You can tell how highly regarded she is by the number of top stars who want her to sing with them. But for Emmylou Harris such collaborations are a two-way street.
At 53, EMMYLOU HARRIS has finally taken up the pen and the result is one of her finest albums yet. SIOBHAN LONG journeys to New York to meet the reluctant songwriter.
It's one of the most heartwarming and deserved success stories in music - how Beth Orton learned to cope with illness, rebuilt her career and found herself sharing studios and stages with artists as diverse as Emmylou Harris, Ryan Adams, The Chemical Brothers and David Kitt
With a new tribute album to Gram Parsons on release, PETER MURPHY enlists the help of co-executive producer EMMYLOU HARRIS to recreate the tale of Southern Gothic that was the late singer s life.
Though he was not present at the actual recording, the sonic spirit of Daniel Lanois hovers over this album. The follow-up to the ground-breaking Wrecking Ball incorporates both elements and players from its predecessor.
Though Beth Nielsen Chapman's latest album deeper still was created when she was mourning the death of her husband and battling breast cancer, the result is an uplifting collection of life-affirming songs
He emigrated in '95, sang with jeff at sin-e, acted with denis leary, consoled nyc's firefighters and tripped around the planet with emmylou harris – but for mark geary, the adventure is only beginning
Although arguably the outstanding female country artist of her generation, Emmylou Harris has always distanced herself from the Nashville
mainstream. From early recordings with Gram Parsons and Bob Dylan through to her most recent Daniel Lanois-produced album Wrecking Ball, her work has been characterised by a maverick spirit and real fire in the belly.
PETER MURPHY caught up with her in Dublin.
U2 are set to feature prominently in Here Is What Is, a new fly-on-the-studio-wall documentary that’s been put together by their long-time confidante Daniel Lanois.
This is Tyrone-born, Leicester-domiciled Cathy Bonner's second album. She gallantly treads a dangerous path between bland pop-country and the more studied classiness of the younger Emmylou Harris and manages to come out on the side of the good guys. But at times it's a close call.
U2, Elvis Costello, The Pogues, The Waterboys, Emmylou Harris, Hothouse Flowers, The Everly Brothers, Christy Moore just some of the dozens of artists who contribute to an adventurous new five part TV series which traces the extraordinary return journey that Irish traditional music has made to America and beyond. Here, Liam Fay previews the programmes, talks to Philip King who originated and nurtured the project and hears many of the participants explain how they discovered the importance and influence of Irish music.
Following on from the belated release of Trio II comes this new collaboration. The absence of Dolly Parton's more traditional/pop leanings means that Western Wall edges closer to the harder rock nuances of Harris' Wrecking Ball album.
A North Carolinian who speaks Irish and a country performer who only occasionally performs country,
jim lauderdale has a way that makes the seemingly contradictory work well. Interview: siobhan long.
Cathie Ryan’s publishing company is called ‘Wake The Neighbours Music’ so there’s a good indication that she’s not going to be a timid little thing. This is most evident on the opening track ‘What’s Closest To The Heart’ which is an altogether more up-tempo number than the rest of the album. The bulk of the material is gentler with a beautifully measured take on John Spillane’s ‘The Wild Flowers’ but there is also a sense of fire in the vocals.
A new compilation album charts DONAL LUNNY s extraordinary musical journey to date but Colm O'Hare finds that the COOLFIN founder still has his eye fixed firmly on challenges to come
Luscious Jackson have created possibly the album of the summer in Electric Honey, a wonderful mixture of experimentalism, bubblegum pop, hip-hop, folk and rock, all served up with a dollop of sunshine and a smile.
LIAM FAY celebrates the re-release of Gram Parsons’ two solo albums, G.P. and GRIEVOUS ANGEL on mid-price CD with an appraisal of the life and work of the man dubbed The Father of Country Rock.
The indelible images of September 11th tragedy will be for many, the key memory of these past 12 months. Music may seem lightweight in comparison, yet its healing powers were probably more needed than ever
SIOBHAN LONG meets RON HYNES, writer of Sonny and hears him talk about Paul Simon, Donegal and the lack of support for artists in his native Newfoundland.
Not content to let other country stars record her songs and keep her in massive cheques for the rest of her life, gretchen peters has decided to do a little performing and touring of her own. Interview: colm o'hare.
GILLIAN WELCH s most recent album Hell Among The Yearlings has underlined her position as one of the most important of New Country artists. With an Irish visit pending she spoke to STEPHEN RAPID.
Country music’s stock has never been higher. First Johnny Cash gained an entire new generation of fans, then Hollywood began to pepper its films with bluegrass and roots music. Now, everyone from Jack White to Van Morrison is waking up to the magic of country. Ireland's getting in on the act too, with the launch of the Midlands Music Festival, a two-day celebration of all things hatted and booted. Colm O’Hare traces the rebirth of a genre.
