to show how well they play together , Matt Malloy's outstanding flute solo on "The Mason's Apron," that still stuns me every time I listen to it, and a closing medley that allows each member to shine.
But the guest stars don't really work for me, Nanci Griffith doesn't do a bad job but adds nothing special to the concert and Roger Daltrey sounds out of his element on "Raglan Road," and while "Behind Blue Eyes" is interesting as worked through the Chieftains sound it just doesn't fit here. I am sure "The Stone" (A special Dance when two lovers meet) is fine when you can see it, it loses a bit on CD. But these are not major problems and the sound is solid for a concert performance. For this fan, it's a pretty good time.

Excellent Chieftains, but with some not-so-good extras........2004-10-15

This CD is a recording of the Chieftains playing live in Belfast. As a result, there is some distracting background noise and in my opinion the clapping and cheering detracts from the overall effect of the CD.

This aside, the CD contains an excellent compilation of vocal ballads and lovely instrumentals. Kevin Conneff does a lovely a cappella rendering of "North Americay." Other standouts include the rollicking "Lilly Bolero/The White Cockade," and the mournful "The Stone."

Nanci Griffiths and Roger Daltrey appear as guests of the Chieftains in several of the tunes on the CD. I enjoyed Nanci Griffiths "Little Love Affairs," and "Red is the Rose." However, I cannot say the same for Roger Daltrey. I skip over his "Raglan Road" and "Behind Blue Eyes," every time I play the CD. I feel that his songs don't fit into the style of the CD, and frankly, I dislike his voice.

Overall, I listen to this CD for its lovely Chieftains pieces, and try to block out its failings.

If I Could Give This Six Stars I Would.......2002-10-05

I don't know what the reviewer's problem is, but nobody in the Opera House this night was thinking about the British occupation, they were all too busy enjoying one of the best Chieftains live shows ever! Only Paddy and the Boys can meld rock, pop, country-folk, the dance and traditional Celtic music into one fantastic show like this. Daltrey's pub drinking style is PERFECT for the band, and the version of "Raglan Road" contained here is one of the best ever recorded. Nanci Griffith sounds like she could've been born in County Mayo. I would urge anyone to get a copy of this immediately, there's none better! A topnotch addition to any longtime fan's Cheiftains' CD collection or a good starter for those of you just beginning to get a taste for this worldclass Irish band's music. Long before Riverdance there was the CHIEFTAINS!

If I Could Give This Six Stars I Would.......2002-10-05

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