Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(7 customer reviews) 23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Pure and Clear,
January 24, 2001 Amitai Adler (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boil the Breakfast Early (Audio CD)
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.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
This is the one you have to have,
August 24, 1999 G. Solomon (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Boil the Breakfast Early (Audio CD)
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.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating historic entry,
February 24, 2004 Craig Clarke "Somebody Dies" (New England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early (Audio CD)
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...Read more