Richard Gilpin is at the forefront of keeping Ireland safe for country rock. This is his second album of nearly all originals and a worthy successor to Beautiful Mistake, with a cracking band plus guests appearances from the likes of Maire Breatnach and Cathal Hayden, the former particularly impressive on the lengthy ‘Share These Chains With Me’.
Gilpin’s vocal prowess comes to the fore on the moody piano-ballad ‘Time Will Tell’, but throughout he shows he has a voice that can do both style and substance. The provocative and autobiographical ‘The Man On The Moon And Me’ is like The Waterboys going country with a Dylan song and allows plenty of space for Hayden’s magic fiddle.
‘You’ve Been Away Too Long’ is a lumbering Neil Young of a track and the percussion-driven ‘You Bring Me Love’ gets quite funky, with swaying rhythms and fine guitar work from Dutchman Remco Rodrigues. ‘A Stranger To Me’ explores domestic turmoil through a child’s eyes and ‘She Is Free’ is a punkier pub-rock workout. But the sprightly ‘You Won’t let It Go’ often feels too close to ‘Anchorage’ for comfort.
If Gilpin has a fault it’s that he plays it too safe, sticking too rigidly within the format of country-folk-rock. Maybe some day he’ll fly, but till then 33 will do fine.