Trollheart

Monday, November 21 2011
We let the stars go --- Prefab Sprout --- from "Jordan: the comeback" on Kitchenware

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Seems quite a while since we looked at an album from my native country, and this is one I've been waiting to review for quite some time. In fact, it took a hell of a lot of searching before I could even find a copy to listen to again, having bought the original on vinyl. I still have that, of course, but my record player had a serious crash (literally: my hi-fi cabinet fell when the shelf it was on decided that the rawl plugs had had enough, and it all came tumbling down! Goodbye CD player, goodbye CD recorder and goodbye turntable!) and I've never replaced it, so the chances of listening to it on vinyl again were, to say the least, slim.

So rare is this album that I couldn't even find a torrent on it, and none of my favourite Russian sites had it. Hey, Google it and see how few results you get! But eventually I managed to find a shop selling it, jumped at the opportunity and about two weeks later had it in CD format finally. That was a while ago now, and I've been anxious to make sure it's as good as I remember before reviewing it. After one listen, I could tell it was, and my heart soared. However, other Irish albums were before it on my list, and so only now have I come to select it.

Erinsaga --- Ken Kiernan and Ger MacDonald --- 1989 (Ringsend Road)


A thoroughly Irish project, “Erinsaga” is the musical interpretation of the unbelievably beautiful artwork of Jim Fitzpatrick, whose forte is painting images of the Celtic gods and Irish legends, and indeed the cover painting is one of his. The lyrics are also by him, and the music by the two abovenamed gentlemen, with a host of accomplished musicians helping them realise Jim's vision of his art through music. It's an amazing album, and deserves better than to be consigned to the “404 not found” on Google, so let's get to know this masterpiece.

It opens with pealing bells and low synth, then the voice of the Narrator, Conor Tallon, declares ”I am Tuan, I am legend/ Beauty, death and dreams/ Are the substance of my myth.” This is Tuan, elder god of the Celts, introducing himself. The music then starts slowly, with a sort of jig turning into a full-out rocker as guitars join drums, and a kind of Horslips melody comes in, fiddle and pipes adding to the tune, which then explodes in a shower of keyboard stabs and fierce bass, as “I am Tuan” takes the stage. It's essentially instrumental apart from the chanted chorus ”I am Tuan, I am legend.” It sets the scene for what is to follow, as “The Vision” comes in, with lovely vocals by Valerie Armstrong, a great traditional feel to a rock song as the oileann pipes and guitar mesh perfectly, with some great keyboard work in there too.

Because this is such a rare record, and so hard to get, I've decided to do two things in this review. The first is that I am going to make YouTubes that cover the whole album, probably three to four per video, and the second is that I will reproduce in full the plot of the album, as envisaged by Jim Fitzpatrick and and written down in the liner notes to the album. This is probably the first time I've been unable to glean any information at all from Wiki --- they have no entry on this at all --- and have had to go entirely from the CD and its liner notes.

So, the plot, as laid down in the CD: Erinsaga tells, in words and music, the epic legend of the earliest conquest of Ireland by a mysterious and mystical race, the Tuatha de Danann*. Led by their godlike king and champion, Nuada of the Silver Arm, they fought and won two great battles at a place called Moytura in the west of Ireland.

Erinsaga tells of the first great battle of Moytura when the Tuatha de Dannan overcame a fierce race known as the Firborg ** led by Eochai and his queen Tailltu. With the victory the Tuatha de Dannan became rulers of Ireland and their reign lasted for an unknown length of time until the coming of the Celts to Ireland.

The legends and histories of the Tuatha de Dannan are recorded in the most ancient Irish manuscripts, but while all those accounts date back about a thousand years they record a much earlier oral tradition that reaches back to about 1500 BC or perhaps even earlier, when one takes into account the most recent radio carbon-dating of monuments traditionally associated with the Tuatha de Danann, notaby Newgrange, which dates back to 3,200 BC or beyond.


