Track Listing

1. Bells of Dublin/Christmas Eve
2. Past Three O'Clock
3. St. Stephen's Day Murders
4. Il Est Ne': Ca Berger
5. Don Oiche Ud I Mbeithil
6. I Saw Three Ships a Sailing
7. Breton Carol
8. O the Holly She Bears a Berry
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Boar's Head Carol
11. Wexford Carol
12. Rebel Jesus
13. Skyline Jig
14. O Holy Night
15. Arrival of the Wren Boys
16. Dingle Set: Dance
17. Wren in the Furze
18. Dance Duet, A: Reels
19. Brafferton Village: Walsh's Hornpipe
20. Farewell: Piper Through the Meadow Strayed: This Is the Season To
21. Once in Royal David's City
22. Ding Dong! Merrily on High
23. O Come All Ye Faithful - The Chieftains,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4160 in Music
• Released on: 1991-07-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
Ireland's world-class ambassadors the Chieftains seem determined to play with anyone who is anyone, regardless of genre. On The Bells of Dublin, they do an exceptional job of teaming up with the likes of rockers Jackson Browne and Elvis Costello, as well as songbirds Marianne Faithfull, Rickie Lee Jones, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Nanci Griffith. There are many resplendent performances here, the least of which is Costello and company's raucous "St. Stephen's Day Murders." Like a banquet of traditional Irish fare with some updating to accommodate individual guests, Bells is the kind of holiday record you don't want to end. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews

The world's fastest way to get the holiday spirit!
Every year I try to restrain myself until the day after Thanksgiving to bring out The Bells of Dublin. After that I play it almost continually until Christmas, and I never get tired of it. It starts up a giant holiday party in my heart.

From the moment the bells peel on the first track ("The Bells of Dublin"), calling in the season, to the angelic voice of the lad who begins the final medley (beginning with "Once in Royal David's City"), I love every bit. In between there is joy (Skyline Jig), beautiful melody (The Wexford Carol with Nanci Griffith) quiet reverence (O Holy Night with Rickie Lee Jones), the sweetness of voices in harmony (Il Est Ne with the McGarrigle Sisters), celebratory dancing I defy you to sit still to (The Wren medley), and even enough little tongue-in-cheek Irish subversiveness to avoid sentimentality (St. Stephen's Day Murders with Elvis Costello, The Rebel Jesus with Jackson Browne).

The Chieftains' worldclass expertise on traditional Irish instruments is front and center on this album, but the many famous guests also have lots of fun. I have never known a Christmas album that could come anywhere close to the Bells of Dublin for generating the holiday spirit.

One of the best Christmas albums ever made.
There is just no way to get tired of this album. It is so diverse in musical styles that each track takes you into new territory. You settle into the very traditional opening and the next thing you know, you find yourself laughing at Elvis Costello's hilarious (and definitely not traditional) St. Stephen's Day Murders. Jackson Browne contributes a kind of agnostic's hymn (but it works just find for a liberationist Christian like me, too). There are many unfamiliar but beautiful European carols, and some of the more traditional carols are done in not very traditional ways. I especially like the way Rickie Lee Jones does O Holy Night, which is usually performed by singers with big, multi-octave voices, and always seems to have more to do with showing off than with reverence. Jones' quiet version is hesitant and awe-inspired, and seems to me closer to the spirit of Christmas than the showier versions. Threading through the whole album are the Chieftains' wonderful jigs and reels, which make you want to get up and dance (at least it has that effect on me, but I'm Irish, so maybe it's genetic).

I bought two copies of this album, one on cassette for my car and one on CD for home because it is such a priceless and unique treasure. Right after Thanksgiving, it is always the first album I get out.

Excellent!
This excellent CD contains twenty-three (!) tunes by the incomparable Chieftains. Most of these wonderful tunes are the Chieftains working with others, such as the Renaissance Singers and even Elvis Costello (St. Stephen's Day Murders has to be heard to be believed). The tunes themselves uphold the Chieftains tradition of excellence, and make an excellent addition to anyone's Christmas music collection. As a matter of fact, I have to say that this CD is so excellent that it is worth listening to at any time of the year. My family and I highly recommend this CD to you.