Feargal Sharkey - Feargal Sharkey

"A Good Heart" was a big song in Canada back in '85. The single would sell 50,000 copies here, and the album itself would crack the top 20, but I don't think it sold enough to be certified. For me this would be the one and only time I heard the warbling Irishman on the radio.

After making his splash in the pool, there was no follow-up and in time Mr. Sharkey would be firmly relegated to the bin of one-hit wonders. It was an okay song, but honestly not one that resonated with me. Feargal was out of sight and out of mind, and he remained there. So it was a surprise when decades later it popped into my brain and I got curious. As it happened I found the album in a cheap bin and couldn't help myself. Which is the only way you can hear the album. His streaming footprint is surprisingly thin.

The album was produced by Dave Stewart who had co-produced Southern Accents with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and his own band's (The Eurythmics) Be Yourself Tonight. He was a busy guy and he was pretty much on top of the world.

Feargal Sharkey's album is interesting while also being pretty nondescript. It's his voice that makes and breaks the album. His vibrato sounds like it produced by quickly running your index finger up and down over your adam's apple. It's distinctive if not entirely pleasant sounding. Now, having said that it's what gives the album it's character.

"A Good Heart" truly is the centrepiece of the album. It's weird how some albums can open with a stellar song and maintain momentum, while others grind to a halt. I wouldn't say the album grinds to a halt, but it definitely struggles to keep going. The album never manages to capture the magic inherent in the album's lead off track, but it does manage to find a cruising speed that moves things along. It's not fast enough to get a ticket in a school zone, but it is like a lazy Sunday drive on a country road.

The album closes with an unusual cover of "It's All Over Now" a song made famous by The Rolling Stones that sort of grows on you with repeated spins. The album was an interesting listen and while it may seem like I was pretty ambivalent to it, it was enjoyable enough while it played.

Comments

6 Cylinder

As a kid we had one radio station, not counting CBC, and generally there was very little that was worth listening to, although there were times something would come on that would make you pay attention. It was 1979 and on a couple of occasions I heard "There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" and it cracked me up, and I always wanted to get a copy for myself. A few years ago when my niece was dancing, they did a performance to this song, and now I can't separate my niece from a bunch of dancing chicks in chicken suits. Such is life. When I found this in the dollar bin I actually let out a little chirp, my goodness could it be? It was, and it was in great shape - including the inner sleeve. Score. I had no idea what to expect, for all I knew there was only one song worth listening to, and if that was the case it was still a dollar well spent. If I could buy an album by Showdown and enjoy it, odds are I'll find something to enjoy here to. Before I put this on I...

Brave Shores - La Hoo La La

I love pleasant surprises. This popped up on an auction site and it looked interesting, so I put in the minimum bid and forgot about it ... until I got a message telling me I'd won and should go pick it up. It was still sealed which was a bonus. Of course the cardboard dust and tight fit was irritating and I'm sure the extra bit of unwanted scuffing as on the record as I tried to get it out of the sleeve is just the way things are nowadays apparently. This is why I seldom buy new stuff. Still, this was about the music, and I had deliberately not looked up the band in advance. I was sort of expecting so indie artsy fartsy stuff, but honestly I had no idea what to expect. From the opening notes of the title track, the album was one unexpected surprise and another. Brave Shores is a synth-pop duo comprised of Jay and Stefanie McCarrol. The credits are a little sparse which is too bad. It merely says Jay vocals / production and Stefanie vocals. Then a little further down it says th...

Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

File under: TLDR Note to the reader. First sorry, second not really, but I am sorry I don't have the ability to edit. Oh happy Valentine's day. To celebrate let's take a gander at Meat Loaf's 1977 Bat Out of Hell. Over forty three million people disagree with me but for decades I thought this album was, and continues to be, one giant disappointment. I'll be the first to admit that despite decades of baggage the overwhelming power of nostalgia managed to erode even the hardest of convictions and I found that Bat Out of Hell was one of those albums I wanted to have in my collection, but I wasn't looking all that hard. It was an album I knew more about than I actually knew about. So at this moment in time I'm still holding firm on my long held opinion. But before I get into things, it's time for some meanderambling blurbage ... I remember seeing the cover when I was a kid and thinking it was the single greatest cover I had ever seen. What wonders were to b...

Old Enough to Forget

Search This Blog