| This Week's Highlights |
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analysis w/e 14.5.11 |
DVDs out 9.5.11 |
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@ DVDfever Youtube |
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May 11 2011 
DVDfever co uk
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Irishman’s classic. Stood standing preparing a hearty chicken casserole, for my sweet who’s due home soon, on a bitter day in north Wales (yep, it’s trying to snow again!), there’s a CD playing on my lappy (laptop). The music is as hearty as the smell wafting from the oven. I’m distracted (gladly) by this wonderfully sounding album by Marc Carroll. I’ve just looked at the CD package, and I find that after the tracklisting it reads, ‘Written and played by Marc Carroll’. That sounds impressive, but not quite accurate. There are 6 contributing musicians. The album was released last year, but is still more than worthy of a mention now. On February 22, Carroll, belatedly in my opinion, released the single What’s Left Of My Heart, and if picked up by music-centric stations, it could be a monster. This amazingly talented Dublin-born singer-songwriter has all the qualities of say Bob Dylan and past masters from 60s/ 70s folk rock. Carroll first surfaced as a musician with Puppy Love Bomb and later with The Hormones. Neither did that well. Then, ten years ago he went solo, and his debut Ten Of Swords was critically acclaimed by many in the music press. The key to world music domination has always been a sharp emphasis on melody. Even Led Zeppelin et al had that knack of gripping you with great melodies, even if they occasionally went off at tangents. Oh, and even those rather famous four lads from Liverpool. They had it nailed. Carroll’s forte, in addition to said melody, are some truly spell-binding catchy tunes, many of which are radio-friendly. Inevitably, due to his roots, there’s a Celtic patina splattered across the 10 songs, but he still manages to retain enough indie sensibilities to attract the student brigade, much like the Saw Doctors and The Waterboys. This is the sort of album (no offence fellas) that the gals will absolutely love, but make no mistake, there’s nothing sugar - coated here. If you’re a Byrds fan, with all those jangly guitars, then look no further than track 2, Now Or Never with it’s sweeping chorus and harmonies, enough to even impress The Byrds themselves.
The album opens with a thrusting riff and harmonies a la Crosby Stills Nash & Young, giving a nod to 60’s classic country rock, boosted by twanging guitar licks. Against My Will turns out to be a heartfelt song with sweeping string arrangements and wouldn’t go amiss on a Christy Moore or Luka Bloom album, such is the quality. He hits the Dylan-like button on the nasaled wanderings on the divine What’s Left Of My Heart, the new single, with the jangly bits going into overdrive, laced with rolling Hammond organ. Illusion And I opens with sweeping strings giving it a celestial feel while Carroll hushes cutely over the dream-like state, and it’s quite a profound piece of music. Once again, You Might Just Be… is full-on Byrds but lacks a killer chorus. There are two gorgeous short instrumentals – The Boy Who Dreamed and Going Home, with later being a lament drenched with melancholic strings. Closer, A Dark And Lucky Night bookends a stunning album, ending like started, on an up-tempo rush of Celtic-tinged wizardry. Carroll isn’t just about creating good music though. Like many of his fellow countrymen, he’s great with words. What’s Left Of My Heart is a classic example –“ Stars descend and assemble and circle around her / Echoes of thunderous rage gently surrounds her / And sadly I, all I can do is stand aside / And bless the day I found her.” The verdict: Go buy.. NOW!
Weblinks: marccarroll.com / myspace.com/marccarroll (Audio samples/streams)
The full list of tracks included are :
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B 37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier. PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
