Among Frank Zappa's last public statements was this: ``U2 is maybe the most popular and successful export coming from Ireland today, but there's no comparison between the musical quality of what they do and what the Chieftains do.'' Glatt ably explains why. Zappa is one of dozens of musicians, writers, and actors to go on the record for Glatt (Rage & Roll: Bill Graham and the Selling of Rock, 1994, etc.) in this heavily researched account of the career of 58-year-old Irishman Paddy Moloney, the band's leader and driving force, et al., from relative obscurity during the folk and rock eras of the '50s and '60s to their Grammy-winning albums of the '90s and their collaboration with several prominent musicians on The Long Black Veil. All along, the Chieftains have enjoyed the admiration of Seamus Heaney, Peter O'Toole, and the Rolling Stones, and Glatt's legwork is apparent in interviews not only with such diverse luminaries, but also with the the band's families, former members, and associates, and even with actor/director Ron Howard, whose film Far and Away is one of many scored by Moloney. Particularly amusing episodes feature the always cantankerous Ulsterian Van Morrison and a band visit to China that ultimately led to their being named the official musical ambassadors of Ireland. As an unofficial ambassador, Moloney has dabbled in the music of French Brittany and Spanish Galicia, and Glatt does a fine job of impressing upon the reader the Celtic heart of the Chieftains, from their fluency in the Irish language to their endless searches for links between Celtic culture and music in other corners of the world. And unlike other writers, Glatt avoids the temptation to slap a political label on this band that comes from such a politically torn country. Though he offers little to the uninitiated, Glatt has written an indispensable chronicle for the casual listener, the die-hard fan, and all levels in between. (16 pages b&w photos, not seen)
Pub Date: July 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-312-16605-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1997
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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