I loved The Commitments back in the early 90's but Andrew Strong was the star, not this guy. I remember The Frames but don't believe they ever had any impact domestically. I stocked some titles for my UK customers but can't recall hearing any of the music. Fast forward to last year and a trip to NYC. Included in the itinerary was the Broadway show,"Once," "...the celebrated new musical based on the Academy Award®-winning film and winner of 8 Tony Awards." Film??????? Oscar-winning????????? I swear on my life that I never heard "Falling Slowly" before hearing it in the play, which was absolutely mesmerizing. Wish I had gone to see it again instead of "Wicked." So when the Orlando Broadway Series announced this season, which included the traveling troupe for "Once," I bought season passes to assure good seats. Went as far as renting the movie it was based upon (skip it, the play is superior). Well, Glen Hansard wrote the music and starred in the movie. If you like your music Irish in nature and you're a fan of Hothouse Flowers or some guy nicknamed Brown Eyed Morrison, or you're drawn to the passionate power of, say, David Gray, you will love this man's style. When I saw this EP release in early December, I knew I had to make the buy, not for the charity aspect or the Springsteen cover with Eddie Vedder (don't get me started on this guy...), but for Mr. Hansard and the fact that the record was produced by Joe Henry (don't get me started on this guy, either, but that rant would be positive...). I found this Portuguese broadcast of the title song...
I can take Vedder if he's not leading, I guess. The studio version features sax interludes by the nephew of Clarence Clemons...a nice touch. The other three tracks are originals and get better with repeated listens. One track features his movie co-star (and collaborator in a band called Swell Season...who knew?), Markéta Irglová, on backing vocals and it's very reminiscent of the "Once" ST, which I have also recently purchased. That's right, I bought a nearly seven-year-old album......that should tell you something...
Though introduced to this man over twenty years ago, I've only now added him to my vault. The titles page will surely grow longer...
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