HAVING spent weeks listening properly to Bap Kennedy's Reckless Heart album, I'm glad to say that it is a truly excellent piece of work. Sadly, it was of course to be Bap's last release and the record is a powerful reminder that the musical legacy he leaves behind is of the highest quality.
From the Dylanesque joy of Nothing Can Stand In The Way of Love to the delicately beautiful The Universe and Me, Reckless Heart is a heartfelt and emotional piece of work that so clearly highlights the songwriting prowess of a truly great Belfast artist.
The variety on this album is more than impressive – It's Not You It's Me starts out as a T. Rex-inspired rock groove and evolves perfectly into a soulful, blues hybrid filled with honky tonk piano and and an addictive chorus.
Meanwhile, I Should Have Said is simply one of the best songs I have heard in years with its haunting melodies and frank, regretful lyrics. In fact, lyrically is where this album really shines.
Of course the music, the arrangement and the delivery of the songs are all on point but Bap's very honest and human approach to telling a story, be it personal or otherwise, is what puts Reckless Heart into another league.
A beautiful and rewarding album from start to finish and one that should make fans and friends very proud to have part of Bap Kennedy's immense contribution to music.
INCH PERFECT
THERE was a time when 'the 12 inch' was a very important concept is the daily lives of music lovers – now it would usually have the words 'pepperoni and mushroom' attached before commanding the same enthusiasm.
The 12-inch single usually meant a much more generous helping of one's favourite pop song. There would perhaps be an epic orchestral version or an extended intro or outro and very often bands would have actually recorded the more magnified version as well as the standard song.
If you hanker after those days or indeed want to investigate what all the fuss was about when it came to a piece of vinyl that looked like an album but only housed two or three tracks, then a new 12-inch 80s compilation might just be the job for you. Titled Hold Me Now (after the Thompson Twins song, included), the collection uncovers a few random gems and also is guilty of glaring omissions.
As for the songs on offer, you can wrap yourself up in the silky smooth full versions of Gregory Abbot's Shake You Down and Alexander O Neal's If You Were Here Tonight as well as marvelling at the seven-minute wonder of Spandau Ballet's Through The Barricades. If that doesn't work, I'm sure the soft rock heaven of Mr. Mister's Broken Wings will do the trick.
