Customer Reviews

Addicted to Company

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Addicted to Company

Paddy Casey has done it again with his newest album "Addicted to Company." The entire team behind this album has managed to create something so unique in music, an album that is both fresh and classic at the same time. This is the album that will show Americans what millions in Europe and around the world already know: that Paddy Casey is one of his generation's best artists.

There's a risk when you create an understated album like this one. This album is so musically subtle that it's easily underestimated on the first listen. Just listen to it back to back a few times before you make up your mind.

Producer George Drakoulias is well known for work with bands like The Black Crowes, Rhett Miller, and Tift Merritt. Here you sense some of the same musical attributes being showcased in Paddy Casey. No doubt Pat Donne's influence has added dimensions to this as well.

Musically this album is similar to what a lot of artists are trying to do now, but Paddy Casey has been doing this for a while and seems to have come into his own. This album made me dust off an old Paddy Casey album I had and made me realize how much he has in common musically with so many artists today, from Jack Johnson to Ryan Adams. This mix of alternative, rock, country and folk is listed as alt-country, but that label shows you how overrated labels are in the music industry. Each track really stands on its own and makes this album better for it.

Even though Casey is a rock vocalist he never tries to overpower with his voice. He can really sing with amazing range. In a strange way he reminds me of Jacob Dylan and Rob Thomas, in that he has a very distinct voice that sounds powerful even when he's singing effortlessly. His debut was famously overshadowed by David Grey, who also shares some vocal similarity with him. Still, he's refined his style in such an effective way that this album might be a quasi second debut for him. I for one am "addicted" to this album and haven't stopped listening since I got my hands on it.

1. Sound Barrier - This harmonic echo ballad reminds me of 70s classics like `Behind Blue Eyes.'
2. Addicted To Company - This title track brings me back to some early Dave Mattews and newer Ryan Adams, though for me it was the hardest one to classify on this album.
3. U'll Get By - I hear his influence on James Blunt and Jack Johnson in this track. Very well done, and I predict a single out of this one.
4. Fear - This song reminds me of Train's "Drops of Jupiter" album. Very direct with clean vocals and a powerful arrangement.
5. Become Apart - This is almost like a blend between a soft Billy Joel anthem and Jackson Browne. Like so many songs on this album, new and classic at the same time.
6. City - You really hear the influence of the Black Crowes here. This is just an awesome up-tempo rock song that is probably the best pop potential song on this album.
7. Not Out To Get You - This song is really catchy and reminds me of the new Ronson
8. Refugee - This song reminds me of the kinds of poetic and driving ballads that were characteristic of the Moody Blues in their heyday. Excellent.
9. Tonight - This song is so subtle and understated, perhaps my personal favorite on this album. You really hear Casey's voice on this one. Hopefully another single here.
10. I Keep - This song could have been written and performed by James Taylor and I think it wouldn't have sounded too different. Once again, Casey has his own style but it's so clean it sounds like something that you've heard for years.
11. Leaving - A great arrangement with a tinge of darkness to it.
12. U and I - Great songwriting and direct delivery highlight this track for me.
13. It's Over Now - I really hear the elder Dylan influence here, though delivered with much stronger vocals of course. This is an awesome track to close a great new album.

Check this out and you won't be disappointed. The amazing thing is that while I think this album is really awesome, I still like his first album even better. Amen (So Be It) There's a little more electronic edge to a few tracks on the first album, but still the same solid ballads we have here. But this may just have a little more mass appeal to open up some eyes.

Enjoy.

Irish Singer Paddy Casey has turned out an album a girl like me can't help but like. It's like someone has taking early Elton John, Early Donovan and Early Bob Dylan, put them in a blender and turned it on liquify. I can hear all of that in Paddy Casey's voice. And son of a gun if there isn't a hint of fellow Irishman Van Morrison.

I like Paddy's rockers, like his acoustic stuff too. Shortly after getting this CD I went to youtube and watched all the video. Mr. Casey, it seems, is a young man with a future. That's my opinion anyway and I'm sticking with it. I grew up with rock and roll, folk music too and I think I'm a pretty good judge of who has what it takes and who does not and let me tell you, Paddy Casey has what it takes. He's gonna be around for a long, long time.

I really like the song "Addicted to Company", but I have to say I thought the video for it was kind of silly, Paddy Casey working in supermarket vegetable section going around drawing faces on apples and bananas, kinda dumb, sorta took away from a good song. Then when the fruit and veggies start singing back up, cheesy. That said, this is a darn good album. I like Paddy's voice, kinda rock and folk at the same time. Not like early Dylan folk rock though, more like Donovan when he was young.

This album seems pretty polished to me, pretty good too, almost as good as Paddy's LIVING album which I really like. His "Saints and Sinners" song on that CD cuts right to the soul. But don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good songs on this album as well. Check out "City" and the closer here "It's All Over Now." These are both terrific songs and the way Paddy strums the acoustic guitar on the last song will have you wanting to put your fist in the air. Then there is the secret acoustic song at the end which is simply beautiful and so reminiscent of Donovan as a kid when he sang "To Try for the Sun" on Pye Records. You can't go wrong with Paddy Casey.

Reviewed by Vesta Irene

I have trouble reviewing music, for two reasons:
1. while I enjoy music of many different genres and always have, I'm not a music buff (you know, a walking music library)
2. I think it's a very personal thing. People can be drawn to music for different reasons, and the same music will often communicate very different things to different people.

