Root To The Fruit

Not to be confused with that other Q – ace producer Quincy Jones – this is the third solo album from the artist formerly known as Colm Quearney – guitarist and songwriter with long-running local legends, Lir. It’s an ambitious affair with a fairly dizzying display of styles on offer, from full-band rockers to stripped-down acoustica. The title track falls firmly into the former category – a heads down, four-to-the-floor stomper with an insistent chorus and Jethro Tull style flute solo. In complete contrast, the acoustic rock ballad ‘Don’t Make Me Wait’ has a quintessentially English 1970s pastoral vibe about it – think the Moody Blues meets Lindisfarne’s ‘Run For Home’. (A perfect song for radio it is too, especially during these lazy sunny days. So play it.) An equally memorable melody infuses ‘Love Saves The Day’ a jaunty mid-tempo number that cleverly purloins the riff from the Velvets ‘Sweet Jane’. Meanwhile, ‘Wheel of Dharma’ veers into spacey, prog-rock territory while ‘Home is Where The Heart Is’ boasts yet another well turned out melody and a riff not a million miles from the Jam’s ‘Start’.
Overall, the more acoustically inclined tracks work better than the rockers, but ‘Sea Storm’ is the most accomplished track here by a mile. With gently strummed mandolin and a gorgeously nostalgic melody which recalls George Harrison in his solo years, and the late great Ronnie Lane, it’s proof positive that in Q’s case, simplicity wins out over sophistication.