“All men are bastards” Country star trisha yearwood firmly believed – until she met the one who would become her husband. Here, she talks to Joe Jackson about how her marriage to Robert Reynolds of The Mavericks has changed the way she looks at the opposite sex. She also discusses her rivalry with LeAnn Rimes, and the darker side of the Nashville country ’n’ western scene.
Pix: Cathal Dawson
Annmarie O'Grady's second album, 24 Hours, was produced in New York by Malcolm Burn who worked with Daniel Lanois on Bob Dylan's acclaimed Oh Mercy album.
In the first part of a two part special on the vital areas of songwriting, publishing and copyright, Jackie Hayden talks to Irish singer-songwriter Kieran Goss about his craft, on the eve of the release of the Northerner's new album Red Letter Day, his follow-up to the multi-platinum Worse Than Pride.
Kenny Rogers and Van Morrison are the headline attractions at Midlands, a two-day country festival taking place on July 29 and 30 in Ballinlough Castle, County Meath.
Famously footwear-bereft folkie Beth Orton cries our name once again at two Vicar Street shows in October, following the late summer release of fab new LP Daybreaker
Pioneering ambient artist, film-scorer, and producer of choice for everyone from Willie Nelson to U2, Daniel Lanois has assembled one of the most impressive CVs in modern rock. And with his new album, Shine, having just hit the racks, he’s far from done yet, as he tells Peter Murphy
Tipped as a man who would (could) be king in the alt. country arena for his band Whiskeytown, this slight departure is altogether a less frantic affair.
Happy in both her personal and professional life, DOLORES KEANE has learnt the wisdom of doing things for herself. Following the release of her latest album, Solid Ground, SIOBHAN LONG gets to meet her - at the second attempt.
This is Louisiana-born alt-country heroine Lucinda Williams’ first album since 2003, and its songs emerged during the period when her mother passed on and she moved from one relationship into another one.
While the great unwashed will be familiar with the voice of Eddi Reader from the Fairground Attraction radio staple and TV-commercialised 'Perfect', more learned students will have gloried in her contribution to Donal Lunny's Coolfin album.
Veteran agitprop folk-rocker Steve Earle talks to Peter Murphy about kicking against George Dubya, jamming in Galway and revamping Shakespeare for the 21st century.
Other Voices: Songs From A Room director Philip King reacts to news of Sinead O'Connor's retirement from public life - and praises "one of the world's very best singers"
His decision to take care of business may have been a turning point but, at heart, Kieran Goss remains primarily preoccupied with his guitar and his pen.
Despite predictable criticism from certain quarters, Sarah McLachlan’s vision of “a celebration of women in music” has made the touring Lilith Fair one of the hottest tickets in rock in 1998. Tim Perry reports.
The fire seems to be back in Costello’s belly again. All in all, The Delivery Man is close to an essential Elvis Costello record – and when was the last time we were able to say that?
All over Ireland, at any time of the day or night, hundreds of musicians are at work in recording studios, getting their sounds down for your delectation. So which are the trailblazing facilities? COLM O HARE reports.
For the most part, the guitars jingle and jangle, the percussion is non-intrusive and Yorn's voice is that of a troubled troubador who has seen enough of life's underbelly to rejoice in its happier moments
An icy welcome is swiftly thawed by laughter and vodka as the legendary Townes Van Zandt briefly retreats from the endless tyranny of road and stage to discuss his life and times in a darkened Dublin hotel room with Patrick Brennan.
For her first album since 2001, Colvin’s co-written nine of the album’s 13 tracks with producer John Leventhal, and her guests, including Patty Griffin, Marc Cohn, Teddy Thompson and ace pedal steel Greg Leisz, give the album an overall country/folk/rock feel.
No mere actor boy moonlighting as a rock star, Billy Bob Thornton is steeped in music and also in the kind of brooding Southern gothic aesthetic which informs his compelling album of song and story, Private Radio. Peter Murphy meets a singular man of stage and screen
AS ONE of the sharpest knives in the drawer, Jimmie Dale Gilmore has long brought his skills as a writer, singer and philosopher to bear on a literate but always passionate exploration of Texas' rich seam of music.