What I can say is that when I first listened to this CD, I liked it immediately. Aside from actual meaningful (but not sappy) lyrics, which are unfortunately very hard to come by these days, the melody itself isn't half bad. I think all the songs in this CD will please most fans of what I call "soft alternative", that kind of alternative rock that is more melodic and less "bouncy", like Coldplay (one of my favorite bands); that said, I find it hard to place this music in a specific genre, because it seems to have different influences: some songs sound more pop (I know that's almost an insult this days, but I don't mean that!), with a hint of folk, some are more alternative rock, some are more melodic.

Casey's sound is unassuming, clean, just plain good - no fluff, no special effects, just good music, good lyrics, and a pretty decent voice too :-) Excellent intro to this artist!

P.S. I've only listened to this CD twice and "Addicted to company" (the song the album is named after) is already stuck in my head :-)

I wasn't quite expecting the eclectic mix CD I got. Paddy Casey's billed here as alternative country, but self described as a mix between Sly and the Family Stone and Simon and Garfunkel. That's a pretty wide patch of ground, folks, and I can see why this understated CD is not receiving the attention it deserves.

"Addicted to Company" is Paddy Casey's second CD, following "Amen, So Be It." He's already a sensation in his homeland, Ireland, and he's got some impressive talent backing him. George Drakoulias, who produced (among others) Tom Petty, The Jayhawks, and Black Crowes and also worked as a musical supervisor on movies like "School of Rock", and "Blades of Glory."

"City" is my favorite of this CD and it's where you get the Sly and the Family Stone reference. Check out the sample above and you can hear this uptempo, blue-eyed soul song.

"Refugee" is an excellent protest song, which covers a lot of territory. This one's where the Irish comes out and the subtle acoustic strings and rhythms are an excellent accompaniment to Casey's lyrics.

"Addicted to Company" is as close to the pastoral Simon and Garfunkel reference this CD gets. It's a gentle ballad with birdsong in the background about letting go--"bird never sang for me, so I had to set it free..."

"I keep" is a slow rolling blues-folk, which is another favorite of mine. Nice harmonica behind, again in some reminds me of the Sly Stone era.

"It's Over Now" the lucky 13th song on this CD, sounds something like a cross between Bob Dylan and Five For Fighting with a strong string component behind a rhythmic guitar. This song's a great closer for both a relationship and a CD.

Overall, "Addicted to Company" is a great, varied effort that requires more than one listen to appreciate. I wish this CD were classified in rock or alternative rather than bearing the country label because I think it's definitely going to be overlooked in this territory.

Rebecca Kyle, April 2008

I like this cd he has a really good musicality to him and a nice voice. It's always a shot in dark trying out a new cd but this one is definitly a keeper and I look forward to more of his stuff in the future.
I think my favorite track would be 7 "Not out to get you" I love the way it sounds very lively and reminicent of Elton John.
Certainly a lot better than so many of the over produced groups out there.

Let me explain... This album was my first exposure to Paddy Casey. I didn't know what to expect. My connotations of Irish musicians are U2, The Cranberries, The Corrs, and to a lesser extent Damien Rice. Of course, that isn't really Irish music, at least not Irish Folk music or even like it (e.g. The Chieftains). Then again, Paddy Casey isn't either.

I was taken back a bit when I heard what sounded more like disco on the first track than singer song-writer or folk music. The song sounded more Jamiroquai than anything else. As the album went on, the style evolved. At times there was a sound that rocked. At others the sound grooved. You could dance to some songs. You could hear a folk influence that was kind of an uptempo Damien Rice sound. Other tracks evolved back through that pseudo-disco sound (in my mind). The only thing that may be missing is the country sound that Amazon classified this album in.

The result is a CD that covers a range of styles without sounding disorganized. It takes a talent to create something that can have this kind of diversity. We are usually lucky when musicians or bands evolve from album to album with creativity. Here we are lucky to see it over one album. It is the type of diversity that can make this album a tough listen the first time through, but on that second go around, you'll really appreciate it. It makes the songs stand out, and it build anticipation for that next great track.

With repeated listening this album has grown on me quite a lot. At first i was not that impressed. Like Simon and Garfunkel? Please!

Where Paul Simon's introspective, lyrically brilliant, and often wryly amusing Paddy's pure fun, and enjoyment. Actually, reminded me more of Dexy's Midnight Runners. I feel that fun alive energy each time I listen and my head nods along smiling as I am driving.

I could imagine myself down at The Fillmore listening to his band on a Saturday evening. Its been the only cd playing in my car the last few days, and if you're like me, each time you listen you notice something different like harmonies, cool rhythms, or relaxed strumming. Paddy has a good voice. Really, a lot to love here. Track 3, I particularly like the line "Maybe you're an angel with enough room in your heart for everyone." That said, the whole album's great..

I admit it, I am a tender-hearted fellow. I am often (though not easily) moved to emotion. This is one of those discs that had me smiling, and even crying, by turns.

It is generalizing to the extreme to say folks from Ireland are a maudlin group. But the sadness expressed here was wide ranging and included dismay at the state of the earth, and the loss of the society this young man sees as gone forever.

He laments the chance his daughter might die before her time because human life is so cheap. He sees his deeply felt religeous views make him look suspicious to others.

And yet this is a bouncy, tuneful CD. The collection overall is one you'll be humming after the thing is done.

I have a local friend who writes bouncy, happy ditties about nuclear war and vampires. My friend and this (also) amazingly talented artist are cut from the same cloth. They realize that in order for folks to hear your message, they need to be invited in.

With an invitation like this, I'll be listening to Paddy Casey for years to come.

Love this album, in particular Fear, City, Tonight and the title track. Paddy's voice blew me away, really unique and soulful. I heard he's even better live, hoping to check him out this month on tour. It's great rainy-day music and an album you can just have play over and over. HIGHLY recommend picking it up. Enjoy.