Possibly the most famous female vocalist to have emerged from the Emerald Isle in recent years, and considered to be ‘Irish vocal royalty.’ Mary Coughlan‘s roots can be traced back to the jazz/blues singers who were her inspiration when she began her singing career, which is now approaching 40 years; right back to Billie Holiday and Bessie Smith, she’s been described as the link between the ‘Delta and the Liffey.’
Coughlan’s life story is testament to the time-honoured showbiz canard about how the best singers are those who’ve suffered the most. In her time, she’s confronted and dealt with problems relating to addiction, managerial rip-offs, suicidal tendencies, and familial disputes .. not to mention time spent time in a psychiatric ward. But through it all, the music never stopped, and she still released albums and performed concerts. Her career certainly has been a long, strange, roller coaster ride of a trip. The rawness and emotional honesty in her voice comes from a life which has been lived .. they don’t teach this at showbiz school!
This album primarily features a collection of slow-tempo songs, some enhanced by string arrangements. However, I believe Mary Coughlan truly shines when the accompaniment is kept to a minimum. A perfect example of this is her performance in ‘I Can Let Go Now,’ a gentle torch ballad with subtle strings, where she expresses, “I can let go now I’m no longer bound.” Similarly on ‘Really Gone,’ a heartfelt ballad about missing someone who’s passed on. She makes uncompromising comments about relationships between the sexes. In ‘More Like A Brigid,’ she intones “It’s not emasculation to take me as I am.” ‘Marital Bliss’ explores the theme of domestic life and those who navigate it, resonating with the feelings expressed by numerous women in ‘Fairytale’ when she remarks, “Oh my God, I’ve just woken up; my charming prince is merely a frog.” But for this reviewer, her version of The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ is absolutely gorgeous, with Coughlan slowing the song down, backed only by a piano and shimmering strings, and injecting real meaning into one of THE great love songs of all time. This woman’s taken all life can throw at her, and more, but she’s still got the unquenchable Irish thirst for life and song and has put it all into this quite delightful collection of tunes.
