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Sleeve Notes
Jim McCann is an entertainer and a very good one when he is on stage. On record we can only concern ourselves with his singing or rather what he sings.
That he is a vocalist with a great deal of talent and experience goes without saying really. He has been around long enough working in folk clubs, cabaret and in concert, both in his native Ireland and in Britain, to gain a reputation that deserves to be a lot bigger.
Jim McCann has closely been associated with the folk scene, and although he sings folk songs, some of the time, he is not just a folk singer.
The songs on this album will dispel any misconception about that. They embrace the various types of songs that Jim is likely to perform in a nights work, and maybe one or two that he wouldn't.
The songs range from traditional material like "Ploughboy Lads" and "Carroll Bawn" to the contemporary equivalent of these old folk songs whose creators have become anonymous with time.
The modern compositions include Ralph McTell's beautifully simple and effective "Streets Of London," now a standard in contemporary repertoire and a true folk song of today, Hoyt Axton's "Snowblind Friend," that carries a grim warning behind its gentle exterior, and Leonard Cohen's appealing "Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye."
Jim McCann's performances have a great understanding and sensitivity in their approach and his choice of songs on this album is uncompromising. Each one is a song of depth and quality, matched by the treatment they receive. Which is why sometimes he chooses just his own accomplished guitar accompaniment or will go for a suitable fuller sound provided by a small group. Yet he is always at ease with either.
Above all the album illustrates the scope and variety that Jim McCann has in his music and on this album he uses it to the full to give us something that will bear listening to often.
TONY WILSON