Customer Reviews

Walls & Windows

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What always never ceases to amaze me is how one of the greatest singers on the face of this planet always seems to go so unknown and so underappreciated. One is bombarded every day with junk trivia and worthless patter about Britney and Jessica and Janet and Madonna and a full boatload of other popular "hottie" singer/gyraters who have a decent level of talent and are, in fact, entertaining---yet whose appeal is really largely based on video production expertise, studio production wizardry, professionally coached dance choreography,
aerobically honed (and often surgically enhanced) superbodies, road show audio-visual effects, and big-budget Record Company promotional marketing.
Maura O'Connell is about none of these things. Maura O'Connell is a big-boned, stocky, red-headed, Catholic Irishwoman
with a strong, pretty, intelligent face and soul-reflecting eyes.
She looks to be of what the "gentry" used to patronizingly refer to as a "peasant" type, but the fact of the matter is...this woman is nothing but CLASS, through and through. She may not be the kind of nubile twitch performer that Britney is, but anyone who has ever heard Maura O'Connell sing knows that, when it comes to a real vocal performance, Irish Red can blow Britney and all her glitz-sisters right off the stage.
The voice is amazing. Once heard it is not forgotten. It is powerful...it is delicate. It is throaty and bold...it is whispery and gentle and relective. It is a folk voice, it is a
jazz voice, it is a blues voice, it is a country & western voice, it is a rock voice, it is a pop voice. It is a soul voice.
The Maura O'Connell voice is a SINGER'S voice, and it is whatever it needs to be to interpret the songwriter's material most effectively.
A friend of mine said to me the other day, "Y'know,Maura O'Connell sounds a lot like Nora Jones." I politely disagreed.
"No," I replied. "Nora Jones sounds like Maura O'Connell...the way Maura sounds SOMETIMES".
The best way to appreciate what I'm saying here is to listen to an O'Connell CD...and "Walls And Windows" is a fine example of what I mean. The song treatments here range from wistful to exuberant, hitting all points in between. "Walls" is a beautiful song, "Every River" jaunty and fun, "Crazy Love" an awesome cover of the Van Morrison classic. John Prine's "Sleepy Eyed Boy" is utterly captivating done by Maura, as is Eric clapton's "I Get Lost". Truth is, there isn't a klunker on this recording. not a one. And that is really pretty much typical of the entire O'Connell discography. The woman just doesn't MAKE bad records.
I first encountered her in concert with Nashville musicians
Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberger, Edgar Meyer, and Sam Bush several years ago, performing as "The Acoustic Giants", and was knocked out by her singing. Have been a serious admirer of her work ever since. Adore albums like "Helpless Heart", "Blue Is the Color of Hope", "A Real Life Story" and others. This woman's talent is just awesome. She is up there in a class with Aretha Franklin, Patsy Cline, Kate Smith, Rosemary Clooney, Julie London, Whitney Houston, Peggy Lee, Cass Elliott, Janis Joplin,and all the other Big League Lady Singers....and I'm not blowing smoke on you, either, friend.
Don't believe me? Give a listen. You'll soon change your mind.

I received this CD as a gift from a friend. I am not a very musical person myself, but I really enjoy listening to all kinds of music. My friend thought I would like this because I am of Irish decent. When I first listened to this CD I was blown away. I put on in the car on my way home a did not turn it off until it was over. I sat in my driveway until I had listened to every song. There are a lot of really good singers, but when you listen to Maura O'Connell she is able to pull you into the story behind the music. You feel as if you are living what she is singing. Last month in Nashville at the Bluebird Cafe I was able to see her live and to meet her after. She is as nice and sweet a person as she is a wonderful singer. I just ordered 4 more of her CDs. I will be a fan for life.

There is just no two ways about it -- Maura O'Connell is one of the handful of the very best singers around in ANY genre, and she proves it once again in the solid, nearly flawless recording of first rate songs

With a slightly rootsier feel than some previous albums by O'Connell (she was inspired by Lucinda Williams' Americana classic "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road") it might be tempting to approach this album with a bit a caution, but there is no need for that. What we have here is a set of one dozen excellent songs and all of them are beautifully sung and tastefully produced -- in short another typically excellent Maura O'Connell album!

