FIONA KENNEDY: “Crazy Love” (Flying Saucer Records)

ON THE face of it, there would seem to be an overabundance of folk-influenced, female artists currently operating on the domestic scene, such is the rate at which new talents emerge. But the ongoing success of the Woman’s Heart collective and the continuing popularity of singers like Frances Black, Eleanor McEvoy and others, confirms that there is still a large audience out there for the kind of strong-willed chanteuse this country seems to be good at producing.

Fiona Kennedy occupies similar territory, albeit with more emphasis on American singer/songwriter values than traditional or folk influences. The title track to her debut, ‘Crazy Love’, is indeed the classic Van Morrison song and apart from featuring an overlong saxophone solo, she does it reasonable justice – her playful vocal phrasing lending it a countryish flavour.

The other well-known cover on the album, Eric Kaz’s exquisite ballad, ‘Love Has No Pride’ (as recorded in the past by Bonnie Raitt), is even better in showcasing her undoubted interpretive skills and ability to infuse a song with the requisite emotional content.

Of the other tracks, the original tunes written mainly by Kennedy and her guitarist, Steve Leahy, are less successful. That said, ‘The Hunter’ is a rhythmically accomplished number, reminiscent of Paul Brady’s writing style in its intricate construction. The fresh-sounding ‘Wasting Time’ is a light jazzy tune which works in its simplicity and ‘Angeline’ chronicles the scourge of homelessness and living rough in blunt, plaintive terms.

The most fully realised original song on the album, ‘Colours In Black’, proves to be the highlight and it’s where Kennedy’s voice gels most successfully with the melody, lyrics and arrangement. The swirling piano, fretless bass patterns and haunting atmosphere of the track possibly points the way forward for her manifest talent.

With echoes of Rickie Lee Jones, Edie Brickell and even Buffy Sainte-Marie in Kennedy’s wistful tones, Crazy Love is an album not without it’s charms. For an independently released debut, it’ll do fine for now but she will surely find the going tough in the genre she has chosen to inhabit.

• Colm O’Hare