The Chieftains: Kevin Conneff (vocals, bodhran); Sean Keane, Martin Fay (fiddle); Derek Bell (harp, piano, harpsichord, tiompan); Matt Malloy (flute); Paddy Moloney (tin whistle, Uilleann pipes, accordion).
Kilfenora Ceilidh Band: Michael Kelleher, Tommy Peoples (fiddle); Seamus Hynes (flute); Mary Corocoran (piano).
Additional personnel: Laurence Courtney (vocals, banjo); Seamus Begley (vocals, accordion); Frankie Lane, Daith O Se, Ciaran O Gealbhain (vocals); Barney McKenna (banjo); Noel Grady (bouzouki); Ashley MacIsaac, John McHugh, James Murphy, Cora Smyth (fiddle); Janet Harbison, Laoise Kelly, The Belfast Harp Orchestra (harp); Rev. Gary Hastings, Peter Horan, Peter Molloy (flute); Dave Munnelly (accordion); Eoin O Beaglaoich (concertina).
WATER FROM THE WELL was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.
On 1999's TEARS OF STONE, the Chieftains' prior effort, the venerable Irish institution collaborated (surprisingly successfully) with a number of pop performers, some of whom (Bonnie Raitt, Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne) had little or no discernible connection with traditional Irish music (apart from enjoying it, of course). On the aptly titled WATER FROM THE WELL, the Chieftains return to more authentic Irish turf, and the results, unsurprisingly, are gorgeous; nobody plays this music more ravishingly.
About a third of the album is sung (Frankie Lane--no, not the "Rawhide" guy--guests on the jaunty "Jack of All Trades"), but the strictly instrumental numbers are often the most impressive, with Chieftain Derek Bell's harpsichord lending astonishing orchestral textures on "Lots of Drops of Brandy," the Belfast Harp Orchestra fleshing out the seraphically lovely "Planxty George Brabazon," and Dubliner (and almost Chieftain) Barney McKenna adding piquant banjo on "Within a Mile of Dublin."
Professional Reviews
Q (4/00, p.88) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[They] turn back to their roots with this set. An album of great balance....the textures here are so distinctive and rich that theirs is still one of the definitive sounds of a good time."
Uncut (8/02, p.100) - 3 out of 5 - "...The Chieftains are a treasure and every home should have at least one of their albums..."
