I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks Paddy Moloney should record a solo piping album. Obviously, he’s very busy, but this is getting critical: we don’t live forever, after all, and it would be a great loss to the piping world if he never did record a sampling of his repetroire, skills and style. How about it, pipers? Let’s get up an e-petition to him: with enough names on it, maybe we can persuade him to do it!
Naah. Let’s not and say we did.
If you really don’t think you’re getting enough frilly stuff in your piping diet, there are a few tracks of him playing solo on “The Drones and Chanters, Vol. 1” out on Claddagh.
I would rather petition NPU to release their tutor videos on DVD.
http://www.petitiononline.com/
Saying that, I would not complain if Mr. Moloney released a solo album.
Lee Sei-Macfhearchair
[quote=“The Sporting Pitchfork”]Naah. Let’s not and say we did.
Paddy Maloney has been playing the pipes since the time when Titans still roamed the Earth. Frilly or not, Maloney is a mighty piper and has contributed vastly to piping world. Maloney and all of the other members of the Chieftains, past and present, are primarily responsible for ‘putting’ the UPs, and Irish Traditional Music ‘back on the map’ in the USA and other countries. Regardless of what people may think of his piping style, the man has more than earned his laurels, and quite frankly, could pipe the lot of us under the table and then some. I wouldn’t mind a collection soley of his musicianship out on CD someday.
Ah, but would it be solely his musicianship? Would he take the Derek Bell approach and release “Paddy Moloney Plays With Himself”? Or would it be “Paddy Moloney with Ricky Skaggs, Sinead O’Connor, Sting, John Tesh, Chris Martin, Beyonce, Willie Nelson, Tool, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Burning Spear, Justin Timberlake, Altan, and Other Musical Friends”?
At any rate, petition or no, I doubt it’ll ever happen.
I understand that this had been planned for last year but then cancelled when NPU had most of their grant taken away. As I recall, there was a great deal of moaning on this forum when NPU started soliciting members for additional funding just to stay afloat. It may be quite some time before they get the money together to do something like DVDs.
djm
I’d be quite prepared to buy a Paddy Moloney solo album,as long as it didn’t consist of 80% ‘guests’ and 20% Paddy,and hopefully NO overdubs(!).
The tracks on ‘The Drones and the Chanters’ are the type of stuff that I’d want,but that was then,and this is 30 years later,so it would be of interest to see how Paddy’s playing has developed or changed in a solo context during that time(has he become more or less ‘frilly’? 
)He certainly has a very individualistic style.
And YES,we do need those NPU tutors in DVD format!
Yeah, I know I know I know, I grew a little weary of the collaborations too. But I think the request was for a solo piping album. It would be a treat to hear what the man can really do with the music.
I still have his cell phone number stored in my phone. I’ll just give him a quick ring and see what I can convince him to do OK? 
Groovy, man. Totally, like, tubular.
I spoke with Paddy specifically about this at the Chieftains concert in February at Stanford University. He knows everyone wants him to record a solo CD (as do I!) and he stated that he plans to do it.
I reminded him that he wasn’t getting any younger and that it would be prudent if he did it sooner than later.
Let us hope that he takes heed and does so. It would definitely be a great thing to have a solo CD from him for he is a true Irish treasure!
Richard
I would camp outside of my local Virgin Records outlet to get a copy…well, maybe not. But I would really like to see a solo effort of Paddy’s out there. This is good news, let’s see if it comes true. 
I had the good fortune to hear a personal recording of Paddy playing recently and it was truly great, exciting playing, bubbling with personality and virtuosity. I, for one, would love to see a CD of him playing traditional tunes solo. It would be an incredible document to piping AND great listening too. There is so much going on in his playing, it reminds of 78 recordings I’ve heard… it has that freshness… have I gone on enough about this? 
Patrick.
“I reminded him that he wasn’t getting any younger and that it would be prudent if he did it sooner than later”
Cheeky Get - i hope he whacked you with his shelalee