Chieftains - Wide World Over: A 40 Year Celebration - CD One of the elements that's made the Chieftains the stellar Celtic band in the world is their love of innovative collaborations with mainstream pop stars. The Wide World Over: A 40-Year Celebration gathers into a single collection some of the Irish ensemble's most memorable moments, including predictable alliances with artists such as Van Morrison, who sings "Shenandoah", to additional backing by the Irish Film Orchestra and unlikely pairings like the Rolling Stones, who add a rock kick and the "Satisfaction" riff to "The Rocky Road To Dublin". Cross-cultural experts Linda Ronstadt and Los Lobos demonstrate their versatility on the Mexican ditties "Txalaparta" and "Guadalupe", on which pipes and pennywhistle don't seem a whisker out of place, while Ricky Skaggs points to the Irish and British roots of American country music on the rousing "Cotton-Eyed Joe". Art Garfunkel, Sting, Sinead O'Connor, Joni Mitchell and Elvis Costello are also featured in classic performances with the band, while a brand-new collaboration with Ziggy Marley yields a gorgeous Don-Was-produced rendition of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". The clich that there's a bit of the Irish in all of us proves true in this wide-ranging, constantly rewarding and frequently surprising collection. And the tracks on which the Chieftains go it alone are also a gas. --Bob Tarte