Rob Strong, well-known in Irish rock circles, takes the lead for “Belgatan (Our will is strong)”, the first out-and-out rock track, with little in the way of celtic influences in the music, a real battlesong, with lots of snarly guitar, then everything slows down for the first ballad, as Valerie Armstrong reprises her role in “Tailltu's lament”, a fragile, melancholic song full of longing and loss, as the queen realises she cannot stop her husband, the king, from going --- perhaps to his death --- into battle: ”A king goes now/ Forth to meet his fate/ But I must stand/ I must stand aside and weep.” Lovely plaintive violin and oileann pipes bring the Celtic influence right back in, then one of the most powerful tracks on the album has sampled vocals (or a choir), punchy guitar, fluting keyboards, pounding drums as Ken Kiernan takes the mike for “Crom Cruach”***, a heavy, doomy, crunching track as the demon god Crom Cruach is worshipped: ”Power beyond eternity is yours...”

The next ballad comes in the form of “The dream of Nuada”, with Valerie Armstong back on vocals, the narration by Conor Tallon opening the song by setting the scene: ”Nuada, king of the Tuatha de Dannan/ Buried his face in the scent of Morrigan's hair/ As they lay in the embrace of night/ After the carnage of day/ While the moon watched over them/ Like the eye of the Grey God/ Of the Otherworld/ He slept, but his dreams/ Were troubled.” Some beautiful guitar work from Ken Kiernan here, and a lovely ballad tinged with sorrow and the presentiment of coming death. The only other instrumental on the album then is “Battle-frenzy”, a fantastic and intelligent melding of rock and traditional Irish music to represent to the mighty battle that now takes place.

Another breathtaking ballad follows, and here Valerie Armstrong outdoes herself in “My love is yours”, with beautiful tinkling piano from Ger McDonald and very expressive bass from Tony Molloy, just the right amount of guitar leaking in from Kiernan as needed, not disturbing the peace of the ballad, but adding an extra layer to it, then gently stepping back. Ken Kiernan comes back for his final solo performance for the rocking “The last battle (Moytura)”, a great boppy beat with plenty of guitar and handclap drums, some powerful fiddle from Pat Collins, kind of more a laidback track concerning a battle than previous “Battle frenzy”, not giving the same sense of urgency, almost as if the battle were a game and not deadly serious. That would be my only real criticism.

The album ends on the powerful title track, Armstrong and Kiernan sharing the vocal duties, with Tallon narrating the end of the battle: ”Soldiers, slain beyond number/ Many the wounds endured/ Cruel the bitter sword-blows/ Savage the brutal battles/ Now have we at last come home/ Back to the land of our fathers/ Here we sow the seeds of peace/ And reap a golden harvest/ This land we have/ Forever we hold/ Erin is ours/ Never to surrender.” As an Irish person, gives me a lump in the throat!

The final track is an amalgam of ballad, trad music, with oileann pipes, keyboards, triumphant drumbeats, and the clear vocals of the two singers as they look forward to a new time, a time of peace, a time of healing and of joy.

This album is completely exceptional and quite unique. I knew it when I first heard it, and I know it now. There has never been anything like it, to my knowledge. Completely Irish created, recorded in Ireland and based entirely on Irish myths, showcasing for the first (and, so far as I know, only) time the stunning artwork of one of Ireland's premier artists and favourite sons in music and verse, “Erinsaga” is a triumph, an overlooked classic, and without question, an example of the Very Best of Irish music.

TRACKLISTING

1. I am Tuan
2. The Vision
3. Belgatan (Our will is strong)
4. Tailltu's lament
5. Crom Cruach
6. The dream of Nuada
7. Battle-frenzy
8. My love is yours
9. The last battle (Moytura)
10. Erinsaga


* = Pronounced too-hah day dawn-on
** = Pronounced Fear-borg
***= Pronounced Crumb croo-ach

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Tuesday, November 22 2011
La eile --- Don Henley --- from "I can't stand still" on Asylum

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

What's that you say? I like some damn weird sh*t? You're not wrong! Here are some more.

