Irishman Paul Brady has pulled a Bob Dylan on us. He's changed courses. Again.

Brady, who has actually been referred to on occasion as "the Irish Bob Dylan," has switched courses before in his lengthy and prolific career. Probably first and foremost Brady is known as one of the giants of the modern Irish traditionalist movement, and in ensembles such as The Johnstons, Andy Irvine & Paul Brady, and as a solo he made 10 albums of traditional Irish folk music from 1966-1974, playing with virtually all of the acknowledged greats of Irish music during that period. In 1974 he joined the Irish foursome Planxty, which was the most popular group in Ireland throughout the remainder of the '70s.

But like Dylan, Brady has never stood still or let his audience box him in. He threw them a curve in 1981 when he released "Hard Station." Traditionalists screamed bloody murder and sell out, but in fact Brady had tired of doing the same thing he'd already been doing for 15+ years and "Hard Station" simply saw him move back toward his original musical roots, the rock and roll styles of Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Fats Domino. And like Dylan's switch from folkie to rocker, after the furor died down "Hard Station" became the definitive Irish rock record of the decade, right along with the works of U-2. Brady continued putting out rocking, rootsy albums throughout the '80s and 90's. Along the way Brady has had songs covered by an astounding and diverse list of internationally famous artists: Bonnie Raitt, Joe Cocker, Mary Black, Tina Turner, Dave Edmunds, Brooks & Dunn, Cher, Trisha Yearwood, David Crosby, Art Garfunkel, Santana, Phil Collins, Dan Seals, Bryan White, and Rick Trevino. Brady has rightfully achieved the acclaim of his musical peers for his writing and for his musical approach.

I saw Brady at this year's Houston International Festival. He appeared with a crack three-piece backing band that included bassist Ian Maidman, who doubled on electric guitar on some tunes, keyboardist Steve Fletcher, who handled the bass parts when Maidman played lead guitar, and a crusty looking drummer, Liam Genockey, who handles most of the drum work on Brady's latest release, "Oh What A World," and showed in his live performance that he could rock hard or play with all the deftness and subtlety of a symphonic percussionist. With Brady on acoustic guitar (one he borrowed from Lucinda Williams for the hour), the band delivered a lively set of folky roots rock, covering many of the songs on "Oh What A World" as well as some of his more recognizable material that has been recorded by others. I was surprised at how many people were mouthing the lyrics even though this was his first trip to Houston and I'd never heard him on radio here. It was a rock solid, professional show and I left feeling like I needed to get a Paul Brady record. Soon.

Just as his audience may have been, I was surprised by what I heard on Brady's "Oh What A World." "Oh What A World" is a full-blown production, complete with string backings on many of the songs and lush harmonies by members of the London Tabernacle Choir. It is not an easy record to get your head around, especially if one brings to it the expectations built in from having seen Brady's stripped down road band ripping through these songs in concert. But repeated listenings won me over (there was a brief time when I was thinking "Well, hell, he's Bob Dylan in concert, but he's Sting on record" - I later came to realize that was an unfair judgment) and I began to see the record as an interesting mixture of soul, blues, and Euro-pop...with the occasional taste of blues and folk. In other words, a record full of complex and mentally challenging music (at one point I also said, "Voila! A Van Morrison record!). This was the recording of a man who comes from a minimalist, shortest-distance-between-two-points background who suddenly decides he might enjoy experimenting with all the colors in the musical crayon box. Yet, on closer listening one discovers that underneath the arrangements and embellishments there is the old Brady, the bluesy Irish traditional folk singer and his acoustic guitar. But the overall impression is that this record is a world record rather than a record directed any particular national or regional market. Based on its sound and content, it also qualifies as what used to be referred to as a "make out record," with its Smokey Robinson-like feel. Women are really going to dig this record.

The record is one large cooperative songwriting effort. Having spent most of his career writing independently, Brady spent 1996 through 1998 traveling, to Norway, to London, to LA, to Nashville, and he wrote songs with some of the most talented and highly visible songwriters in each locale: Carole King, Nash-Texan Gary Nicholson, and LA's Bob Thiele. The prolific Will Jennings co-wrote the title track on a visit to Brady's studio in Dublin.

It is evident from the first purposefully tentative opening on 'Sea of Love' that this is a man in love with sonics, in love with the technology of the modern studio production board. Brady plays all the instruments on the track except bass, so naturally he gets to exercise his knobs fetish as he layers on acoustic and electric guitar tracks, mandolin, drums, piano and keyboards. He even overdubs his own harmonies. When the smooth-as-silk soulful track that examines a man's need to feel wild and uncaged at times while remaining true to his marriage and his stable life ends, it is obvious that Mr. Brady is a giant talent. And lyrically, well, if he's not a Dylan, he's a Springsteen or a Zevon or a Simon.

