THE CHIEFTAINS - VOICE OF AGES

Irish traditionalists The Chieftains are known for their collaborations: most of their recent albums feature them collaborating with other artists.  Personally, I was turned on to them via their 1995 LP The Long Black Veil, which saw them working with the members of The Rolling Stones as well as Sting, Sinead O'Connor, Van Morrison, Mark Knopfler and Tom Jones.  I'd heard that their new album, Voice Of Ages, was going to be an album of tracks with "indie rock" artists, which didn't sound like a good idea to me. But it's not an accurate description of the album.

Yes, Bon Iver, The Decemberists and The Low Anthem appear on the album. (I really like The Decemberists' track, a cover of Dylan's "When The Ship Comes In.")  But it also includes some great artists, notably The Pistol Annies (Miranda Lambert's posse), The Civil Wars and Imelda May.

Most of the pairings work really well and connect the dots to show fans of the younger artists that traditional Irish music has influenced folk and country music.   And that's really what The Chieftains albums do best: use artists with different (and usually larger) fanbases to expose the beauty and power of traditional Irish music to a larger audience.

It's interesting that this album came out at the same time as The Hunger Games soundtrack, and both were produced by T-Bone Burnett (or as I sometimes call him, "Him Again"). And a number of the artists - including Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Civil Wars, The Decemberists, The Low Anthem, The Pistol Annies, The Punch Brothers and The Secret Sisters appear on both. I actually made an iPod mix combining songs from both. The albums are not interchangeable, but they work together as companion pieces: The Hunger Games has more of an Appalachian feel, while The Chieftains album is more Irish (obviously). But it does demonstrate the similarities of the music of American and Ireland and the timelessness of the music as well.

THE HUNGER GAMES SOUNDTRACK

I was a bit surprised to hear that T-Bone Burnett was producing the "soundtrack" to the film The Hunger Games. I know that the film is based on a series of books that are aimed at teenagers, and based in some sort of futuristic world. Didn't seem like his beat. My understanding was that The Hunger Games was meant to appeal to the Twilight crowd.  Again, T-Bone's greatest film music has seemed aimed at an older crowd: O Brother Where Art Thou, The Big Lebowski, Walk The Line, Crazy Heart. Generally folk, bluegrass, country, a bit of classic rock. I wasn't so surprised that T-Bone would do it as I was that he'd be asked.

But then I found out that none of the songs are actually in the film (I think one or two play during the closing credits).  What would be the point of getting a well-known (and probably well-paid) producer to put together a group of songs for a movie, but they won't be used in the film?

Well, it turns out that it worked quite well! Having seen the movie, I now know that the "District 12" referred to in the subtitle to the soundtrack is the coal mining territory where the main character, Katniss Everdeen, comes from. The music that T-Bone specializes in completely works among that backdrop.  And while none of the songs are heard during the actual film, all of the songs are actually based on the original novel.

I saw the movie this weekend and thought it was great. Pretty dark for a book for young people, but I respect that it doesn't pander to kids.  The soundtrack doesn't either.  Taylor Swift is on the soundtrack (and her collaboration with The Civil Wars works quite well)... but if they had the budget for her, that means they had the budget for Katy Perry or Drake or LMFAO.  It would have been really easy to fit those acts into some of the scenes in the film.  So I tip my hat to the producers for coming up with an idea that is much more cohesive, and will age well.

Other than the Taylor/Civil Wars track, I really liked Arcade Fire's "Abraham's Daughter," The Carolina Chocolate Drops' "Daughter's Lament," The Pistol Annies' "Run Daddy Run" and the one hip-hop track on the album, Kid Cudi's "The Ruler And The Killer" (which is more of a Nine Inch Nails vibe than an appalachian sound).

The packaging seems to have two slots for CDs even though it only contains one.  Any guesses as to why?

TIE FOR #11: MIRANDA LAMBERT "FOUR THE RECORD"

I like a lot of contemporary country singers, but Miranda Lambert is one who I am an actual fan of. This chick is a badass.  The cover of the album kind of says it all.  Cute girl walking (not running) away from a car on fire as the sun is rising (or setting). Her latest solo album, Four The Record, nearly made my Top 10 of 2011.

"Fastest Girl In Town," co-written by Miranda and Angaleena Presley (from Miranda's group The Pistol Annies), is my favorite from the album. It is a rockin' track that I could hear a metal gal, or a female R&B singer, pulling off. It's not about the genre, it's about the attitude.  Another song that she didn't write, but seems perfect for her, is "Mama's Broken Heart," where she explains that when her heart gets broken, she doesn't fix her makeup like her mom would have done.  Nah, she cuts her bangs with a rusty scissor, numbs the pain "at the expense of my liver" and is "holding the matches when the firetrucks show up."   On the other hand, she writes and sings "Safe," a lovely ode to a guy (likely her husband, country singer Blake Shelton).

One of the things I like about Miranda is that she can totally rock out (as on "Fastest Girl"), she can do traditional country ("Dear Diamond," "Same Old You") and then go into left field (playing with autotune on "Fine Tune").

As I mentioned, Miranda also has a new group, Pistol Annies, with Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe (who has collaborated with The Raconteurs and also worked with Jack White on Wanda Jackson's album). I like them also, and I hope it's a long term thing, not just a one-off.  I just liked Miranda's solo album better, but both records are definitely worth hearing.