NASA

“Voice of Ages” has Proven the Timeless Sound of The Chieftains Once Again.

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Track Listing:

Carolina Rua / The Ladies Pantalettes – 3:57 (with Imelda May)

The Chieftains continue to have relevance and appeal in the Irish and international world with The Voice of Ages. Popular alternative rock artists like Paolo Nutini, Bon Iver, Imelda May among others’ contributed their talents in this wonderful album of total brilliance.

Imelda May proves that to be a great singer, it’s not just about singing well. The speakers and mics have to love you. I think Voice of Ages is the continuation of what The Chieftains started in The Long Black Veil. They aren’t scared of trekking unfamiliar territories. Can you cite other Irish bands that have collaborated with a wide array of talents and diverse music like them? I don’t think so. No other group comes close to them.

What I love about The Voice of Ages is that the Chieftains always manage to bring out their own signature sound on anything they record. Regardless of the other musicians they collaborate. They also know how to balance their track listing between fast and slow tunes. Listen to My Lagan Love with vocals by Lisa Hannigan. If that doesn’t stir your soul then I don’t know what else will do. The Punch Brothers also offered an interesting Bluegrass flavor to this album. And yes, Carlos Nunez who has appeared in many of the Chieftains’ past recordings played with them in  Lundu. I think the highlight of this album is the contribution of NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman with The Chieftains in Orbit!

 

Méav – The Calling

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Méav The Calling

Artist: Méav

Album: The Calling

Sounds like: For fans of Anuna, Celtic Woman, Enya, Secret Garden and Loreena McKennitt

Tracks:

The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face/The Calling/Light Flight/Listen, Listen/The Songline To Home/Wayfaring Stranger/Sovay/Shenandoah/Once You Were My Lover/Glimmering Girl/Glasgow’s Burning/Black Is The Colour

Total time: 43.28

To be released on 26th August 2013

Released by:Warner Jazz

I am listening to The Calling by  Méav (Full name Méav Ní Mhaolchatha)on a cloudy afternoon. The soothing and spiritual atmosphere of the album is a perfect getaway. The twelve tracks take you on a journey which very few artists can do these days. Her fusion of world, classical and traditional elements really work in this project. She also incorporated a few nods to the direction of folk and jazz which you can encounter as you listen along. This isn’t the same as the full-blown, up front arrangements of Celtic Woman (which she was part of from 2004 to 2007). This is more of an intimate record with lots of intricate details and rich arrangements.

The album resulted in the meeting between Méav and  legendary producer Craig Leon in Abbey Road Studios, London while working together on the score of a space film in collaboration with NASA. They discovered the musical chemistry even in their different musical backgrounds ( pop and world music)and  they also quickly realized that they shared a love of song-writing and ethnic music.  The Calling is described as  a contemporary pop treatment of new songs and folk classics from Ireland, England, Scotland, Brittany, Galicia and America.

The album opens with The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face which was originally pinned by Roberta Flack and won her Grammy’s record of the year  in 1972. Méav gave a new sentiment to this song. Listen to how her voice sounds like she is imploring the forces of heaven around 2:25. Those high notes can get into your skin. I know because I got chills listening to that part.

In the title track The Calling, the choir voices are used to embellish the track which recalls the signature  sound of Anuna. This is also the carrier single of the album. The video features a studio session and the blur-to-detail effects of the camera is impressive.

My personal favorites are Listen, Listen(for the melody), the title track(For the arrangement especially the choral parts), Wayfayring Stranger, Once You Were My Lover (which contains the melody of Breton song Tri Martolod), Glasgow’s Burning( for the percussion and traditional inclusion of Alasdair MacColla  and Brian Boru’s March). The album closes with an interesting jazzy take on Black is the Color.

The Calling is perhaps the strongest solo effort of Méav. She is backed with amazing musicians. The generous amounts of spirituality and atmospheric beauty of this album promise to enthrall audience worldwide. Like she did when she was with Anuna, Celtic Woman and her solo albums.

You can stream samples of The Calling through this link: http://www.meav.com/music/

Trivia: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was originally written by the Scottish singer Ewan McColl  ( father of Kirsty) for Peggy Seeger- source of this info is Méav.