San Patricio

Moving, nostalgic, captivating. A "must" listen ! (2010-07-13) : 4/5
The Chieftand are known for their adventurousness and in the past they have matched their rousing Irish traditional playing with styles from across the world, recording with Spanish musicians, Chinese folk bands or country, bluegrass and rock celebrities from Alison Krauss to Van Morrison or the Rolling Stones. br /The Chieftains' new album "San Patricio" (Spanish for St. Patrick) is a musical tribute to the Irish volunteers known as the San Patricio battalion who defected from the US army to fight with the Mexicans in the US-Mexico war in the mid-19th century, and who were later executed as deserters. br /As a result, it has everything on it, from traditional Mexican musicians to Linda Ronstadt, Los Tigres Del Norte and actor Liam Neeson. And The Chieftains founder Paddy Moloney brews up a winning mixture. br /"San Patricio" is very much a Paddy Moloney's project: he has had the San Patricio story working away in his imagination for almost 15 years, "thinking all the time there would have been music and in the music there'd be a shared history". br /He has always been a musical wanderlust, intrigued by the journeys of the Irish Diaspora. The San Patricio story has given him an opportunity to work with a host of original Mexican artists from both sides of the border. Their vibrant music - embodied in thriving local traditions - embraces myriad irresistible folk styles. br /The resulting meeting of Irish and Mexican cultures reveals that the two countries have a shared affinity for haunting melodies and catchy dance rhythms played on fiddles, harps, guitars, flutes, whistles, brass and percussion of all sorts. It is a cross-cultural mélange that Celtic Connections was born for. br /The Californian guitarist Ry Cooder and the Irish folk heavyweights are seasoned and inveterate globetrotters. br /Moloney and Cooder have collaborated before, notably in 1995 when Cooder added his distinctive slide guitar sound to the Chieftains' "Long Black Veil". Moloney later played flute on Cooder's "My Name Is Buddy (the Cat)" project. br /It was while they were recording together in Havana in the 1990s that the Irishmen introduced Ry Cooder to Cuba and to the musicians who would star in his nostalgic world music bestseller, the Buena Vista Social Club. br /Clearly enjoying himself, Cooder blends happily into the crazy mixture of Mexican, Irish, Spanish and Scottish all around him. His new song, the splendid "The Sands of Mexico", an imagined soldier's letter home, is a lovely slip-sliding thing, and he also plays a beautiful instrumental version of an old Mexican song about exile and longing before the band takes it up. br /The music blends Irish uilleann pipes, whistle and fiddles with Mexican guitars, banjo and trumpets, and the cast of singers ranges from Linda Ronstadt (with a song learned from her Mexican grandfather), the legendary arranger Van Dyke Parks, the sensational Mexican singer Lila Downs, Moya Brennan from Clannad, the extraordinary, passionate 90-year-old ranchero star, Chavela Vargas and battalions of crack instrumentalists. br /Among the highlights are the ribald capering of Latin Grammy winners Los Tigres del Norte, and the mournful, sashaying bolero sung by Chavela Vargas. br /A beautiful, moving, nostalgic, captivaing album! br /Many Grammys are in the cards!br /Enjoy!br /Long Black Veilbr /My Name Is Buddybr /Buena Vista Social Clubbr /Canciones De Mi Padre
unique sound (2010-06-17) : 5/5
A girlfriend of mine strongly suggested I buy this CD. She said it was a combination of Irish and Mexican music. I have to admit I never thought the two types of music would go together, so I bought the CD. Since I am of Irish and Mexican desent I found it to be a great combination. It is different!
