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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Paddy Casey's 'Amen (So Be It)' - Simply Awesome, April 21, 2008
Amen (So Be It)
I pretty much spend most of my personal budget on music and technology stuff, so you will forgive me if this album was lost under a large pile of CDs for a few years. Getting to listen to the newest Paddy Casey album Addicted to Company joggled my memory. Now these two albums have been constantly rotating in my playlist over the past weekend.
Listening to it now makes me even more astounded at how good a debut he crafted here. This reminds me a lot of how I felt about the early Alana Davis stuff. So raw and powerful. This album has a little more electronic edge to a few tracks than the new album does, but they both share the same solid ballads. Hopefully the new album will open up more eyes to what Paddy Casey is all about.
Dusting off this album made me realize how much he has in common musically with so many artists today, from Jack Johnson to Ryan Adams. I wonder how much of those similarities are due to indirect or direct influence. Either way, it's clear that this guy really has something special.
If there is any criticism that can be made about this album is that the minimalist lyrics won't appeal to everyone. I actually like the simple direct lyrics and think they go well with this genre of music, but no doubt the songwriting has improved on the newer album.
Casey's vocals are always strong and powerful even when he's singing effortlessly. The newer album has less of the experimental feel to it than this one. They are both awesome but this is still in first place for me. If you like this make sure to check out his newest album "Addicted to Company."
Enjoy.
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is my first encounter with Paddy Casey, August 25, 2000
I have been a big David Gray fan for the past several years, and while looking at the David Gray albums featured on Amazon I clicked on several links "Customers who bought David Gray also bought these albums.." This is how I first heard and ordered this album. Listening to the album reminded me a little of how I felt when first listening to David Gray. Rough, raw, great lyrics. I've only listened to the album a few times but I would give it a very high recommendation. Surely, an artist which is sure to grow in popularity.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
As Good As White Ladder!, July 17, 2002
This album came out way back in '99 and at that time it became a firm favourite of mine. In fact it did very well in Ireland but since then there has been no follow up c.d. from Paddy Casey. Like many c.d.'s I have, it sort of gets pushed down the pile as new c.d.'s become the flavour of the month. Then I heard it again from start to finish in a bar and it's renewed my love of the c.d. It only struck me once I'd read other reviews on this site how similar it is to David Gray. When this c.d. came out, Ireland was probably the only country where David Gray was popular-so it's no surprise then that this c.d. did well. If I was to review this c.d. in only one sentence I'd have to say that if you liked White Ladder then this c.d. is for you. But I much prefer to ramble on instead. Musically it's a mish-mash of angst ridden white blues meets some acoustic leanings. The music has an almost spiritual, atmospheric feel to it. Tracks like Winter's Fire seem to capture the dark wet nights that are so common here in Ireland. The unusual tinkling of an off key piano capturing the sound of the rainfall, the gentle strumming of the guitar and some beautiful lyrics seem to capture a mood so perfectly-in fact I've never heard this sort of mood captured so accurately. Like many of the tracks the multi-layered harmonies and distorted vocal backgrounds are very melodic yet quite haunting at the same time.An even better example of this vocal style is track 4 which is very different in that it uses a really industrial sounding background, scratches and unusual beats yet it still maintains that soulful sound.The only other artists I can compare this sort of mood to would be the music of Icelandic group Sigur Ros. Many other tracks like "Can't Take That Away", and the sublime yet louder "Everybody Wants" have a similar vibe. The latter track drifts from minimalist arrangements of the verse to a big sounding full on chorus which you'll be singing along to with ghusto. Casey's voice is soothing when it needs to be-yet he can deliver lines with amazing power especially on the last track "It's Over Now". This track has an almost anthem feel to it. Plenty of the songs harness the full power of the band, none more so then track 2 "Whatever Gets You True", which was a pretty big single over here. "Sweet Suburban Sky" is so like Gray it's almost unreal. If he produces a song as good as this on his next album we'll all be hailing another masterpiece. Gray was totally deserving of his break through-just in the same way that I feel Casey's album deserves more exposure and international recognition.
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