Mick Flannery
White Lies
Angela Macari O’Looney
Mick Flannery is a Folk/ Rock/ Alternative singer/ Songwriter from Blarney, Co. Cork. A former member of Rock Band Black Orange, he previously recorded an album in 2005 called Evening Train, which won very high praise throughout the music world.
White Lies is his debut under a major label and was released in September ’08, immediately reaching number six in the Irish Charts. He has performed all over Ireland and also in the U.S.A., Canada and Israel.
With his unique and easy – to – listen – to voice, a beautiful touch on piano and guitar and an exceptional knack for writing songs, it’s not surprising that he’s won several awards and was short listed for a stream of Song writing Competitions.
This interesting guy wrote and performed for the C.S.N. Dramask production of Brecht’s play The Caucasian chalk circle. His soundtrack was highly praised by The Irish Examiner!
Mick’s style has been compared to that of Tom Waits and Bob Dylan. I hear hints of Springsteen, Paul Brady and Van the man.
His instrumentalists and backing vocals include;
Karen O’Doherty – Violin/ Vocals
Yvonne Daly – Vocals
Eimear O’Grady - Cello
Brian Hassett – Bass
Christian Best – Drums
Hugh Dillon – Guitar
Grum Gallagher – Electric guitar
Additional guitar – Darren Mullins
Additional keyboards – Declan Quinn
Mick himself plays guitars both acoustic and electric, Hammond Organ and Piano.
Safety Rope
This begins with a bluesy, moody piano intro. His phrasing is so like Irish Singer/ Songwriter Paul Brady, who has a similar style in his song writing and melodies. With a hushed quality in the verse and bassy piano chords, this number becomes more vibrant for the chorus, with delicately sung harmony gradually coming in, plus strings which add to its sweetness.
Throughout, the female vocals create interest and jazzy piano chords softly played behind the whole song with a short solo midway though, are simply delicious!
California
Sexy and sensual lyrics, a slow but sweet melody line, close harmony and the plucked acoustic guitar accompaniment at the beginning make this a really pretty love song!
The two ladies sing a haunting chorus for the last part of this number with the violin/Cello/guitars accompanying them. This is such a simple song, emotionally performed and like all of Mick’s creations has a way of plucking on the strings of your heart, along with the lovely guitars and violins.
After the first two tracks, the refreshing upbeat Tomorrow’s Paper is a welcome change!
It has a catchy bending guitar intro, with wonderful key changes all over the place creating a fantastic sense of anticipation as you go from verses to the chorus.
The harmony is close and enriches the already lush melody line. A guitar solo is performed with a slider creating a seductive mood. This is one of my favourite songs on this album!
Jazzeee! This is how I’d describe Wish You Well which is a delightfully slinky number. It’s an easy going love song, with the bass giving it that little bit of extra sexiness!
The guitar solo is delectable and those plucky guitar notes, particularly towards the end of the song, add such charm to what is already a cheeky, charming number with bluesy solos and jazzy riffs crawling all over it!
Goodbye
This track takes things down with rippling piano notes and a gorgeous melancholic melody. It’s a sad lament about the end of a love affair. Sung with emotion, it has heartrending lyrics When I said goodnight tonight, when I said goodnight tonight. That meant goodbye.
The piano break is so beautiful, and then strings come in lending to the sorrowful but lovely notation.
Near or Far
I love the trickling acoustic guitar notes in this song which has this waltz type rhythm to it. The harmonious refrain performed by the ladies is absolutely wonderful. The profound lyrics are about a child who is torn by the tired marriage of his parents, which results in violence. As is the case in too many broken families, children are the true casualties!
The melody is pretty, with oohs sung at the end of each line of the verse. There are some sad lines in it such as; Born was a single heir to the ideal pair, to the careless two, who choked the child on the silver spoon!
Although sad, this number has the most memorable melody and would be yet another favourite of mine. He has a knack of making the saddest of songs sound irresistible!
Wait here
Tragic and really a tear jerking tale of war and its unfair politics, this number has lots of sliding minors played on Cello at the beginning. There are horrible home truths in the verses such as ‘Oil that chainsaw up again. Go on and fuck this earth up at both ends. It’s Mother Nature’s chesty cough. One o’ these days she’s gonna shake us off. I know you didn’t know. Nobody told you so’!
However I think the way it goes from the minors to the most appealing majors in the chorus once more somehow lifts the listener from the dregs and dreariness, right up to this beautiful positive and hopeful melody!
Instruments are so fabulous throughout this album, in that they set the scenes which are so expertly described in Mick’s amazing lyrics!
Of the remaining tracks on White Lies the prettiest and most appealing to me would be What do You See and Arise now.
Arise Now
This is a song for swaying to! It has that kind of three four tempo that is perfect for a sweet and beautiful love song.
It begins with a simple acoustic intro, followed by Mick’s gritty but gorgeous vocals with Yvonne and Eimear doing a mournful sliding refrain behind the romantic melody. The lyrics are filled with sensuality and that sense of some forbidden fruit being shared between lovers;
‘Love lord, so wrong but so right, at the same time’.
A violin comes in for the second chorus. In the last line Arise now and leave me, which is repeated in a kind of sweet chant, the arrangement is excellent whereby it builds up from just Mick singing it first, to be joined by one backing vocalist and the harmony is built up layer by layer each time the refrain is repeated until the end.
What do You See
This for me is probably the one gutsy number on this c.d. It’s a jazzy number with lots of sliding guitar riffs, a choppy beat and all the best components for the coolest Blues/Jazz kind of song!
Mick transforms from the laid back balladeer to become a Rock singer with a twist!
His gritty vocals come to life in a number with cheeky lyrics, a magical solo and lots of stop start style chords in the chorus. It’s a song that has a strut to it!
A thumping drumbeat and a slinky baseline belted out along with the sexy melody line, make this the wake up call on this album!
I find Smiling Girl a little too moaning and downbeat! It has a pretty piano in it and it involves some seriously tricky vocals, lovely guitar input and has a beat despite it’s slow pace!
Do me right is pretty much the same in that it is extremely slow and seems to drag out somehow. However it has a pretty melody and those melancholic lyrics that Mick is so good at composing. It reminds me a little of the song Heart of Gold by Neill Young. Ironically one of the lines of the chorus is Your heart of gold, your hair the same.
This collection of songs by an outstanding musician, composer and vocalist, must be one of the finest about. The few faster numbers are slinky and seductive, with the more sombre ones containing profound and emotionally sung stories of life, love and Goodbyes. And as Elton John said ‘Sad songs say so much’!
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