2002 will go down in history as the year in which authentic American folk music (country & western, bluegrass) experienced an unexpected revival. The soundtrack of the movie O! Brother Where Are Thou? (2001) was an unprecedented sales success and artists such as Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch have since enjoyed a renewed interest. Irish folk music is closely related to American and the two
… styles of music have influenced each other over the centuries. The Chieftains are the standard bearers of Irish folk music and took the initiative for this project in which country and bluegrass songs are approached from an Irish angle. The band invited the crème de la crème of current American roots music to the Nashville sessions, such as Alison Krauss, John Hiatt, Gillian Welch, Buddy & Julie Miller, Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs, and Bela Fleck. The result is an inspired roots album: a beautiful account of a musical family reunion. (MS)more