disappointing in general, but especially with the liner notes (2010-06-01) : 2/5
Most of the album, while cleanly mixed and vigorously performed, is in Spanish, so unless you can understand Spanish, you're not going to understand most of what's going on. And don't think that the the booklet that comes with the CD is going to help you: if features a historical introduction in Spanish and English but not the lyrics -- in either language. Thus unless you know Spanish and a good deal of history already, you've basically got an album of Mexican and Irish music on your hands.br /br /For my part I was very eager to get a hold of this, as it seemed like a killer idea for a concept album: a series of songs, in Mexican and folksy style, exploring the story of Saint Patrick's Battalion, a group of U.S. immigrants, mostly from Mexico, who rebelled against the U.S. and fought on the side of Mexico against the U.S. during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Wow. In addition, I am a huge fan of Ry Cooder's mandolin work.br /br /Unfortunately, I was less than blown away. Doing the songs using Mexican and Irish styles was great, but singing everything in Spanish simply froze me out. It's pretty much indistinguishable from just another CD of Mexican music.br /br /Note that there is a version out there of "Sailing to Mexico" with Ry Cooder doing a much more elaborate job on the mandolin opening. It far outstrips the version on this album but THAT'S NOT THE ONE ON THIS ALBUM! (To tell you the truth, it's not clear that Ry Cooder is even playing the mandolin on the track that was included here: there is no mandolinist credited in the liner notes.)br /br /Another thing that irritated me about this CD was that it seemed to be a CELEBRATION of American soldiers who fought against the U.S. The San Patricios, remember, came to an inglorious end in Battle of Churubusco, during which they were eviscerated. You wouldn't get any of that from the final few songs on this CD, which feature triumphant, joyous melodies. In fact, I would characterize the whole approach of the musicians to this material as not exploratory, but reverential. Was this the Chieftains' (an Irish band) roundabout way of saying they hated the U.S.? The album, after all, was conceived and developed during the Bush years.
Mexico has better music (2010-05-25) : 3/5
I bought the CD with great expectations based on comments I heard from friends and family back home in Ireland. The subject of the album, the "Battalion of St. Patrick" is near and dear to my heart. Indeed, in my book "Driving Straight on Crooked Lines: How an Irishman found his heart and nearly lost his mind," I tell of the influence this gallant band of Irishmen had on me during the many years I lived in Mexico. Believe it or not, many moons ago, I met the Irish movie star of "The Quiet Man" fame, Maureen O'Hara in the seaside resort of Acapulco. Way back then she was pushing for a movie to be made about this incredible story of Irish soldiers who changed sides in the Texan-Mexican war. As always, I love the sheer musical ability of the Chieftains, and I especially enjoyed the combination of a pipe-band with Mexican melodies on two of the tracks. Although I would describe my taste in Mexican folk music to be fairly sophisticated and well-informed, I didn't really enjoy the majority of the Mexican songs selected. Don't get me wrong - they are not bad or hard on the ears. It's just that I don't think they do justice to the richness of Mexican folk music. I'm not sure that the San Patricios themselves would have listen to these particular melodies for very long. They, I think, would have zeroed in on melodies and styles more akin to their native Irish music.
Musical Meat and Potatoes O'Brien (2010-05-22) : 5/5
Ry Cooder and the Chieftains' "San Patricio" is delicious musical sustenance. It sheds light on a little-known incident in Mexican history--when Irish immigrants to the US ended up fighting for Mexico. It's been highlighted in a movie (One Man's Hero), but other than that, not much is known. The music is a spicy, bittersweet blend of Mexican and Irish music. It's like chile rellenos with a bottle of Guinness. Singers included on this are: Lila Downs (La Cantina),Linda Ronstadt (Canciones de Mi Padre),and Chavela Vargas, a lady ranchera singer who was once a lover of painter Frida Kahlo (Splendor in the Grass,La Llorona,The Legend of Mexican Music). Ry Cooder has had some amazing musical achievements of his own- Buena Vista Social Club and Talking Timbuktu.br /br /"San Patricio" is mostly instrumental, a melancholy blend of Irish and Mexican music as it describes the San Patricio's doomed quest. The bodhran, uilieann pipes meld perfectly with accordions and guitars. Carlos Nunez, Los Folkloristas and Los Camperos de Valles have evocative, passionate music. Los Tigres del Norte contribute the impassioned Cancion Mixteca. Ry Cooder and Liam Neeson provide some narration and context to the story.br /br /"San Patricio" is a shining, chiaroscuro gem of music for 2010. Unlike Celtic Woman and Celtic Thunder, the Chieftains play authentic Irish music with soul. Their mariachi collaborators bring some savory spice to the mix. "San Patricio" is one of the best albums of 2010.