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Andy White [Thirsty Ear]

Andy White
1 disc

1. Let Me Be Free
2. Sunrise
3. Come With Me
4. I Want It Straight
5. Little Boy
6. Jesus in a Cadillac
7. Deeper Water
8. Hysteria
9. Body Builder
10. Understand
11. What About You Babe
12. Very Thing, The
13. Coz I'm Free
14. Please
15. Me the Moon My Car and You
16. St. Patrick's Day
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 57108
Credits

Producer Kieran Kennedy
Engineer
Personnel includes: Andy White (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Liam O'Manolai (vocals, bodhran); Angela McCluskey (vocals); Kiernan Kennedy (electric guitar); David Crichton (strings); Robert Malone (bass);
Dave Clarke (drums).
Engineers include: Kieran Kennedy, John Leckie, Ivan O'Shea.
Recorded between October 1999 and April 2000.
Personnel: Kieran Kane (vocals, guitar); Kieran Kennedy (vocals, electric guitar, dobro, banjo); Stephen Fearing (vocals, electric guitar, mandola); Rick Cowling (vocals, keyboard bass); Cathy White, Angela McCluskey (vocals); Ursula Burns (harp); David Crichton (strings); Radoslav Lorkovic (accordion, piano); David Bridie, Ingmar Kiang (keyboards); Nick Seymour, Robert Malone (bass guitar).
Recording information: Abbey Glen Castle, Clifden (10/1999-04/2000); Apollo Studio, Temple Bar, Dublin, Ireland (10/1999-04/2000); M.P.R. Studios, St. Paul, MN (10/1999-04/2000); Totally Wired, Dublin, Ireland (10/1999-04/2000); Walker Street, Melbourne, Australia (10/1999-04/2000); Wellington Audio.com, Toronto, Canada (10/1999-04/2000).
Photographer: Michele Turriani.
White has switched from edgy folk label Cooking Vinyl to the more austere Thirsty Ear for this self-titled departure from his usual sparse and driving protest songs and Irish ballads. These are thoughtful pop constructs that leave the listener on a plateau of abandon one minute and in a melancholic valley the next. The album is outstanding in its evocation of emotional ambiguity, both lyrically and within its brilliant harmonic changes. Themes of yearning -- for travel, home, companionship, and freedom -- and moving on filter through in vignettes, both specific and non-specific. The tracks are enriched by a roster of guests, such as Radoslav Lorkovic on accordion, Ursula Burns on harp, and Stephen Fearing on mandola. It includes the gospel-tinged wails of Josie Docherty on "Jesus in a Cadillac," a duet with the Wild Colonials' Angela McCluskey on the sublime "Please," and the elevating single "Coz I'm Free," which was inspired by the tattoo on the arm of Olympic 400-meter champion Cathy Freeman. ~ Travis Drageset