Although she’s published several children’s books, this is the much-travelled O’Grady’s debut album, funded by her earnings from said writings. She has a truly magnetic voice, writes tuneful melodies and fine lyrics, and then wraps them all in relatively pedestrian arrangements straight out of the US west-coast '70s singer-songwriter tradition.
To that end she’s surrounded herself with ace musicians, including REM’s keyboardist Ken Stringfellow and our own Conor Brady, Pat Fitzpatrick and Wayne Sheehy, none of whom put a finger wrong. But it’s her voice that scores most, brimming with warmth and compassion on every track. The songs hang together so cohesively that, after a few plays, you feel you’ve known them all your life.
Precious Lines has already racked up one cover version, and it’s perfect for radio, pitched somewhere between Judy Collins and Carole King. ‘Love Is Coming Up’ recalls the work of Stephen Bishop and Laura Nyro, while ‘That’s Life’ deals with the unpredictability of, er, life, and the a capella ‘Patterns’ echoes some of the vocal power and presence of Sinéad O’Connor. O’Grady delivers tasty harmonies on ‘Gia’ about a woman’s slide into the danger zone, while the sinewy ‘Whispered In The Wind’ is a haunting track aided by fine harmonies from Stringfellow, and ‘Time Flies’ is redolent of James Taylor’s better days.
O’Grady sounds like she could be a serious challenger on the world stage, especially within the American soft-rock market, although those seeking a musical expeditionary may need to look elsewhere.