Album Reviews

The death of Noel Brazil, Mary Black’s long time collaborator and favorite songwriter, weighs heavily on the song selection here. The album is populated with songs of sadness, resignation and rebirth.

Listen to the heartfelt “Your Love” and you’ve got the picture: “How can I say what I feel?/When I turn around you’re not here/I know its my time to lead/But the emptiness inside leaves me weak.”

The song before that is a reworking of Bob Dylan’s “Lay Down Your Weary Tune,” made familiar to many by The Byrds’ cover, while the opener is the Land of Love,” a Noel Brazil song about “passing through the pearly gates.”

The album title is pulled from “The Real You,” another Brazil original that makes clear the connection between singer and songwriter.

The album has all of the expected Mary Black pleasures despite the pervasive sadness: great songwriting, impeccable arrangements of acoustic instruments and carefully placed background singers and of course Black’s evocative vocals.

The highlight for me is her reworking of the great Sandy Denny’s “Full Moon” backed by acoustic bass, piano and string quartet. It’ll leave you limp in your seat.

There’s a bonus Noel Brazil song, “Japanese Delux,” that I guess isn’t on the CD version, which brings me to the production and sound. The album was recorded partly in Australia and the rest at two different Irish studios. While Billy Robinson recorded most of the tracks and so they have a sonic consistency, there’s no way this was an analog production, nor does it sound like one.

The sound has the thick, congealed, suffocating sound of ProTools written all over it. The production is starved of air and lacks sparkle where it should have some, particularly around the guitar strings and vocals. The drums are soft and cymbals covered with felt. Transients are soft and images are imprecise. It’s a good recording in terms of the production. It’s just that the storage medium is defective. If this was analog and if Ray Staff mastered from an AAA tape and not a digital file, I’ll eat my turntable!

No doubt Pure Pleasure issued this on vinyl because of the music, not the storage medium or the stellar sound. It’s not stellar. It’s merely good.

So if you’re looking to spin a record for a few laughs or a light listen, this isn’t it! But if you’re looking for something with substance and depth, pull up a chair on plop this on your turntable. Just remember, you’re going to see a “chick flick,” not “Hangover.”