Sumptuous West coast melodies from West Cork
Skibbereen born Deady writes and performs melodic West Coast pop-rock of the kind that was huge in the US throughout the 1970s. His bright melodies and sweet harmonies are evocative of that era, while the jazz-tinged backing is uncannily on the mark.
Opener and recent single ‘Life Goes On’ sounds instantly familiar and has a wonderful sun-kissed feel. ‘Time On My Side’ is a lush ballad of the sort Boz Scaggs might have included on his Silk Degrees album, while ‘Chapel Street’ is a poignant slow-burner in the blue-eyed soul style of Stephen Bishop or Michael McDonald. Meanwhile, ‘Good To Be Here’ could be a James Taylor tune; ‘Return To You’ is akin to mid-period Steely Dan; and the closing title track is a mid-tempo rocker with hints of Philo’s ‘Still In Love With You’.
A gorgeous acoustic ballad, ‘Season’s Tide’, is one of the few tunes here that betrays Deady’s Irishness, but it also marks him out as an accomplished songwriter capable of matching the work of Jimmy McCarthy or Johnny Duhan. He may wear his musical influences on his sleeve, but Deady imbues the material here with more than a touch of originality.
Key Track - 'Season's Tide'
“MUSIC WAND”
Maybe it’s the current spell of sunny weather we’ve been enjoying over the last week, that the intro to this song happens to align itself with simultaneously. It has a feel good, warm disposition. The laid-back, easy listening arrangement throughout brings a relaxed and almost meditative feeling. What I’m hearing is a multi-genre track of Jazz, Blues, Folk and a slice of Rock, infused and controlled very well, not over produced and with a positive and hopeful lyric. It’s the kind of song that would carry through at a gig. A crowd pleasing element that he can utilise for as long as he wants to and make the song go even further than the recording. His vocal is both raw and steady, it’s also experienced and honest. That’s his folk aspect coming through and it’s consistent throughout. I love the pace and the arrangement timing, it knows when to build at the key points of the lyric. The lyric is a life review of lessons learned, moving forward and not to regret mistakes, learn from them. They’re concise and straight to the point, they don’t hang around.
Colin is new to me but he has established himself as a reliable performance artist, on the Cork and Irish music scene for a long time now. He is unique as he is an accomplished musician, singer and writer. I can’t compare him with anybody out there right now, his product is his alone. He previously released an EP ‘Making Tracks’ in 2006. He has supported another Cork folk stalwart John Spillane, on numerous occasions and still does. He has done the hard graft that’s required for any independent artist to do and he’s still doing it. Last year, his album ‘Out of the Blue’ was listed for ‘Best Album’ at the ‘Choice Music Awards’. Colin will be performing this weekend on Sunday June 5th at the ‘Bandon Music Festival’ and will be at ‘The White Horse’ Ballincollig, Friday June 17th.
I’m looking forward to seeing him live sometime soon. It’s a great song from a great artist. Take a bow Colin.
