Published on Dec 13, 2001
It’s rare I get sent a CD for review that literally doesn’t
leave my CD player for weeks. When it happens, I know it’s
something special, and the latest CD from Irish-born song stylist
Maura O’Connell.
O’Connell’s genre is almost impossible to pin down — at times
she ranges from folk to country to traditional to pop — but her
voice is powerful, expressive, and an absolute joy to listen to.
Walls And Windows (I will resist the temptation to make a
Dan Fogleberg double-shot reference) is one of the single best CDs
I have ever heard for pure singing power, intensity, and delicacy
of interpretation. This is great stuff.
O’Connell, the former lead singer of Irish pop band De Danaan
(who had considerable chart success in Europe in the mid-eighties
with their CD
Star-Spangled Molly), walked away from that success in 1987,
emigrated to Nashville, and immersed herself in the American
traditional and acoustic music scene, eventually recording with
such luminaries as Mark O’Connor, Bela Fleck, and other members of
the ‘new acoustic’ scene — bluegrass and country accented with
jazz, rock, and ethnic notes.
Her ‘second’ recording career took off in 1988 with the release
of her debut album
Just In Time, and she’s been recording ever since in an
eclectic, unique style. The influences of Celtic, pop, and American
acoustic result, not in a raucous blend like Canada’s Great Big Sea
or America’s Tempest, but in a more expressive, passionate vocal
style that at various times reminds me of Bonnie Raitt, Patsy
Cline, and K.T. Oslin (remember her?). Yet none of these are really
fair comparisons, because Maura O’Connell has her own voice.
Most amazing for me, it took me three weeks of listening to this
CD before I realized it’s about half covers. (Whoops.) O’Connell is
that good at taking a song and making it hers, regardless of whose
name might be on the copyright. Her version of Eric Clapton’s “I
Get Lost” and Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” give me chills, they’re
so good.
Other tracks worth note: “Long Ride Home” with its twists of
phrase and odd subject matter; “The Blessing”, a jazz-tinged
version of the traditional Irish blessing; the sheer power of
“Walls”; and the funny, thought-provoking “Don’t Ask Why”. There
isn’t a bad track on the CD, and as a bonus the musicianship and
production are impeccable. (Sugar Hill Records continues to impress
me by turning out the best sounding recordings out there.)
Walls And Windows will definitely be on this year’s Top Ten
list. Don’t waste time; grab it today.