Music
23 Sep 01

Crooked Town

Cleary’s solo debut more than lives up to expectations

The hugely positive reaction (and extensive airplay) that greeted the re-release last year of The Blades’ two classic ’80s albums on CD demonstrated two facts. Namely, what an utterly superb band they were and what a gifted and literate songwriter they had in Paul Cleary. It had another positive effect in that it prompted an initially reluctant Cleary to head back into the studio for the first time in well over a decade and a half.

Recorded over three months in a variety of locations, Cleary’s solo debut more than lives up to expectations. Aided and abetted by his former Blades/Partisans partner Conor Brady, he has crafted 11 songs, deftly arranged and performed in an unfussy setting.

Crooked Town opens with a pair of ready-made classics, the Costello-esque, ‘Queen of Indecision’ and Squeeze-ish title track, which continues Cleary’s long tradition of writing about his hometown. Both are given full band arrangements and could easily have slotted into a Blades Mark III set-list, the absence of a brass section the only clue to their vintage.

With just acoustic guitar and the minimum of percussion, the subdued ‘Man Without Love’ reflects a weary maturity, while nostalgia, a subject matter close to Cleary’s heart is heard on the jangly ‘When We Had A Future’ and ‘The Ghost of Christmas Past’.

Lyrically, Cleary is sharp and observant as ever, ‘Ecstasy Blues’, an 8-minute plus epic, sonically on a par with The Blades ‘Downmarket’, casts a cold eye on dance culture: “Maybe it’s the pills I’m taking/Maybe it’s my body shaking/Maybe I’ve been overloading/ Maybe it’s my heart exploding “. The title track broaches the subject of immigration and racism Irish style: “To London and Massachusetts we went with our hopes and dreams/Now they come from Shanghai and Lagos/But we have no room it seems.”

Production wise, it’s is a tad rough and ready in parts, the vocals not always clearly heard in the mix. But that aside, Crooked Town is a long overdue and hopefully permanent return to the spotlight for the former Blade.