Dougal and Father Ted with the Eurovision-losing “My lovely horse” (Lyric music and vocal by Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy).


Is there ANYONE in the world to whom you can say “Mahna-mahna” and they won't respond “Da-doo-bie-doobie!”? Proof that muppets rule!


To bring things onto a more sane level for the moment, here's Elaine Page from the musical “Cats" with a lovely song, “Memory”.


It may be weird, but you can't fault the fragile beauty of Judy Garland's delivery on “Somewhere over the rainbow”.


and to bring this catalogue of weirdness to an end for this time, anyone watch the show “Mongrels”?

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

The worm wonders if anyone remembers a band called M? Obviously agonised a long time before settling on that name! This is, to the worm's knowledge, their only hit, but it was a big one.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Kick --- INXS --- 1987 (Atlantic)


Their sixth and most successful album, “Kick” took INXS to their creative and commercial peak. Four hit singles, world domination and a four-letter acronym becoming a household name. It wasn't going to get any better than this. And it didn't. After the release of this album their popularity began to slide, and with the tragic suicide of lead singer Michael Hutchence in 1997 following the less-than-enthusaistic reception for their eighth album, “Welcome to wherever you are”, the writing was on the wall for this band from Australia.

But in 1987 the good times were rollin', and “Kick” broke INXS wide open commercially and worldwide. Having heard the title track to their previous album “Listen like thieves”, and mistakenly thinking they were called “Inks”, I bought “Kick” and was amazed (and still am) at how consistently excellent it is. Not one, single, bad track. Go back and read that again. That's right: every track is good, and some are quite brilliant. Almost every song was written by Hutchence and Andrew Farris, guitarist and keyboards player, and amazingly, given its now-legendary success, Atlantic hated the album so much that originally they tried to stop the guys from releasing it, offering them big money to go back and record something else. Bet those guys feel foolish now!

It starts off brash and bold, with loud, almost sparse drums, as if playing alone in a large empty room, then an angry guitar joins in, with two chords repeated before Hutchence opens his mouth, and the melody continues like that for about two minutes of the two and a half that “Guns in the sky” runs for, with the later addition of a raging guitar solo to punctuate an angry, powerful song about the arms race, then jangly guitar introduces “New sensation”, which would be one of the hit singles from the album. Again, the melody is quite sparse, just guitar, bass and drums backing Hutchence's vocal, a kind of mix of dance and punk, before keys and brass come in to fill out the track, with a really cool sax break (when is sax not cool?) from Kirk Pengilly. There are three guitarists in INXS, so I can't say with any certainty who's playing on which track, unfortunately, as I'd like to give credit where it's due. It does hoever seem to be Andrew Farriss on the keys, though he also plays guitar.

Almost all of the tracks on “Kick” are three and a half minutes or less, “Devil inside” being the exception, at over five minutes. It's also the most together, musically, with guitar again taking the lead but backed by the rest of the band in a much faster, busier song that was also released as a single, and did, like the others, very well. Hutchence is a little more restrained in his singing here, his voice most of the time lower, feeling no need to shout or scream, and it works very well. It ends on a great keyboard line from Andrew Farriss to take the song to its fade, and we're into their biggest hit, the number one smash “Need you tonight”, with again the melody returning to the sparser feel of the first two tracks, snappy guitar keeping the tune with stabs of synth punctuating Hutchence's vocal delivery, which is again sultry and seductive, and slides like a sinuous sexy snake into “Mediate”, which keeps the same melody but constructs the lyric entirely of mostly single words that rhyme with the title: very effective, with a nice sax solo at the end. I think this track is unique on the album for not having any guitar in it: sounds to me like just keys and drums, with the sax coming in at the end.