With her seventh US album, Iris singer Maura O'Connell pretty much hews closely to the ground she's been tending to for the past 10+ years, and this is cause for celebration.

The *formula* (for lack of a better term) is well known to her legions of fans by now. take a set of great songs (in this case exactly one dozen) by some of the best songwriters around today some of whom are very well known (Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, John Prine) some up and coming (Malcolm Holcombe, Kim Richey) hire an ace set of backup musicians, and let Maura work her magic with them. Top it off by having a restrained produced work the boards and catch it all on tape. This is all that is needed for a successful and wonderful Maura O'Connell record.

And that's what we have here folks. Of her seven albums this is one of her best, probably topped only by "Helpless Heart," and maybe "Blue is the Colour of Hope." Maura is in fine voice (that's a given) the songs are great (another, given her excellent taste in material) and the musicians and production keep a respectful distance. What's not to like? To top it all of you have Maura cover a song that, up until now, many thought was uncoverable. That song is Van Morrison's "Crazy Love." Many have expressed skepticism that she can do justice to a song that has already been given a definitive version (Van's original) but Maura puts those concerns to rest. A fabulous album from a fabulous singer.

This album reminds me of earlier Maura O'Connell albums. The songs are haunting,touching and sung with such emotion. The singers voice is so rich. I've bought it as a christmas present for everyone. Its just so wonderful.

I have been a fan of Maura O'Connell's ever since her days with the Irish band DeDannan and have been following her solo career even since her first US solo release "Just in Time" back in 1988. I have all of her solo albums and this one is, in my opinion, one of the very best. Her song selection remains exemplary, and her voice is as divine sounding as ever. She even manages to do the seemingly impossible -- take a classic Van Morrrison song ("Crazy Love") and deliver a performance that rivals Morrison's original. This is gorgeous "Americana" music delivered with a gorgeous Irish voice and is easily one of the best albums of the year.

Any actual fan of Maura O'Connell's who claims that this album is "bland" and uninteresting should probably be spending money on an ear specialist NOT on music. "Walls and Windows," is simply (another) superb collection of wonderfully chosen songs all beautifully sung. Sure, there are touches of production here and there that deviate a bit from the more acoustic based sound that we are generally accustomed to, but these touches NEVER distract from the voice that, as the cliche goes, "sing the phonebook."

Among the gems here are a pair of songs by up and coming songwriter Malcolm Holcombe ("A Far Cry," and "To the Homeland,") a glorious cover of a song already perfected (supposedly) by its own writer Van Morrison ("Crazy Love") a John Prine number ("Sleepy Eyed Boy") a song by Kim Richey ("Every River") and the unbelievably gorgeous song "Walls." Add to that the fact that I have not even mentioned the three Patty Griffin songs here and it should be obvious that anyone who really appreciates the talent that Maura O'Connell is will NOT want to be without this CD any longer!

Maura is back and Sugar Hill has got her! One of the finest vocalists of her generation returns with her first album in four years and the wait was unquestionably worth it! Once again we have a set of superbly chosen songs (twelve of them to be exact) beautifully sung and smartly produced. Any and all Maura fans should add this to their collection pronto, and for those unfamiliar with her it is time to get aquatinted. In a world sadly dominated by third rate marketing hypes like Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Britney Spears, etc. Maura is the real deal -- and then some!

There is just no two ways about it -- Maura O'Connell is one of the handful of the very best singers around in ANY genre, and she proves it once again in the solid, nearly flawless recording of first rate songs

With a slightly rootsier feel than some previous albums by O'Connell (she was inspired by Lucinda Williams' Americana classic "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road") it might be tempting to approach this album with a bit a caution, but there is no need for that. What we have here is a set of one dozen excellent songs and all of them are beautifully sung and tastefully produced -- in short another typically excellent Maura O'Connell album!

Maura needs to get away from Nashville. They've made her beautiful voice sound like every overproduced C&W girl singer. A real shame.