There's A Better Way

It’s taken this grizzled veteran of 58 a decade or three longer than most to finally get around to recording his debut album, but what an album he’s made.

Niall Toner presented country music shows on RTÉ for a dozen years, has written for numerous publications including this one, and currently broadcasts on Lite FM. Two things shine through here: the affection and respect Toner has for the music, and the corresponding affection and respect in which he’s held by his fellow musicians.

Unwilling to hog the spotlight, he’s happy to let Clem O’Brien (one of the three members of the Niall Toner Band along with bass player Dick Gladney and Toner himself) take centre stage on two songs, and in the extensive liner notes he sings the praises of O’Brien’s high bluegrass-style tenor. His own voice deserves mention as well, though – a pleasantly rough-edged baritone that manages to convey strong emotion without going over the top.

An instrumental set, ‘Drunken Daisy / You Gotta Have A Banjo In The Band’, showcases Toner’s nifty flat-picking guitar and mandolin; and as a songwriter, he’s clearly a master of the art, equally comfortable with the sad (‘Tears Along The Tracks’, written during a train journey after a row with his wife – made up afterwards, Toner hastens to inform us), the humorous (‘Bill Monroe’s Mandolin’) and the unabashedly sentimental (‘Sweet Memories Of You’). The title track was co-written with Nashville songwriters Don Poythress (who’s scribed tunes for Willie Nelson among others) and Terri Lynn Weaver; with its advocacy of peaceful solutions to conflict, it resonates powerfully in these nerve-wracking times.

In the interest of balanced criticism I looked long and hard for a flaw to mention, but damn if I could find one. This is a CD that only grows more enjoyable with repeated listening.