Elly Roberts reviews
Don Mescall: Innocent Run
Distributed by
Parlophone (EMI)
- Cat.no: CURCD202
- Released: April 2006
- Rating: 6/10
Rather than go for expensive therapy, Irishman Don Mescall has opted to exorcise his demons through Innocent Run.
At its heart is a painful divorce
which means plenty of heartache, all played out for all and sundry: to
understand or snub. As a debut, Innocent Run brings home the reality of
'making it' and holding down a relationship at the same time: how many of
those have we heard of in the music industry?
Anyway, Mescall articulately tackles the personal trauma: call it
self-indulgence or cathartic, he's coming from direct experience. Gripped by
remorse, and 'on-the-run' from his woes, some might call it a mawkish effort
to forget his loss, (or come to terms with it) with a classic line like,
"How come you never know what you've got until its gone / Too bad, 'cos it
never felt so good with anyone." And that's just for starters, on opener
Trouble Is.
It's followed by Left In L.A. which could easily be The Lighthouse Family
re-visited, with an edge. Song three, a rousing Beautiful Regret is the
anthemic highlight of the 14. The achingly beautiful Son To A Father makes
reference to his 'growing' as a man, with some all too brief ethnic strings
that bring the song to life.
Trying to go through his transitional period of a single man again, he
ponders endlessly on what might have been, but to his credit, he's not,
musically anyway, gone down too turgid a road. There are ambient moments
that keep the flow, highlighted on Last Chance. His compatriot Damien Rice
has had some minimal influences, breaking through on Not Enough Rainbows,
One Of Those Days, but more pronounced on a live Shadow Of A Doubt.
Technically, the album is faultlessly produced. His singing is heartfelt and
empathetic, to a point. The messages are universal. The songs are well
crafted. Not many are memorable. It's a middling album that will please all
who hear it, but lacks that killer track. It won't become a coffee-table
album either.
This, like so many others, is perfect fodder for Radio 2 and American MOR
stations.
The full list of tracks included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
