Review Summary: An authentic artist who will never be associated with the words self conscious or pretentious delivers a confident debut brimming with the talent that was to spew forth from his later albums.
To find out where the story of Damien Dempsey began one must only look to his debut album to witness the genesis of this amazingly talented songsmith. Dempsey has been blessed with an amazingly powerful voice (see ‘Massai’ from ‘To Hell Or Barbados’ and you’ll know exactly what I mean) and although we only catch a glimmer of what was to come on this record it is still a testament to the man’s talents even at such a formative stage of his career. This album deals with many subjects and tackles them through the medium of folk, blended occasionally with reggae, and a mild seasoning of Damien’s own original sound to which there is no father.
‘Jealousy’ is a great opener and the only introduction you’ll ever need to Dempsey’s music. What can be said of a song that begins with: ‘Messin with my girl/that's what you're trying to do
I don't think so/I'll bate you black and blue’? This was the first song I had ever heard the man sing and I can tell you I was intimidated as much as I was amused. Damien never takes himself too seriously as can be seen on this piece. It is beautifully fingerpicked on an acoustic guitar with some laid-back drums and keyboard with some over-dubbed vocals for atmosphere. The transition to the next song is effortless and before you know it you’re in the middle of ‘NYC Paddy’, a lively tribute to New York’s Irish community which Damien lovingly describes: When I walk around this town, dear / I do belong here / Biddies came before and worked here / Built here, got killed here’. There is a great rhythm to this song, it is a real head-bopper, and the chorus will have you drunkenly roaring along in no time: ‘NYC Paddy!!!’
‘Colony’ is a definite stand out track on this album. So much so that he re-recorded it for his third album ‘Shots’, mainly just to do this exceptional and powerful piece of song writing justice. A firm crowd favourite, it is a damning indictment on colonialism as a whole, with great focus on Britain’s attempted colonization of Ireland. Dempsey spares no one though: ‘You came from Germany, from France / from England And from Spain / From Belgium and from Portugal / You all done much the same’. This song is bred out of anger, and a well-read anger at that. The facts are in order and it is evident that this is no mere republican rant about ‘de Brits’. Dempsey is truly outraged at the atrocities committed in the name of God: ‘Jesus Christ was their god and they done it in his name / so he could take the blame if it’s not all a game’. All this is over a basic strummed guitar and a drumbeat that conjures up images of soldiers marching in line. It is a chilling song that climaxes in a powerfully defiant oilean pipe instrumental that leaves the listener on the floor ready to be scooped up by the next round of more uplifting songs.
‘Dublin Town’ whilst his most popular record off this album has never quite grabbed my attention. When I learnt that he only wrote the song when he was seventeen I was not surprised. It sounds gimmicky, a novelty song, thrown in there merely to stop his fans asking ‘where’s Dublin Town on this thing??’ I appreciate why one would enjoy it but to me it always sounded a little ham fisted in its attempt to portray the streets of Dublin in an authentic manner. Additionally the title track sounds a tad rambling, an unfinished product, as if it was included to fill space and a give good album name. Not that I’m knocking the name, I merely felt this song was not on par with the others as it seemed like less effort was given to this track.
‘Bad Time Garda’ has a wonderful acoustic riff and soul influenced keys that bounce along as we’re told the story of a young man who’s family attempt to cover for him when the police come knocking: ‘It's a bad time Garda, the house' an awful sight / it’s a bad time Garda, come back tomorrow night’. This song is a spectacle to see live as the crowd thrash it out with the microphoned singer to holler the chorus as loudly as possible.
Songs such as this and ‘It’s All Good’ are mature songs that do not flinch from the realities of life yet aren’t afraid to be positive or even knowingly humorous. It is from these numbers that we see the artist Damien was becoming. ‘It’s All Good’ is another song that was re-recorded for a later album so it could grace a wider audience. If only they could hear this version as it is of such a sound and style that cannot be replicated in a professional studio environment. You can almost imagine Damien’s friends and associates standing out of earshot as the powerful vocals are committed to tape.
‘I’ve No Alibi has a lively sort of riff that would sound more at home on an electric guitar but somehow translates wonderfully to the acoustic guitar with the help of Dempsey’s idiosyncratic style. A shattering invective of the celebrity lifestyle, it never slackens the pace. I could go into endless detail on each song on the album, such is its appeal. But alas, it must be heard to be fully understood as an exhaustive worded description would be too much like a trailer with all the good bits in it. You’d know the gist without getting to experience the actual surprise of discovering all the subtleties and nuances of this accomplished debut.
Dempsey inflects the album with personality and wit and never lets himself be seen as another brooding folk singer with ‘something to say’. He says what he likes and never promotes any message, all the while putting it to damn good music. This album was in actual fact recorded in a friend’s bedroom and rarely has such a lo-fi affair been so easy on the ears. The scarcity of instruments is never betrayed by the full sound we’re offered. We have bass, acoustic guitar, drums and Dempsey’s powerful bellow to guide us to the end. With the odd keyboard thrown in for good measure we have a record that does not strive to impress yet does so anyway. It is bare bones with no glamour and in this age of over-produced under-talented singer-songwriters that is the most impressive part of all.
