The Chieftains 9: Boil the Breakfast Early
It took Paddy Maloney 15 years and eight LPs to assemble the incarnation  of theChieftainsthat  plays onBoil the Breakfast Early, the band's ninth release. When formerPlanxtyandBothy Bandflautist Matt  Malloy joined up, the Chieftains were finally able to perform with a stable  roster. Ironically, this would be one of their last recordings of purely  traditional material before they set off on the series of collaborations that  was the hallmark of the band's recorded output in the 1980s and 1990s. But the  collection of tunes here crackles with the sort of excitement that only the  finest musicians can generate. The dance tunes are played with such verve and  vivacity that even the most slothful listeners will start tapping their toes,  while the slow airs fairly ache with a majestic melancholy.Boil the  Breakfast Earlyshows the Chieftains at their unadulterated, traditional  best.--Michael Simmons