San Patricio

Paddy Moloney has long held to the patriotic notion that the roots of just about all the world’s music can be traced back to Ireland. And his latest annexation is the sound of Mexico. To be fair, there is indeed a genuine historical connection to be made: over the course of 19 songs, San Patricio tells the story of John Riley and a battalion of Irish immigrants who switched sides in the Mexican–American war of 1846–48 to fight alongside their Spanish–speaking Catholic brethren against the ‘damned yanquis’. So The Chieftains team up with some crack Mexican musicians including Lila Downs, the great Chavela Vargas, Los Camperos de Valle, Los Cenzontles and Los Tigres del Norte. Even Linda Ronstadt and Liam Neeson turn up, as such traditional Mexican forms as son, ranchera and mariachi are given a distinctly Celtic twist. Ry Cooder reprises the collaboration he made with the Chieftains on the 1990s albums Long Black Veil and Santiago (parts of which were recorded in Cuba). He’s heard most prominently on ‘The Sands of Mexico, an imagined soldier’s letter home, which he wrote especially for the project and sings in the rich story¬telling voice familiar from his own recent albums such as My Name Is Buddy (reviewed in #42). For the rest, he adopts the producer and facilitator’s role he filled so well on Buen a Vista Social Club, teasing out the musical connections and filling in where appropriate with his own unobtrusive guitar curlicues. Lovely, surprisingly profound stuff.