Van Morrison and The Chieftains

Country of origin:

Ireland

Type of music generally:

Traditional Irish Music

Status:

One release together, Irish Heartbeat, 1998 (of course both Van Morrison and The Chieftains still continue to record separately).

See also:

The Ectophiles' Guide entries for Van Morrison and The Chieftains

Comparisons:

The Chieftains' solo work, The Waterboys' Fisherman's Blues

Covers/own material:

Traditional, and Van Morrison's compositions

General comments:

This is a wonderful pairing, unfortunately, it was only a a one-off, except for Van Morrison's vocals on The Chieftains' Long Black Veil. (Neile)

Recommended first album:

Irish Heartbeat

Recordings:

Irish Heartbeat

Irish Heartbeat

Release info:

1988--PolyGram--834 496-2

Availability:

Wide on release

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended for fans of Van Morrison, The Chieftans, and Irish music generally

Group members:

Van Morrison--lead vocals, guitar, drums
Martin Fay--fiddle, bones
Derek Bell--harp, tiompán, keyboards
Kevin Conneff--bodhrá, co-lead vocals
Paddy Moloney--uilleann pipes, tin whistles
Matt Molloy--flute
Seán Keane--fiddle

Guest artists:

Ciarán Ó Braonáin--bass
Mary Black--backing vocals
Maura O'Connell--backing vocals
Joyce Boyce--backing vocals

Produced by:

Van Morrison and Paddy Moloney

Comments:

Celtic Heartbeat is a great album. (Neal)

This is an album that we have been enjoying continually since its release over 15 years ago. I'm not so wild about either of them solo, but this combination is just magic for me. I find it a classic combination, right up there with my other favourite of this kind of music, The Waterboys Fisherman's Blues. It's just a terrific collection of songs, sung and played with great spirit. Highly enjoyable! (Neile)