PADDY MADDEN
"For The Time Being Volume 1, is a gem... holding out the
promise of even more jewels to come in Volume 2."
"This is the first volume in a double set of CDs, which will bring 33 of
Paddy Madden’s songs into the public realm. Volume 1 provides us with 15
of his new compositions. His second volume is scheduled for a May 2022
release. He has assembled a cast of some 15 of Cork’s most famous and
most accomplished musicians for this album, which was recorded in
Blarney. Paddy is a veritable veteran with over 50 years playing Ireland's
genuine Southern rock, in fact his The Sunday Stroller has an opening tag
that could have come from the Garth Brooks playbook..
Where I Am Now, is a pop love song, with backing vocals, harmonies in
the chorus, “this is where I am now, it took a little time but we got here
somehow”. Patrick Street Incident is a much more acoustic number, guitar
and cello painting a picture of Cork’s most famous thoroughfare; the tenor
of the song reminds me of the Kinks’ Waterloo Sunset. Paddy almost talks
his way into The Winds of Change, some nice patches of piano between the
lines on the main verses here. Sometime in April is the slowest song on the
album, a message for a loved one, wishing to share their dust together.
Last Train To Cork City includes the sound of the locomotive's hooter, from
the harmonica of Joe O’Callaghan (with whom Paddy has been making
music since the late 1960s); catch the Tex-Mex middle eight on this one. The
final track and the album’s title For The Time Being, is a gem of miniature
literature, holding out the promise of even more jewels to come in Volume
2. Its inner ambiguity makes the listener think, ‘for the time being’, referring
to the waiting time, awash with the angst of longing for something to
happen, a lover to return, a family member to come back home.
With refugees on the move once again in Europe, this song could be a sad
requiem for the times we are living through. As Paddy sings in the chorus:
“Nothing ever stays the same, everything is changing.” And he gets that
wisdom from his long career in music; he’s a veteran and a true Cork original.
For The Time Being, is a gem of miniature literature, holding out the
promise of even more jewels to come in Volume 2."
Seán Laffey
Songs For The Time Being Volume 1.
Own Label, 15 Tracks, 56 Minutes www.paddymaddenmusic.com