The illustrious Irish folk band The Chieftains was founded in 1962. The 40th anniversary was celebrated with the release of the compilation CD The Wide World Over. However, it has not become an ordinary 'best of' album. The intention of Chieftain Paddy Moloney was to show how diverse the music of his group can be. During their long career, the musicians have literally and figuratively traveled around
… the world to be influenced by other music movements. They mixed their Irish roots with country (the song Cotton-Eyed Joe with Ricky Skaggs), reggae (Redemption Song with Ziggy Marley), rock (The Rocky Road To Dublin with The Rolling Stones) and traditional Chinese and Mexican music. In addition, there is of course room for some Irish traditionals where they received help from Sting, Elvis Costello, The Corrs, Sinéad O'Connor and Diana Krall. The varied The Wide World Over has therefore become a wonderful tribute to a special group of musicians. (MvP)more
