Very nice bit of film on the Chief Chieftain, things like him and Kevin Rowsome recreating the sound of the Leo pipes quartet.
It’s lovely stuff!
Topping piping!
Other folk have opinions about Paddy Moloney, but I think he’s a great piper.
What ever about “what he’s done for piping” he’s still a great piper and can play the fecking things brilliantly!!
And I don’t want to hear this rubbish shight about “he never plays the regulators”
He does, and well too! just coz he doesn’t do it on a commercial recording doesnt mean he never does it.
Bottom line, never judge a traditional musician on commercial recordings.
If you do, you’re missing the point.
Tommy
edited to not be so ‘surley’
wow, that was really great.
history right in front of ya..
Paddy is great, no doubt about it. He’s exceptional on the chanter (pity he doesn’t play his regs, though 
).
He seems to play at least 2 sets of Rowsome pipes in this programme. One has a trumpet bass drone and the other has a round bass drone. I’ve also seen a photo of Paddy (in the biography published in 1986) in which he appears to be playing a flat chanter which looks like a Coyne. Anyone know more about Paddy’s collection of pipes?
I don’t know if he owns the set, but according the liner notes on some of the earlier albums, (1, 2, 3) Paddy plays a flat set on some of the recordings to which he gives thanks to Dan O Dowd for loaning him the set for the recordings. I believe they’re C pipes, I don’t know about the maker.
I too think Paddy Moloney is a great piper albeit his what I call “fluttery” style, that’s just who he is on the chanter I guess. Yeah, I own pretty much all the Chieftain’s albums, and I’ve only heard him play the regs a handful of times, but during a recent concert earlier this year, he was playing the regs quite a bit, even though I couldn’t hear them… And where was Sean Keane? Anyways, good stuff.
-Eric
He’s great on that Rowsome/Gallagher set there isn’t he?! (Not bad on his Sindt whistle either) And he DOES play regs - just not on the Chieftains recordings. A great man altogether - and a load of fun to deliver a chanter to at his hotel during the late hours of the night at that!
I’m a fan as well.
It occurred to me the other day - how do Paddy and Liam O’ get anywhere these days with these Rowsome sets? Carrying ivory across borders is verboten unless it’s antique = 100 years+, which their sets most definitely aren’t. Perhaps that’s another reason why Paddy went to Gallagher and those Spanish fellows for new sets.
One of my favourite slow airs by Paddy Moloney
is on – Long Journey Home –
White potatoes
with vocals by Liam O Maonlai
still looking for the last verses
(original 33 verses)