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"...Most
Magical…"
Being
a Dubliner I instantly knew what "Tir na n'Og" referred to.
Translated it's Gaelic for "Land Of The Young" (locally pronounced
Tier Nah Nogue). We had the old stories rammed down our willing throats in
History class in school. It comes from the ancient Irish tales of warrior king
Ossian (or Oisin in Gaelic).
I've
had this Prog-Folk duo's third and final studio album "Strong In The
Sun" (issued October 1973) on original UK vinyl for decades now as well as
the other two they did - "Tir na n'Og" from May 1971 and "A Tear
And A Smile" from April 1972 (see separate reviews) and loved them all to
bits. Formed in Dublin in 1970 - guitarists and singers Sonny Condell and Leo
O'Kelly made a lovely racket and gathered fans far and wide very quickly –
supporting Jethro Tull on high profile tours. I even followed Sonny Condell
(one part of the duo) when he teamed up with Phillip King and Greg Bolland to
form SCULLION in Ireland in the late Seventies – a fantastically eclectic and
musical band who put out about five albums – the second of which "Balance
And Control" was produced by none other than John Martyn in 1980 on WEA
Ireland.
Speaking
of Island Records connections – originally recorded by Tony Cox at Sound
Techniques Studios in London – the spiritual home of other Island Records
Folk-Rock luminaries like John Martyn, Fairport Convention and Nick Drake – Tir
na n’Og’s "Strong In The Sun" even opened with a rare Nick Drake
cover version - "Free Ride" from ND’s third and last album "Pink
Moon" in 1972 (the booklet incorrectly states that the Irish Duo were the
first to cover any of his material while he was alive – but it was Alexis
Korner who did "Saturday Sun" on his “Alexis Korner” debut album for
RAK Records in July 1971 (SRAK 501)). As it turned out neither of the Chrysalis
bosses Chris Wright and Terry Ellis (their names combined gave us the
soundalike Chrysalis label) were enamoured with what they heard and ordered the
album to be completely re-recorded – roping in Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum
and EMI’s legendary Beatles Engineer Geoff Emerick to do the re-record deed.
You can sure hear the polish on this Remastered CD – gorgeous Audio quality
throughout. To the music at hand...
UK
released November 2012 - "Strong In The Sun" by TIR na n'OG on
Esoteric Recordings ECLEC2351 (Barcode 5013929435148) is an 'Expanded Edition'
CD Remaster with One Bonus Track that plays out as follows (42:49 minutes):
1.
Free Ride [Side 1]
2.
Whitestone Bridge
3.
Teeside
4.
Cinema
5.
Strong In The Sun
6.
The Wind Was High [Side 2]
7.
In The Morning
8.
Love Lost
9.
Most Magical
10.
Fall Of Day
Tracks
1 to 10 are their 3rd and final studio album “Strong In The Sun” - released 26
October 1973 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1047 (CHR 1047 in the USA also).
Produced by MATTHEW FISHER (of Procol Harum) – it didn’t chart in either
country.
BONUS
TRACK:
11.
The Mountain And I
Track
11 is the Non-Album B-side of the September 1973 UK 7" single for “Strong
In The Sun” on Chrysalis CHS 2016
TIR
na n’OG was:
SONNY
CONDELL – Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Jew’s harp and Pottery Drums
LEO
O’KELLY – Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Dulcimer and Violin
Guests:
Matthew
Fisher (of Procol Harum) – Keyboards (also Producer)
Brian
Ogders (of Sweet Thursday and Apollo 100) – Bass
Dave
Markee (of Centipede) – Bass
Jim
Ryan – Bass
Jeff
Jones (of Wild Turkey), Barry De Souza and Ace Follington– Drums
The
8-page booklet features liner notes by noted writer and music-biz legend TREVOR
BOYD reproducing a trade newspaper advert (probably the New Musical Express)
for a tour with Bridget St. John (she was doing early promotion her forthcoming
“Jumble Queen” LP) as well as a Chrysalis Records black and white promo photo
of the hairy duo.
The
new remaster has been handled by PASCHAL BYRNE at The Audio Archiving Company
in London using original master tapes and is truly gorgeous - crystal clear
acoustic instruments with warmth and clarity on every track. It really is a
fantastic job done.
While
the debut album was Half-Folk/Half Prog (with Tyrannosaurus Rex hippy
overtones) - this 2nd LP showed a huge improvement in the song-writing
department and was accompanied by a really beautiful TONY COX production. It
also saw a definite Tir na n'Og sound emerging too (like an older version of
Glen Hansard of The Frames or music from the film "Once"). Album
three only progressed that further – though in my opinion it’s the less adorned
tracks that work best and not the highly polished ones like "Whitestone
Bridge" where the ‘bigger band’ vibe feels ever so slightly forced. Not so
for the absolutely mesmerizing Sonny Condell acoustic ballad
"Teeside" – simple and beautiful – ebb-tide carrying his love away –
leaning into the North wind...
"Cinema"
(Leo O’Kelly tune) features an early use of samples – dialogue from some Henry
Fonda western – the acoustic and piano strum sounding like The La's a full
decade before the event – while it's easy to see why Chrysalis chose his
"Strong In The Sun" as the lead-off 45 a month before the album hit
the shops in October 1973 (Chrysalis CHS 2016) – pretty 'coming to stay with
me' melody and a catchy 'we're gonna be free' chorus. Actually I think the
Condell non-album B-side "The Mountain And I" is equally cool if not
even better.
One
of the album’s highlights is undoubtedly the Side 2 opener "The Wind Was
High" – a typically light-as-a-feather love song by Leo O’Kelly - TIR na
n'OG weaving their vocal/acoustic magic – a tune imbibed with a kind of Irish
longing that feels both joyful and sad at one and the same time. The very
Leonard Cohen sounding "In The Morning" started out as an October
1969 Irish 7" single on Song Records SO 0004 - the non-album B-side to
"Like" by the oddly-named 'Tramcarr 88' – a band that featured Condell and his cousin
John Roberts (Roberts wrote the A – while Condell wrote the flip). TIR na n'OG
upgrade the song to better production values thereby bring out its pretty
melody. Although it feels like an early run for the sound Scullion made - I
never really liked "Lost Love" – too forced. Far better is the two
Condell finishers - "Most Magical" and "Fall Of Day" where
TIR na n'OG begin to sound like a force to be reckoned with – the first a rapid
acoustic romp with the second a mid-tempo number with fantastic harmony vocals.
After
they split in 1974 – Condell of TIR na n'OG morphed in the late Seventies in
the affectionately remembered three-piece SCULLION (Sonny Condell, Phillip King
and Greg Bolland) who made 5 albums in Ireland including the fab "Balance
And Control" in 1980 produced by the mighty JOHN MARTYN (only recently
reissued on CD by Prog Temple). There was a CD issued October 2001 in the UK
called "Spotlight" on Hux Records HUX 021 (Barcode 682970000213) that
contained April 1972 to October 1973 live BBC Recordings featuring roughly half
of the songs from "Strong In The Sun" and more. Condell even made a
CD album in 2013 - whilst the fondly remembered TIR na n'OG sport their own
rather good Prog Folk website for deeper diving.
TIR
na n'OG would definitely be an acquired taste for some. This 3rd outing is not
all genius for sure - but for me there was always something magical in those
hooks and songs – tunes like "Teeside" and "Fall Of Day".
And
now their (land of the young) albums have the properly beautiful sounding
remasters their catalogue has always deserved. Dig in – I envy you the
journey...
