Legend has it my great-great-grandfather was forced to accept a change in the spelling of our surname because a dim-witted payroll clerk couldn't spell "Geoghegan," a name of ancient Celtic origin. This is how I came to be known as just plain "Gagon." I provide this short - perhaps uninteresting - genealogical ditty in hopes the reader will understand my deep-seeded passion for things Irish, and forgive my prejudiced review of the Chieftains' new recording, "The Long Black Veil."
I listened to the recording 12 times in one day.With help from Sting, Mick Jagger, Van Morrison, Sinead O'Connor, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder, Marrianne Faithful and even Tom Jones, the triple Grammy Award-winning Irish group offer stunning interpretations of traditional and contemporary music from both sides of the Atlantic, from the 18th century to present.
Sting sings "Mo Ghile Mear" (Our Hero) with Ireland's well-known Anuna Choir. Sting wanted to sing it all in Gaelic, but Paddy Moloney, the group's arranger, persuaded him to do half in English. The tune, Scottish in origin, plays like a marching song, and I hummed the melody until my teenage daughter swore she'd leave home if I didn't stop.
The ghostly title cut, "The Long Black Veil," featuring Mick Jagger, gives a Celtic treatment to an American country song partially inspired by the mysterious, unidentified woman who always used to visit Rudolph Valentino's grave. Moloney says Jagger "sang it like a true Irishman." For me, Jagger's trademark nasal slipping and sliding into every note made it worth the listen.
The haunting, beautiful voice of Sinead O'Connor on "The Foggy Dew" chilled my bones. The song was written in tribute to the men who died in the Easter uprising of 1916. With each listen, I imagined O'Connor as a destitute Irish widow, standing on the crest of a hill defying the elements with her incredible sound. Ry Cooder's electric guitar, mandola and floor slide add resonance to the vocal. You can't help but be touched by the message. Later, O'Connor and Cooder achieve the same Celtic climate on "He Moved Through the Fair."
Van Morrison sings his own song, "Have I Told You Lately That I love You?" but with uileann pipes, fiddle, harp, bodhran and flute backing him up. It's a gentle ballad from a big, intimidating Irishman, and Morrison never sounded sweeter or more sincere.
"The Lily of the West," an English street ballad, became popular in America in the 19th century. Mark Knopfler's speak/sing and his exceptional guitar playing make this song as delightfully melodic as his work on the "Princess Bride."
Moloney and Cooder arranged "Coast of Malabar." "My grandmother," Moloney says, "used to sing this song at traditional house parties in the Sliabh Bloom Mountains of central Ireland. I can still remember her sitting on an old wooden milk churn in a country kitchen singing a version she called, `Little Maid from Malabar.' " Cooder's finger-picking on acoustic guitar and his floor slide work reminded me of other Cooder outings.
I haven't heard Marianne Faithfull's voice since the '60s. Time and cigarettes have not been kind. But on "Love Is Teasin', " I can't imagine any other singer.
The record notes say the recording wouldn't be complete without the Chieftains' "Celtic cousin," Tom Jones, singing "Tennessee Waltz." Of all the cuts, this one worried me the most. It was recorded during a special evening in Los Angeles at the home studio, and under the watchful eye, of the late Frank Zappa. (The track is dedicated to Zappa's memory.) It works, and so did the final cut, "The Rocky Road to Dublin," with the Rolling Stones. Moloney said, "Perhaps it was the most enjoyable of all our recording sessions. More an ad lib than anything we had planned." You can hear "Satisfaction" playing around the fringes of the melody, as well as Keith Richards' sleazy guitar. "Each time I tried to end the session, the `right old hooley' just went on and on, with our friends in the studio getting up to dance."
Even if you haven't an ounce of "the Irish" in you, "The Long Black Veil" will captivate you with its musicianship, melodies and message.
Unfortunately, none of these well-known artists will be joining the Chieftains on stage this Friday and Saturday night when they kick off their U.S. tour at Abravanel Hall with their "right old hooley." They will, however, have the Utah Symphony. Also appearing with the Chieftains will be Galician musician Carlos Nunez and two world-class step dancers. The Irishmen will also introduce a new piece written for a symphony from their upcoming album featuring music from Spal Galicia, a part of Spain that had Irish immigrants in the 8th century.
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Additional Information
`Right old hooley'
The Chieftains will perform with the Utah Symphony at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4, at Abravanel Hall. Tickets range from $16 to $33 and are available at the Abravanel Hall box office.