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Album Review : Michael O’Connor : The Devil Stole The Moon
Sep 10, 2011 Album Reviews Leave a comment
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Adam
Former Artist of the Month, Michael O’Connor returns with another amazing release. How often are you discussing an artist and something is mentioned about how their early records or debut is really the greatest work they’ve done ? With O’Connor, this is most certainly not the case.
On The Devil Stole the Moon, O’ Connor shows that he’s has continued to grow as a songwriter and performer. The record has a very dark feel, with the seedy characters that you have to love that populated his release with Adam Carroll last year.
With a rhythm section consisting of Rick Richards on drums and Jack Saunders (Bass), O’ Connor fills in the rest of the record by playing everything short of the kitchen sink. The ability to make a record that sounds complete without over production, shows that musically O’ Connor is a force to be reckoned with. Another thing that I noticed while listening to the album is the similarities to Warren Haynes’s vocal style, another singer that I believe to be thought of as a guitar player before a vocalist. In both cases, I believe this to be a great injustice as their vocal qualities are what drew me to both artists.
Michael’s songwriting has always been phenomenal and this release is no exception, as he wrote or co-wrote every song on the album. While I love his work as a sideman especially with Slaid Cleaves (and I’m sure those gigs pay his bills) , The Devil Stole The Moon really hammers home the fact that O’Connor should be doing his own thing full time at this point.
Highlights on this record include a couple co-writes with the aforementioned Carroll, “Raining on the Dark Side” and “Rough Side” which would have felt right at home on Hard Times. The title track rivals “Devil’s Lullaby” as my favorite O’ Connor track to date, with lines such as “…with the courage for the blade, but not for the blood…” this sinister sounding song really showcases his ability with word play.
“Burn”, the story of a tired rock n roller, features some really classic O’ Connor guitar work, where he seems to know exactly what to play and when. The song really captures what I imagine it feels like to continue touring and playing shitty bars long after it has lost its appeal. Following that is the “Homesick Boy” the album’s closing track that is somewhat the singer songwriter companion to “Burn”, with lyric so good I could quote them all here.
After only one listen of this album, I was convinced it was his best effort to date, and I love his other records. It is available now on his website and other places that you can purchase music.