“The loved one” sorts that out though, with biting guitar smashing in the intro, a blues kind of melody with Hutchence more animated in his vocals. As I said at the beginning, there are no bad tracks on “Kick”, but if there are weak ones, this one and the one that follows it would be my choices. They're good songs, but compared to the rest of the tracks on the album they come up a little short in my opinion. Not that surprising then to find that this is the only track not written by Hutchence and/or Farriss; it certainly shows. “Wild life” is faster, more lively, but there's something missing there, something I can't quite put my finger on.

All that is soon forgotten though as we reach the standout track, and a song that became one of their signature tunes. The only ballad on the album, “Never tear us apart” is the better for it, with its haunting strings melody which opens and indeed carries the song, Hutchence's vocals the most impassioned I've ever heard them, a false stop about one minute into the track an incredibly effective device to focus the attention on a truly remarkable song, and a powerful sax solo from Pengilly to just pop that little cherry on top of the icing which is already on this magnificent cake.

Hard to follow that up, but “Mystify” is a great little track, almost in the mould of Queen's “Crazy little thing called love”, with finger-clicking, bouncy guitar, a real feel-good song to perhaps lift the sombre, sad mood engendered by “Never tear us apart”, and it's followed by the title track, which comes in on atmospheric keyboards then just explodes into a riot of brass, sax, guitar and drums, with the band bouncing all over the place, everyone having fun. Great hooks, powerful melody and great energy, this would have made a good choice for a single, but was not picked. Pity.

The happy mood continues with “Calling all nations”, more jangly guitar and handclaps, multi-tracked vocals with a sort of combination of “Need you tonight” and “Guns in the sky” and a little piece of “Listen like thieves” in there too, then the album closes on another fast, upbeat, uptempo song, with “Tiny daggers” flying along at breakneck pace, great keyboard hook --- quite similar, very similar in fact, to Rod Stewart's “Tonight I'm yours” --- pulling the song along to its fade.

I didn't buy an INXS album before, or after this, nor do I intend to. I would not in any way consider myself a fan, not even a casual one. But there's something about “Kick” that keeps me spinning it every so often, and unlike a lot of albums I could mention, it's one I can put on and leave to play through from start to finish. If you haven't yet heard this album (PLEASE come out from under that rock!) and want to hear a prime example of a band at their peak, this is the one to go for.

TRACKLISTING

1. Guns in the sky
2. New sensation
3. Devil inside
4. Need you tonight
5. Mediate
6. The loved one
7. Wild life
8. Never tear us apart
9. Kick
10. Calling all nations
11. Tiny daggers

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Anyone living in the worm's native land will recognise this firstly as the theme to the football comedy team “Apres Match”, but for the rest of you, this is House of Pain with “Jump around”. (I told you, I can't jump! I'm a worm! No legs, see?)

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Wednesday, November 23 2011
Fadeaway --- Porcupine Tree --- from "Up the downstair" on Delerium

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

What's the link that holds this selection of songs together? Well it's colours. Starting off with Alannah Myles, and a big hit for her (her only hit, I think), this is “Black velvet”.


Would it be cheating to put Yello in? Yeah, it would. Instead, here's Joni Mitchell, with “Big yellow taxi”. We don't take the easy way out here, you know!


Must be thousands of songs with blue in the title, so let's avoid the obvious and go for New Order, eh?


And what about this one from Billy Ocean, “Red light spells danger”...


I'm tempted to run “White Christmas”, but I'm old and can't run that fast (!) so how about “White wedding” instead, by Billy Idol?


Not too many songs with purple in the title, so I guess “Purple rain” can be forgiven, if a little obvious.


Green turned out to be harder than expected, but I finally settled on “Green eyes” by Nick Cave.


For pink I went with the Boss...


Violet Femmes? Now you're just pushin' it! Let's try “In the navy” --- nah, just kidding! Here's “Fade to grey” by Visage.


And our last colour (man, this was hard!) is brown, so let's have the Stones take this one.

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

Thursday, November 24 2011


T.O Witcher (live) --- Kansas --- from "Dust in the wind" on Disky Communications Europe

__________________
Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018