At the end of the last decade, Philip King was best known as a founder member of Scullion and writer of the music to the Frank O’Connor translation of the Irish lyric ‘I Am Stretched On Your Grave’. However, since setting up Hummingbird Productions with his partners Nuala O’Connor and Kieran Corrigan in 1987, he has established himself as one of the country’s leading makers of films about Irish music and culture, including acclaimed series such as Bringing It All Back Home, A River Of Sound, and Sult. Here he talks to Peter Murphy about the current Irish climate for independent film-makers, his stop-start relationship with RTE, and post-Riverdance Irishry. Pics: Cathal Dawson
He believes that country music can make people "turn their hearts away from sin." He also believes that Jerry Lee, Elvis and The Beatles failed to answer the call of Jesus and that many rock groups - U2 consPICUOUSLY not included - are now doing the devil's work. JOE JACKSON hears the gospel according to Ricky Skaggs.
The grand dame of country and western music tells Olaf Tyaransen about her enduring passion for her music, her attachment to her tennessee roots, the ups and downs of her 36-year marriage and her ambitions to record an album of traditional Irish tunes
Promoter Jim Aiken, who passed away recently, was a hugely important and universally admired figure in the Irish music scene. Here, leading industry representatives pay tribute. (free content)
Following the sudden death of his girlfriend in the early ’90s, traumatised US writer Bill Carter took off for the unlikely destination of war-torn Sarajevo. Whilst there, he established a series of satellite link-ups with U2’s Zooropa tour, which still rank among the most divisive and controversial moments of the band’s career. Despite the subsequent media fallout, an unconsummated affair with an indian supermodel, and several brushes with death, Bill Carter has lived to tell his extraordinary tale.
He’s been many things: a roadie with De Danann, a carpenter with Druid, a founder of the world-famous Macnas theatre group and, not least, a six-foot four-inch Connemara man in a skirt and self-styled “cranky fuck”. But now Paraic Breathnach spends a lot of his time crying tears of rage. Olaf Tyaransen finds him down but definitely not out. Portrait Aengus McMahon
IT'S NOT all that hard to fathom the phenomenal success and longevity of Tracy Chapman. Her winning combination of simple, folk-based melodies, wise, knowing vocals and a quietly spoken dignity, has made her the most popular singer-songwriter of the last decade.
Like many others, I must admit to being a tad underwhelmed with Mary Black's last couple of albums, a lack of direction characterising one, an end-of-cycle lassitude the other.
So it was that I approached this, her latest offering, with some trepidation. After just one listen I was convinced that I had heard one of the albums of the year thus far.
Like many others, I must admit to being a tad underwhelmed with Mary Black's last couple of albums, a lack of direction characterising one, an end-of-cycle lassitude the other.
So it was that I approached this, her latest offering, with some trepidation. After just one listen I was convinced that I had heard one of the albums of the year thus far.
It can’t be easy trying to establish a distinct identity for yourself as an artist when you happen to be married to one of the world’s biggest rock stars, but for now at least – she’s The Boss!
For many people it is U2's greatest album. Twenty years on, to mark it's re-release, Colm O'Hare talks to Daniel Lanois and reflects on the extraordinary background to a monumental album.
Ten years on we come upon a timely update showcasing some of the artists featured on the first album as well as a pleasure cruise through some not catered for back then
They don’t come more unlikely than this long-distance collaboration between the Scottish-based former Belle and Sebastian chanteuse and the ever-versatile Screaming Trees/Queens of the Stone Age vocalist and LA resident.
THIS SOUNDS like a good deal: two long-established and much revered artists both releasing albums on the equally respected Sugerhill label. Guy Clark’s album is going to be no surprise to his fans, and he’s too long in the tooth now to expect to attract a whole bunch of new converts to the cause.
Jonathan Demme’s film of a Neil Young concert is just that. There is no flashy camera work or pyrotechnics on offer. This is an unadorned concert film of a type rarely glimpsed since the 70s. Have Neil and his buddies got the chops to pull it off? You bet your arse they have.
The alarm only went off half-an-hour ago, and yet here we are, looking back in anguish at a year that threatened so much and largely failed to deliver.
Is there anyone who will 'fess up to ordering another dozen tunes with earnest lyrics, dampened down drums, polite keyboards and sub-Floydian guitar solos?
Earle commands protest chops that go back to Guthrie, but he also has the smarts to examine the allure of war, both as boys’ own glamour and last-ditch career option. Most of the songs study the anatomy of soldiery.
Born on 26th February 1932 in Arkansas, the guitarist, singer and songwriter Johnny Cash is one of the true legends of country music, a performer whose popularity transcends the boundaries of that art-form.
Turbulence, the debut album proper from Saucy Monky, is one of those records. It is at once rich, smart, sexy, thrilling, entertaining, diverse and hugely accomplished. It is a great, rock’n’roll record, both playful and deep, its sometimes dark indie heart-core spangled with enough sparks of pop magic to light up the western sky.
Colm O’Hare previews MIDEM, the music business trade fair to end all music business trade fairs held each year in Cannes, France and talks to Irish delegates about the increasing possibilities it opens up for Irish labels.