Something in this mad town thrills me so
Just one taste, and the juices flow
Sure, I'd get crazy here before too long
But right now, girl, I feel the tap is turned on
Lately I've been fading away
Like an old torn photograph, fingered and grey
Losing myself inside this thing we share
(Boom, Boom!) I'm coming up for air!
Dancing to the beat of the city at night
No use in pretending that it won't feel right
The power, the passion, the hunger in the eyes
Something in this child's still in love with those lies

'I Believe in Magic,' co-written with Gary Nicholson, is a funky, soulful World Beat love song about trying to win a lover back, to make the wrongs turn to right. Brady's vocal is something Lionel Richie would envy.

With a jazzy Stevie Wonder piano, Brady takes 'Love Hurts' into the Stevie Wonder love ballad zone with a beautiful vocal job backed by understated strings. The style and airy vocal is also reminiscent of the early work of pop-rock icon Christopher Cross. Major make-out tune, here, guys. No woman on the planet can resist this song, a little candlelight, a bottle of wine, and a splash of Old Spice.

The title track is one of those jaunty make-the-best-of-it anthems the Irish seem to excel at. This has a rootsy, drunk-at-the-pub feel and gets minimal production embellishment, making it one of the few tunes on the album that sound pretty much like they did in concert. The one embellishment is a Dixieland horn track by Lynley Hamilton on flugelhorn and trumpet that is priceless, adding perfectly to the boozy sentiment.

Cried a lot of blues up and down the street
I'd lose everything I had but I wouldn't lose the beat
Oh, yeah, oh, no
Had a lotta lovin', bitter and the sweet
Bring you up in glory, drop you in defeat
Oh, yeah, oh, no
Oh, what a world

Brady is back in the Christopher Cross vein on 'The Long Goodbye,' which is certainly one of Brady's lyrical masterpieces. He delivers it in an adult soft pop-rock ballad style, but this is one of those songs that can be translated into many styles and languages. And it goes without saying that this is a song that meets all the elements requisite in a love song that goes directly to the heartstrings. This is a number that would fit any singer from Barbra Steisand to Barry White, from Sinatra to Elvis.

The album rolls on through a series of soulful, mid-tempo songs that recall any number of great R'n'B groups until Brady decides to break the curve once again with a blistering folky blues rock road song, 'Travelin' Light.' Brady has imported the legendary blues guitarist Mick Taylor (John Mayall, Rolling Stones) to drive this hard-edged, man-of-the-world rocker. This is another cut that sticks closely to what one hears in Brady's live performances.

Rusted wreck by the roadside
And it ain't going nowhere
Too much like my life
I wanna get out of here
I love your kiss, baby
And it keeps draggin' me back
But it's not your fault, honey
It's just I want a different track

'Minutes Away, Miles Apart' is another love song that will probably be covered any number of times by important artists in a number of genres. Brady gives it an Elton John treatment, with understated but tasteful piano and an unexpected steel guitar filling and playing in counterpoint to the piano. The effect is highly dramatic and makes this one of the most satisfying cuts on the album. This a dim-the-lights-and-throw-a-rug-in-front-of-the-fireplace song.

Before I met you my life had not begun
Then your world and my world exploded into one
Every thought that you had and every word that you said
Sounded so familiar, like a poem I'd just read

Brady closes out the album with the gritty, bluesy power pop 'Try Me One More Time.' It is the only time on the album where Brady lets it loose vocally, and he comes off as just as soulful and dynamic a singer as fellow Irishman Van Morrison. The harmonies on the solo are big and lush and sound like Air Supply or Simply Red. Brady's inner Morrison just keeps boiling to the surface and he does some sinister soul screaming as the tune builds to a crescendo. The selection of this track as a closer for the album was a wise and thoughtful decision, as the silence following the track seems to add to its power.

Paul Brady's "Oh What A World" is a powerful record, it is well recorded, it has a large concept and worldwide artistic vision, and it will win undoubtedly win Brady diehard fans in many corners of the world. It is a shame that there is not much space in today's tightly formatted American radio for records like this one, because it is certainly a major work by a major talent. But I'll bet there are enough thoughtful, open-minded lovers of lyrically superior songs and genuinely expressed sentiments - and great make-out songs - that anywhere you go to see a live Paul Brady show in the future, you'll be surprised how many people know the lyrics and are singing along.

* Men, are you stumped for what to get your Miss or Mrs. for your anniversary or for her birthday? Are you looking for that perfect gift that will get you back into her good graces after your last chauvinistic remark or drunken arrival after curfew? Paul Brady has the perfect key to smoother relations with the female or significant other in your life at www.paulbrady.com Do yourself a favor, son, make it easy on yourself. Where are you going to get a bouquet for $15? And "Oh What A World" won't wilt in a few days. Think of it as a sound investment.

If you are interested in Paul Brady's earlier works, Nashville's Compass Records is re-issuing most of Brady's work. Check them out at www.compassrecords.com

Contact William Michael Smith at: wms-at-rockzilla.net

 
View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook