Many within the music community are grieving today, as the news of the death of Niall Crumlish – formerly of this parish – filters out.

Niall was ushered into the Hot Press fold as the winner of a competition that we ran in conjunction with the TV programme JoMaxi on RTÉ. He became an outstanding writer, whose prose was always carefully and brilliantly wrought. This we know.

But what was the entry to the competition like? Did he deserve to win? And were the qualities for which he would become known apparent from the start?

The answer, it turns out, is a resounding, unequivocal ‘Yes!’.

It is important to remember – as Lorraine Freeney pointed out in her wonderful tribute to Niall, published on hotpress.com earlier today – that he was just eighteen years of age at the time of the competition.

Looking at his entry afresh now – there was a strict word count involved – you can see straight away what we concluded then, judging the competition. This guy had it all already.

There is the short opening sentence – a win! – that immediately takes us into the world of the artist and the music. And, of course, of the reviewer. And it goes on from there, in the same beautifully modulated, thoughtful, highly intelligent way – drawing the reader further into a web of the writer’s wonderfully adroit spinning.

There are references that suggest a depth of knowledge and a wide frame of musical listening: of course there are. The big themes are approached without self-consciousness, but with authority. There is familiarity and a friendly challenge or two that add to the sense of urgency and which suggest that this is the writer’s natural milieu. He is comfortable in his own skin.

But most all, there is the ability to convey the deeply-felt belief that – for those who want or need it – the music really matters. And yes it can do wonderful things for, and to, us. Then there is the Bob Dylan allusion, confirming a knowledge of the masters, followed by a direct appeal to the reader at the end. And look at the length of those sentences!

Read it, and re-read it and weep. It really was that good. Amid the grief that people feel today, and that will intensify tomorrow, there is the certainty that, through his work, Niall’s wonderful spirit will live on.

And so, by way of additional tribute to someone we loved, here’s what Niall had to say about American Music Club’s March 1993 album, Mercury.

Hot Press Vol.17 No.9 - 19 May 1993

Album Review: American Music Club, Mercury

Originally published in Hot Press in 1993:

MARK EITZEL of A.M.C. ls not a happy camper. Six albums in, he is still preoccupied with love, loss, failure, death and – my own personal favourite – getting pissed as a coot. Mercury isn't cheery. This is, but of course, a recommendation. The First Commandment of pop music is: Thou shalt not make happy-go-lucky records as they are all crap.

Ay yea, ditties about death, can't beat 'em. 'If I Had a Hammer' is the riveting and highly disturbing sound of someone facing death with a nonchalance bordering on anticipation. 'Over and Done' and 'Dallas, Airports, Bodybags', which also deal with the eerie theme of death as yearned-for release, are likewise sung in a laid-back tone of voice suggesting imminent arrival at Eurodisney or the beach, not imminent arrival at the Abyss.

Musically, it's a step on from 1991's Everclear, with tinges of country, folk, punk, Strauss and Ravi Shankar. Lyrically, Eitzel is embarrassingly far ahead of all the competition. This means you, Brett and Stipey and Kurt. Who else would croon serenely "Even when every single one of your gestures is a lie, to me you'll always ring true". No-one, that's who. God, maybe.

A.M.C. songs are densely packed with black humour, hope, despair, anger, pathos and, as in 'Hollywood 4.5.92', the kind of hopeless romanticism that may lead you to sweep your loved one off his/her/its feet In a violent uprush of Eitzel-induced insanity and transport him/her/it to the Gobi desert where you could proceed to live on love.

What I'm struggling to say is: every one of these songs rings true and glows like burnin' coal, as Dylan might have said. Make Mark happy. Buy this record. Both he and you deserve It.

Niall Crumlish,
Dublin 14

Hot Press Vol.17 No.9 - 19 May 1993