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Eleanor on 'Early Hours' The essence of Eleanor McEvoy's work can be found in her conclusion to a recent interview. "A great record is like a good friend. It's like somebody you can talk to, who understands you when you're down. "Maybe that 'friend' is Loudon Wainwright III, Edith Piaf or REM. But it's someone who can heal the hurt, and that's what's really important." Eleanor comments here on the 'Early Hours' tracks, in sequence: 1. YOU'LL HEAR BETTER SONGS THAN THIS "I developed a love of Shakespeare when I was about ten years of age. My sister took me to see "Twelfth Night" and I went another eight times. The producer of the play gave me a copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, and I really took to the Sonnets. Sonnet Number 14 is so beautiful, it moves me to tears every time I read it. It inspired this song." 2. MEMPHIS TENNESSEE "This Chuck Berry song seems to highlight the appalling plight of estranged fathers who can't and don't see their kids. I think the emphasis of the words strikes harder by being delivered more slowly and calculatedly. And of course it was fun to cover the song quite differently from others before me." 3. THE DJ "Sometimes, late at night, the only company you can get can be from listening to the radio. This is a hymn to those heroes who spin the discs..." 4. I'LL BE WILLING "I think we feel that we should be able to cope with everything on our own. The fact is that sometimes it's okay to ask for help and that's what this song is about." "There was such a great 'feel good factor' on the day we recorded this track, the sun streaming in the windows, the chickens walking about the studio...!" 5. DRIVING HOME FROM BUTLER'S "On Friday nights at home in Ireland, I play fiddle in a local pub session. You'll find these quite impromptu sessions are still a feature of Irish pubs and thank God for it! I have learned many tunes from the three 'regulars' at Butlers: Brendan, Sean and Tom. "One night driving home after a great night's music, I came up with this…" 6. AVE MARIA "Many of the older generation here in Ireland have lived each and every day for their religion. Right throughout their lives, in times of turbulence, they turn to the church. "I started to wonder where, with the church itself is in such turbulence, these people now turn to?" 7. MAKE MINE A SMALL ONE "This is something I've been meaning to record for years. Many years ago, one Christmas, me and my brother Kieran were up visiting our folks. "We were both missing different people, and we started to write this song together...." 8. SLIPPING AWAY "A friend of mine from Catalonia, who played in the orchestra with me, died before his time in a sad but brave way.... this is for him." 9. SAIL ME HIGH "I went paragliding on holiday some years ago. And, the way you do, I started composing this song. "Right up there, I didn't have a pen and paper handy so I had to use a sort of a trick to help me remember the lyric. I decided to begin the second line of each verse as I ended the first line... it worked." 10. DAYS ROLL BY "On a bad day, it can feel as if life is overtaking you...." 11. WHERE DID MY LIFE GO "Many years ago, I played in Mary Black's band. Mary was a huge fan of the singer Sandy Denny. Years later, I came across this beautiful song that Bert Jansch wrote about Sandy and fell in love with it. This is the second time I've recorded it - it's that good." 12. AT THE END OF THE DAY "Sometimes, no matter how hard you may try, there's just no denying that you need someone's love... so give in." 13. ANACH CUAIN "This is a beautiful traditional song that I originally learnt from Maire Breathnach. It tells the story of a boat that went down off the west coast of Ireland. "In those days it wasn't uncommon for craft to go down in storms, but everyone was utterly shocked when the Anach Cuain sank because it happened on such a beautiful sunny day.
"It transpired that the cargo was livestock, and that a sheep had put
its hoof through the boat's hull. It was both poignantly ridiculous and
tragic."
[For further information please contact Peter Muir] SingSong Entertainment Publicity Office: +44(0)1296 715228 EMail: peter@singsong.biz An associate of SingSong Entertainment Publicity
http://www.singsongpr.biz/
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