The Boy to Be With
I wanted to start the album with the title track. But the track didn't have the proper intro for setting up an album. My friend Neil Stocker suggested that I do something with vocals. I liked this idea and knew that the B flat minor run down in the verse would set the organ intro up perfectly. Clare and my sisters who were in New York for a visit went out shopping in the morning, when they came three hours later this was done-they liked it!
2. The Boy To be With
Every year the male bird has to make up a new song to attract the opposite sex. The better the song, the better the bird that he attracts. He is effectively saying "THIS IS MY SONG FOR THE YEAR AND I AM THE BOY TO BE WITH."
3. Jazz
When I was a teenager a friend of mine was continuously mysterious about his whereabouts. One day when I asked him what he had been up to. He informed me sheepishly that he had a girlfriend. Astonished with his achievement I asked him how it was going. He replied with a mixture of solipsism and immaturity "It's love and all that Jazz"
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4. The Bright And Early
And when the sun comes up at dawn a New World is born It's so hard to think that thought when we're absent from the present.
5. Drumsna
It's a small village on the river Shannon. A fan of mine owns a bar there. He was after me for ages to play there. I finally succombed after he had persuaded a rake of my Dublin fans to ask "When are you goin' to come to Drumsna" every time they saw me. I enjoyed playing there so much that I've been back three times. One generous customer insisted that I borrow his cabin cruiser for a week and doddle along the Shannon. This song was born upon its deck. "Droppin' her anchor silently standing"
6. Omagh
Two girls came up to me for a chat after a show in Manhattan. They were sisters from Omagh. The younger one told me, as much she was impressed with Astoria and Manhattan. She could not forget her wee boy back in Omagh. He was no good and had no ambition. But no matter where she went in the dark of a bar or the light of the sun, in a fresh green field filled with sweet aroma, she still missed her wee boy back in Omagh.
7. See That Girl
A little known Righteous Brothers song, that was in my head all morning. I walked towards my sitting room and recorded it non-stop 'till it was done that night. It's a note for note imitation of the original orchestration. A great thrill for me.
8. Mr Turner
(Dedicated to the Ramones) A gay friend of mine told me this story. He would meet this character in a London Bar every now and then. Danny presumed my friend was straight? And would tell him this story. It say's a lot about sexual hypocrisy and confusion.
9. You've Got Her London
"She's jealous of you "cos you've got her London."
10. So Many People
"Out on the street you can see them at one or two in flight"
Three Folk Songs
11. This Planet
Love And All That Jazz
12. This Life
Sometimes it's good to point out what we have in this life. And while I think it's good to confront death and to try and embrace it ('Cos it is going to happen) I still would say that I truly do love this life, and I need to say that too. In spite of all the moaning that I do from time to time.
13. The Ballad of Rory Gallagher
14. Jazz (Radio Edit)
| Review Turner in Overdrive |
TURNER IN OVERDRIVE
Hot on the heels of his song "Wicklow Hills" being voted into the top 25 of all-time best Irish songs in a nationwide poll by Today FM, Pierce has announced details of his new album, single and forthcoming gigs.
The album, entitled The Boy To Be With, was released on April 1st as part of Pierce's new distribution deal with RMG-Chart Distribution and is a rockier effort than his most recent offerings, with influences ranging from The Byrds to The Pogues, The Beach Boys and The Who. Its release will be followed by the first single "Jazz", already a firm live favourite, and "A Month of Fridays" residency at The Hub in Dublin's Temple Bar that started on 1st April 2005 now followed by gigs around the country.
The Boy To Be With is also unique in that one of its tracks, "The Ballad Of Rory Gallagher", a heartfelt tribute to the late Irish bluesman whose 10th anniversary is marked this year, features samples of Gallagher's trademark blues licks. According to Pierce, "I was a huge fan of Rory's and I featured the song in a TV tribute to him and that sparked off demands to put it on the album. Then Rory's brother Donal generously allowed me to add appropriate licks from Rory's actual recordings. It's a very emotional track for me, and I hope for Rory's fans too."
"The Ballad Of Rory Gallagher" is part of a three-piece suite of folk songs on "The Boy To Be With", and the album also contains the songs, "Drumsna", "The Bright and Early", "Omagh† and one cover version, Pierce's reworking of the Mann-Weil classic "See That Girl".
The series of gigs at The Hub in Temple bar and The Lobby in Cork also sees Pierce back to conventional gigs after a year in which he played over 70 of his Parlour Gigs in houses all over the country. "It was a really energising experience that I plan to repeat, playing in private houses in intimate settings with just a piano and none of the usual trappings of the live gigs. It was truly refreshing to meet so many warm people who were really into my music for its own sake. Much of that experience is reflected in the songs on The Boy To Be With. Each gig was totally unique and I also got the chance to drink lots of cups of tea!"
The Boy To Be With was written by Pierce in his homes in Wexford and Manhattan and recorded in upstate New York with backing musicians whose CVs include references to Suzanne Vega, Elvis Costello, Ron Sexmith and Peter Gabriel, among countless others. The entire project has been made into a documentary by the TV presenter Colin Murnane and will be aired on television later this year.
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