Send "The Chieftains " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Billboard |
 The latest collaboration between the Chieftains and Ry Cooder symbolizes more than the union of two of the most respected names in world music; there's also a powerful thematic concept at work here. An unlikely alliance formed by the fusion of the Chieftains' traditional Irish music with Cooder's wide-ranging Latin sounds, new album "San Patricio" relates the little-known story of a group of immigrant Irish soldiers who deserted the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War and instead fought with the Mexicans. An all-star cast pitches in to help tell the tale: Singer Lila Downs opens the album with "La Iguana," on which uilleann pipes jostle for space with fluttering mariachi guitar, while actor Liam Neeson narrates "March to Battle (Across the Rio Grande)" against a backdrop provided in part by California's Los Cenzontles. Other guests include Linda Ronstadt ("A la Orilla de un Palmar"), Van Dyke Parks and Los Tigres del Norte (who both appear on "Canción Mixteca"). The result is as thrilling as it is enlightening.-Mikael Wood...full text |
| Allmusic |
| To delve into history is to reach into mystery. Music is a time-honored method for investigating both. The Chieftains' Paddy Moloney has been obsessed with the historical account of the San Patricios, a band of immigrant Irish soldiers who deserted the American Army during the Mexican-American War in 1846 to fight for the other side, against the Manifest Destiny ideology of James Polk's America. Moloney’s Chieftains and co-producer Ry Cooder decided to try to tell it musically. The result brings this fascinatingly complex tale to life in the modern world and examines issues of discrimination, conscience, and empire. The knowledge of Argentinian radio programmer Guadalupe Jolicouer pointed Moloney to traditional Mexican sources -- canciones, sons, norteños, rancheras, boleros, and polkas from the period. Moloney sorted them. He then selected, arranged, and added music he knew from the period that echoed the Mexican sources. He and Cooder rounded up the numerous players, instruments, and locales necessary. Mexican performers such as los Tigres del Norte, Lila Downs, Chavela Vargas, los Folkloristas, los Camperos de Valles, Paddy Moloney, and many others are featured alongside the Chieftains, Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Galician piper Carlos Nunez, Liam Neeson, and Van Dyke Parks. Sessions were taped in Mexico, Spain, Los Angeles, New York, and Dublin. Sung in Spanish and English, the collection illumines the San Patricios’ chapter in Irish history, which was considered shameful until recently -- though in Mexico they’ve always been regarded as heroes. Through utterly compelling and ingenious musical preservation and invention, the album asks questions about commonalities between cultures; it offers evidence that history, when told personally enough, reflects shared experiences across territorial and chronological lines, and stands outside any “official” narrative, mirroring back to listeners what they can feel empathy for and sympathize with....full text |
| Bbc |
| In equal measure a curio, a lament, a history lesson and a hoedown, San Patricio is one of those albums that happily transcends its parts. If you only buy one Irish-Mexican album this year, in fact, The Chieftains and Ry Cooder should do you nicely. The Californian guitarist and the Irish folk heavyweights are seasoned collaborators as well as inveterate globetrotters. It was while they were recording together in Havana in the 1990s that the Irishmen introduced Cooder to the musicians who would star in his nostalgic world music bestseller, the Buena Vista Social Club. This time, though, the focus is on another historical gem: the little-known story of the Irish conscripts who deserted from the American army to fight with Santa Anna’s Mexicans in the 1840s border war. And while the first hearing of tin whistles with Mexican guitars is a little disorienting, Chieftains founder Paddy Moloney brews up a winning mixture. Bumping cheeky mariachis up against Celtic ballads, and abutting the warm warble of Cooder’s tenor with the stately harmonies of Los Cenzontles, the stellar cast includes Linda Ronstadt (with a song learned from her Mexican grandfather), legendary arranger Van Dyke Parks, the sensational Mexican singer Lila Downs, Moya Brennan from Clannad, and battalions of crack instrumentalists....full text |
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