Boil the Breakfast Early

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It took Paddy Maloney 15 years and eight LPs to assemble the incarnation of the Chieftains that plays on Boil the Breakfast Early, the band's ninth release. When former Planxty and Bothy Band flautist Matt Malloy joined up, the Chieftains were finally able to perform with a stable roster. Ironically, this would be one of their last recordings of purely traditional material before they set off on the series of collaborations that was the hallmark of the band's recorded output in the 1980s and 1990s. But the collection of tunes here crackles with the sort of excitement that only the finest musicians can generate. The dance tunes are played with such verve and vivacity that even the most slothful listeners will start tapping their toes, while the slow airs fairly ache with a majestic melancholy. Boil the Breakfast Early shows the Chieftains at their unadulterated, traditional best. --Michael Simmons

Tracks:

Boil The Breakfast Early
Mrs. Judge
March From Oscar And Malvina
When A Man's In Love
Bealach An Doirin
Ag Taisteal Na Blarnan
Carolan's Welcome
Up Against The Bauchalawns
Gol Na Mban San Ar
Chase Around The Windmill/Toss The Feathers/Ballinasloe Fair/Cailleach In Airgid/Cuil Addha Slide

Amazon.com

It took Paddy Maloney 15 years and eight LPs to assemble the incarnation of the Chieftains that plays on Boil the Breakfast Early, the band's ninth release. When former Planxty and Bothy Band flautist Matt Malloy joined up, the Chieftains were finally able to perform with a stable roster. Ironically, this would be one of their last recordings of purely traditional material before they set off on the series of collaborations that was the hallmark of the band's recorded output in the 1980s and 1990s. But the collection of tunes here crackles with the sort of excitement that only the finest musicians can generate. The dance tunes are played with such verve and vivacity that even the most slothful listeners will start tapping their toes, while the slow airs fairly ache with a majestic melancholy. Boil the Breakfast Early shows the Chieftains at their unadulterated, traditional best. --Michael Simmons

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating historic entry.......2004-02-25

Boil the Breakfast Early was a landmark in the career of the Chieftains. Two longstanding members had just left, but coming onboard is fiery flautist Matt Malloy, ready to breathe some new life into their typically staid traditional music. This album was also one of the last to feature only the band without all of the "special guest stars" that they would collaborate with over the next couple of decades (see The Chieftains: An Irish Evening for an example).

Legacy Recordings released this remastered version of Boil the Breakfast Early as part of their Sounds of Ireland series (along with Chieftains 7, Chieftains 8, and The Best of the Chieftains, which is primarily a compilation of tracks from 7, 8, and 9) and the sound has never been crisper. Not one instrument overpowers another, even though Kevin Conneff's bodhrán playing is often hearty.

Highlights are many on this album, but I especially enjoyed the tracks that feature guest appearances from cellist Jolyon Jackson on "Bealach An Doirin" and the Rathcoole Pipe Band Drum Corps on the "March from Oscar and Malvina," as well as Kevin Conneff's always beautiful voice in an a capella performance of "When a Man's in Love." My education of Celtic music is minimal so sometimes the instrumentals can run together, but this is a perfect background music album for the uninitiated--something to listen to in the kitchen while cooking or doing dishes. Put Boil the Breakfast Early on your changer with Lúnasa's Redwood for a taste of the older and newer generations of Celtic traditionalists.

Pure and Clear.......2001-01-25

This is one of their best albums, if not actually the best. Each piece flows perfectly to the next, and the interplay-- the weaving of sound, especially bodhran, harp, and flute-- is richly complex and crystalline in its pure clarity. As Irish music will be at its best, the album is both lively and strong and yet also sweet and unexpectedly delicate in places. Most of the numbers are instrumental, the chiefest exception being "When A Man's In Love," which is single-voice a capella, making for a very interesting balance. I never get tired of hearing this album.

This is the one you have to have.......1999-08-24

Before this, the albums were too eclectic and too studied, within a few years, they had become too celebrity studded and, in my opinion, too clever by half. This then is the Chieftains as clear as a mountain stream, tradition perfectly matched with enthusiasm.

The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early

Average customer rating:

Fascinating historic entry
Pure and Clear
This is the one you have to have

The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early
The Chieftains
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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