JOHNNY DUHAN: “Don Quixote” (Bell)

THOUGH HE keeps a lower public profile than other singer/songwriters like Mick Hanly and Jimmy McCarthy, Johnny Duhan is no less talented when it comes to penning earnest, sensitive and powerful songs with evocative lyrics and genuinely engaging melodies.

On Don Quixote, Duhan adopts a slightly unusual approach in that the album is intended to be a musical chronicle of his own long career in the music business. The journey begins with the title track, a passionate ballad full of hope, ambition and romantic yearnings. He then confronts poverty, failure and lost love on the next three songs, ‘My Gravity’, ‘The Beggar’ and ‘The Night You Left Me’. Spiritual renewal returns with ‘Don’t’ Give Up Till It’s Over’ a hymn-like song featuring the McCormack singers on backing vocals.

If all this appears dark and heavy, it ain’t necessarily so. Despite the exorcising of some personal demons by Duhan, the songs are always accessible with unintrusive arrangements and fine playing by the likes of James Blennerhassett, Tony Maher and Micky Belton. If anything his voice sounds more tortured and pained than it did in the past but his aching delivery is convincing, making the themes even more gripping.

One of his best songs, the exquisite, ‘There Is A Time’, appeared on Mary Black’s By The Time It Gets Dark album and is included here in a more raw, roughly hewn version. The album finishes on an upbeat, positive note with ‘I’m Lucky I Had You’ and the gorgeous ‘To The Light’ a waltz-like ballad with an irresistible melody and chorus.

Don Quixote is a welcome return for Duhan – a former member of the legendary Granny’s Intentions – and it should more than satisfy his own audience as well as winning him some new fans. The question now is this: which radio stations are going to make a name for themselves by playing it?

• Colm O’Hare