Come Back Paddy Reilly

PADDY REILLY: “Come Back Paddy Reilly” (Brook)

LONG REGARDED as one of our very best ballad singers, there seems to be a reluctance among the ‘cognoscenti’ to give Paddy Reilly his due regard as an artist. Make no mistake about it, Reilly deserves to stand up there with the Moores, the Clancys, and Luke Kelly when it comes to interpreting a song, a fact that's more than borne out on this collection.

A quick trawl through the thirteen titles sees him covering material by Shane McGowan, – Reilly's version of ‘Rainy Night In Soho’ is just about the best I've heard – and no less than three Jimmy McCarthy songs. His deep, resonant vocals are the perfect conduit for McCarthy's melancholic wit, and on the title track, he captures perfectly the humour of the piece. I've been there, and while Ballyjamesduff is a nice place, Hawaii it most definitely isn't!

OK so I could've done without ‘The Rose Of Allendale’ (one moe time!) and ‘The Old Rustic Bridge’ – but P.R. even manages to redeem that all chestnut from the tender caresses of Big Tom's earlier version.

Two final observations. It's such a beautifully produced and played album that it seems a shame that no musicians or production credits are provided, though I suspect the involvement of various Dubliners, Voice Squad people et al. Secondly, if somebody like Christy Moore recorded an album like this, people would laud him till the cows came home. Says something about us, don't you think?

Anyway, it's a lovely album, and one I'll come back to again and again, for that, and all the pleasure I've got from seeing the man over the years – much thanks.

• Oliver P. Sweeney