Features:
Description:
While the CD version of Water from the Well has been rightly praised for bringing the Chieftains back to their roots in traditional Irish music, the DVD documents an even fuller and more private story. Shot in the band members' most personal haunts all over Ireland--their homes, flutist Matt Molloy's pub, church halls--Water from the Well finds Molloy, group founder Paddy Moloney, harpist Derek Bell, fiddlers Martin Fay and Sean Keane, and bodhran player-vocalist Kevin Conneff speaking openly about the band's remaining artistic challenges after 35 years. Moloney, long the Chieftains' most enthusiastic proponent of collaborations with musicians from other traditions, marvels at the group's long road of international experimentation while also pining for his childhood days of neighborly jam sessions. The impish Bell confesses to thoughts of mortality, as well as his concerns over whether the Chieftains can be traditional "purists" again. The band's most ardent fans will enjoy all this discussion, but even Chieftains newbies will be thrilled by the many configurations of band members and friends (many of the latter renowned Irish-music performers in their own right) who play (and play and play) reels and jigs while nursing pints at local watering holes. Look for Van Morrison, Barney McKenna, Seamus Begley, the Kilfenora Ceili Band, and a very sweet meeting of Moloney and the boys with the angelic girls of the Belfast Harp Orchestra. Stepping outside the box for a moment, the Chieftains share a duet with Los Lobos that becomes a lovely highlight. Special features on the DVD include a short documentary about the Chieftains' gorgeous work in Spain and Cuba. --Tom Keogh
| 
