Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
There are very few things in life that can raise the spirits that have been cut adrift upon a sea that rages with absolute frequency than hearing the voice of a natural poet sing with clarity and the soft stirrings of passionate beauty in their hearts. For County Kerry’s Seamus Begley, the music and the poetry go hand in hand, each one just as vital as the other and the result is one that makes Mr. Begley’s debut solo album a charming and prosperous proposition to behold.
The Bold Kerryman, in life and in verse, the description and title suits the lyrical perfectly and adds wonderful retrospective to the man’s previous work, to the point that it is possible to get sidetracked, swathed away from the point and immerse yourself in the past for a while before resurfacing refreshed and grounded by the distinction and complete unpretentiousness, the unselfishness, that such a man can bring to the traditional and the new and enlightening.
A person doesn’t need to sing down your ear with loud terrifying tones to get your attention, sometimes the most beautiful whisper of content can galvanise or change opinion, it can plant a fertile seed in which attitude can be transformed and revolutionised and The Bold Kerryman who is willing to deliver such sweet tones deserves to be recognised as the barer of such sweet upheaval.
The harnessing of both time spent performing and a natural ability to tell a tale bursts out of any reigns that may have been attached to the man’s lyrics and in songs such as The Lough Tae Boat Song, the fantastic The Banks of the Sweet Primroses, which abounds with the craftsmanship added by the appearance of the terrific Damian Dempsey, the beautiful and stirring Wrap The Green Flag Around Me Boys and the superb Annie Laurie, that inherent skill to capture provocative images, to linger just for the right amount of time in a world that is both dream-like and full of rememberance, is one that cannot be taken lightly, it bursts out of the lungs as if the whole world will hear it but one taken with soft and meaningful purpose.
An album of tranquil repose wrapped in the arms of tender and abiding lover, The Bold Kerryman is a thing of beauty.
Ian D. Hall