Tears of Stone

by The Chieftains

Overview

This album is a follow-up to the 1995 album The Long Black Veil. The idea is the same: the Chieftains play house band for many guest vocalists and musicians. The difference this time around is that all the musicians and vocalists featured are women. Sinead O'Connor is the one return performance, and she justifies that honor with her sorrowful and beautiful rendition of the traditional song "Factory Girl." The roster of guests is diverse, and it is a credit to the musical ability of the Chieftains to keep a common thread going and blend their arrangements with all the different voices. Bonnie Raitt sounds just as much an Irish folk singer on her track "A Stor Mo Chrio" as Loreena McKennitt does on her version of "Ye Rambling Boys of Pleasure." The trick is that Paddy Maloney's arrangements highlight the unique talents of each guest. Most of the songs are traditional Irish tunes with new arrangements, the exceptions being the haunting "The Magdalene Laundries" written and sung by Joni Mitchell and strange but somehow fitting "Sake in the Jar" written and sung by Akiko Yano. The song features Japanese percussion instruments and should stick out among the distinctly Celtic contributions here, but it blends right in. Paddy Maloney states in the liner notes that the point of the project was to "marry the many-faceted voices of contemporary women artists from around the world with the simple beauty of traditional Irish music." It is a job well done. ~ Susan Cruickshank

Product Details

Release Date:	08/04/2009
Label:	Sony Music Distribution / Sony Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0886974869726

Tracks

1. Never Give All the Heart
2. A St¿¿r Mo Chro¿¿
3. The Lowlands of Holland
4. The Magdalene Laundries
5. Jimmy M¿¿¿ Mh¿¿¿Le St¿¿¿R
6. I Know My Love
7. Factory Firl
8. Deserted Soldier; Kerry Slide
9. Ye Rambling Boys of Pleasure
10. Derek Bell-Sake in the Jar
11. Rahlan Road
12. Sissel-Si¿¿¿Il Run
13. Derek Bell-The Fiddling Ladies
14. Danny Boy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Chieftains   Primary Artist
Loreena McKennitt   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Harp,Vocals
The Rankin Family   Primary Artist
Joan Osborne   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Sinead O'Connor   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Bonnie Raitt   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Dobro,Vocals
Natalie Merchant   Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Annbjorg Lien   Featured Artist,Fiddle
Maire Breatnach   Featured Artist,Fiddle
The Corrs   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Anuna   Featured Artist,Choir/Chorus
Sissel   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Natalie MacMaster   Featured Artist,Fiddle
Diana Krall   Featured Artist,Vocals
Brenda Fricker   Featured Artist,Vocals
Eileen Ivers   Featured Artist,Fiddle
Joni Mitchell   Featured Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Akiko Yano   Featured Artist,Piano,Vocals
Mary Chapin Carpenter   Featured Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
The Rankins   Featured Artist
Nathaniel Townsley   Choir/Chorus
Kevin Conneff   Bodhran
Bishop Nathaniel Townsley Jr.   Featured Artist
James Blennerhassett   Double Bass
Caroline Corr   Vocals,Bodhran
Mairtin O'Connor   Accordion
John Morris Rankin   Piano,Featured Artist
Derek Bell   Harp,Tiompan,Keyboards
Sean Keane   Fiddle
Rob Hyman   Keyboards,Featured Artist
Heather Rankin   Vocals,Featured Artist
Jimmy Rankin   Guitar,Featured Artist
Zan McLeod   Guitar
Paddy Moloney   Tin Whistle,Uillean Pipes
Russell Malone   Guitar
Matt Molloy   Flute
Matt Rollings   Piano
Noel Bridgeman   Percussion
Arty McGlynn   Guitar,Featured Artist
William Wittman   Guitar
Sharon Corr   Fiddle,Vocals
Tracey Dares   Piano
Andrea Corr   Vocals,Tin Whistle
Malachy Robinson   Double Bass,Featured Artist
Hutel Hutchinson   Bass
Patrick Fitzgerald   Keyboards
Martin Fay   Fiddle
Chito Kawachi   Japanese Percussion
Kweyao Agyapon   Djembe
Gospel Jubilees   Choir/Chorus
Raylene Rankin   Vocals,Featured Artist
Erik Della Penna   Guitar
Cookie Rankin   Vocals,Featured Artist
Una Ni Chanarim   Cello
The Screaming Orphans   Vocals (Background)
Jim Corr   Guitar

Technical Credits

Mary Chapin Carpenter   Performer
Ciaran Cahill   Mixing,Assistant Engineer
Eileen Ivers   Performer
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Anuna   Performer
Maire Breatnach   Performer
William Butler Yeats   Composer
Frederick Edward Weatherly   Composer
Diana Krall   Performer
Joni Mitchell   Composer,Performer
George Fullan   Assistant Engineer
Paddy Moloney   Mixing,Editing,Composer,Producer
Sinead O'Connor   Performer
Loreena McKennitt   Performer
Natalie Merchant   Performer
Mike Griffith   Assistant Engineer
Akiko Yano   Composer,Performer
Brian Masterson   Mixing,Editing,Engineer
Joan Osborne   Performer
Annbjorg Lien   Performer
Natalie MacMaster   Performer
William Wittman   Engineer
Sissel   Performer
Troy Halderson   Editing
Traditional   Composer
Alex Marcou   Assistant Engineer
James OMara   Design,Artwork,Photography
Jonathan Ford   Assistant Engineer
Kate Ryan   Artwork
Frez-Albrecht   Assistant Engineer
Richard McCullough   Mixing,Assistant Engineer
Takahiro Nochimura   Engineer
Jeffrey Lesser   Engineer
Wayne Wilkins   Assistant Engineer