The holiday season album reviews continue! When you listen to a Chieftains album, Christmas-related or not, you probably know what you're getting into and this is no exception. Since I have little-to-no knowledge on traditional Irish music, I'll avoid embarrassing myself by going into too much detail here. This is an excellent record! The Chieftains mostly avoid the obvious holiday songs and tackle a nice mix of traditional carols, Irish tunes and some new originals. Having guest star vocalists is usually a pretty lame gimmick, but the singers here are fine choices that fit in well with the Chieftains' style. The Elvis Costello tune, "St. Stephen's Day Murders", is undoubtedly one of the standouts (I know I'm probably biased but whatever). Marianne Faithful's guest spot on "I Saw Three Ships" is another highlight, but all the guests do a pretty good job overall. And the Chieftains themselves give a flawless and lively performance, with the album's production helping to create a very natural and energetic vibe. There's nothing stilted or forced at the way this album comes off, it feels like you're in the room hanging out and drinking with the band themselves and having a real good time. If you want to play a Christmas album the whole family can enjoy but don't want to endure listening to some shithead crooning about chestnuts roasting again, look no further here.
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