Recording albums for an eye-opening forty years now, the Chieftains
made a name for themselves as both a prolific and acclaimed mainstay
in the folk music world community. In September of last year, the
Chieftains released Down
the Old Plank Road, an album combining their traditional
Irish roots with the traditional folk roots of America. Unsurprisingly
to their fans, the Chieftains succeeded in making Down the Old
Plank Road a persistently catchy record, one deservingly nominated
for a Grammy (Best Contemporary
Folk Album) this past month.
Plank Road rides the pendulum from wistful folk ballads to
buoyant toe-tappers and hits just about everything in between, for
better or worse. The jovial sing-along title track kick-starts the
album, while the heavy reality-check “Country
Blues” follows with its sublime melancholy. Rarely on the modern
music scene can such a radical transition occur so smoothly. Not only
that, “Country Blues” is a standout with vivacious vocals by Buddy
and Julie Miller, Jim
Mills’ masterful banjo work, and sage lyrics like “Come, all you
good time people/While I’ve got money to spend/Tomorrow might be Monday/And
I’ll neither have a dollar nor a friend.” The tragic dirge “Molly
Ban” trudges along with its funereal drums leading the procession
and Alison Krauss’ beautiful chanting, unfortunately clouded by her
affect. Otherwise, the Chieftains’ version rivals most folk song performances,
and the song itself rivals most folk songs in poignancy.
“Whole
Heap of Little Horses” makes for an abstractedly pleasant tune,
but little else can be said in its favor, a lullaby with little comparative
weight on the album. Similarly, the quaint “Katie
Dear” rolls along more sluggishly than profoundly. However, this
is true of only a handful of the fourteen tracks here; most happily
transcend the easy possibility of mediocrity. “Rain
and Snow” captures the fun of cherished folk relics. The Del
McCoury Band joins the Chieftains, adding Western zest and country
crooning that is nothing less than engaging. Other guests such as
Lyle
Lovett, Martina
McBride, and Earl Scruggs
(whose contribution on “Sally
Goodin” was also nominated for a Grammy, Best Country Instrumental
Performance) shine in the Chieftains’ constellation. The whole barn-load
of celebrity guests joins the Chieftains on “Give
the Fiddler a Dram” for a ten-minute hoedown that, like the album
itself, is worth almost every minute.
The Chieftains don’t have such an enormous following in America, most
likely because of mainstream country music’s hostile takeover of the
genre with its drum machines, remixed vocals, and synthesizers. The
reality is that the Chieftains do cater to a fairly distinct audience.
But the startling success of the O
Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack proves that there is an audience
for old-fashioned folk music, and unfortunately, only this faction
and contemporary music adventurers looking for something with more
overall value than piece du jour albums like B2K’s
Santa Hooked Me Up will open their ears and appreciate the Chieftains’
Down the Old Plank Road.
