Further Down the Old Plank Road

As on Another Country (1992) and The Old Plank Road (2002), the venerable Irish acoustic band celebrates the shared sources of Celtic music and America's Appalachian folk/old-timey/bluegrass canon. That several of the guest players are veterans of all three sets lends a note of continuity to the palpable joy of discovery that fairly leaps from every track. Highlights are non-stop, but Allison Moorer's doom-laden vocal on "Hick's Farewell" raises goose-flesh, as does Emmylou Harris' "Lambs In The Greenfield," while Don Williams' treatment of an old Scottish ballad, "Wild Mountain Thyme," reveals a sturdy, unsentimental masculinity. The Chieftains are generous hosts throughout, often taking a back seat so their collaborators may shine. A poignant note: harpist and multi-instrumentalist Derek Bell, a longtime Chieftains member, died just after the Plank Road sessions were completed. That these were destined to be among his final recordings makes them all the more worthy of treasuring. --Christina Roden