Eleanor McEvoy: Out There (Elite)

 |   |  <1 min read

Eleanor McEvoy: Three Nights in November
Eleanor McEvoy: Out There (Elite)

The little I know about this singer is that she was on one of those Irish women compilations, the kind of thing that gets about 35 seconds in my house before it is tossed at someone who cares.

I tried a few early on and found them mawkish, sentimental and frankly just plain boring.

But this album is the polar oppostite: McEvoy sings with a hurt, adult, bruised tone, is virtually free of sentimentality, and her lyrics sound lived in and hard won.

She also does a fine version of Marvin Gaye's Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) which is an almost impossible song to pull off well. Scattered around here are songs of considerable wit (Non Smoking Single Female which kicks off this collection will drag you in), uncontrollable passion(Wrong So Wrong), bitterness towards those who betray (To Sweep Away A Fool) and much more.

So I still know very little about McEvoy other than this one helluva good album.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Snakedog: Road (Snakedog)

Snakedog: Road (Snakedog)

Singer-guitarist Dave Mulcahy (once of Flying Nun's JPSE back in the day) and drummer Steve Gilbero out of Christchurch in New Zealand have been chewing this one over for a while. Apparently they... > Read more

Various Artists: Heed the Call (Vostok)

Various Artists: Heed the Call (Vostok)

I'm sure this has been mentioned previously at Elsewhere, but some years ago the conversation turned to prog-rock and I sagely said there hadn't been much made in New Zealand. My wiser... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . DAVID MUNROW: Remembrance of things past

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT . . . DAVID MUNROW: Remembrance of things past

The legendary British folk singer Shirley Collins once said of David Munrow that he was incandescent. “He had so much energy that you really did feel if you put your finger on him you... > Read more

BRUCE IGLAUER OF ALLIGATOR RECORDS: The bossman of the blues

BRUCE IGLAUER OF ALLIGATOR RECORDS: The bossman of the blues

On a per head of population basis, Bruce Iglauer – the founder of Alligator Records – has been the man who has let you hear the real minority stuff. As he said when we spoke in... > Read more