(5 / 5)
Bap Kennedy remains one of Ireland’s most respected songwriters and to mark the 10th anniversary of his passing on 1st November 2016 at the age of 54, Lonely Street Discs will release “Above All, Love”, a posthumous album of 10 previously unreleased original songs.
Nothing make-shift or unfinished about it at all as can sometimes be the case with releases after an artist’s death. A really beautiful tribute to one of Ireland’s best kept secrets.
Belfast-born singer-songwriter Martin Christopher Kennedy, known as Bap Kennedy, played in local bands as a teenager before forming 10 Past 7, which were signed to Terri Hooley’s record label, Good Vibrations (famed for the discovery of The Undertones).
Bap grew up at the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland – his close friend and 10 Past 7 manager Mark Kelly lost both his legs in a no warning bomb explosion. It was with 10 Past 7 that Bap got his first national TV appearance when they appeared on Channel 4’s “The Tube “in 1983. 10 Past 7 lasted until Bap left Belfast for London.
He then built a career that moved from the rock roots of Energy Orchard into a distinctive solo catalogue bridging Celtic soul, Americana, country-soul and classic songwriting. First coming to prominence with Energy Orchard, with whom he recorded five albums during the 1990s, Bap Kennedy’s solo work drew admiration from Steve Earle, Van Morrison and Mark Knopfler, and established him as a writer of rare directness, melody and emotional truth.
His first solo album, “Domestic Blues”, was produced by Steve Earle and helped place Bap firmly in the Americana world. He later worked closely with Mark Knopfler on “The Sailor’s Revenge”, and also co-wrote with Van Morrison. The Irish Times described him as “one of Ireland’s greatest contemporary songwriters – a musician’s musician who died at the height of his powers”, while Culture NI called him “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters and performers ever to emerge from the Northern Irish scene.”
The posthumous album has been curated by Brenda Kennedy, Bap’s wife and longtime musical collaborator, who has brought these recordings carefully into the world. Brenda also co-produced the project with Rod McVey, and she co-wrote two tracks with Bap: “Old Majestic Moon” and “It’s Just A Game”.
Brenda says: “I am delighted to keep Bap’s legacy alive with this new album of previously unreleased songs – all written and recorded by Bap. The opening and closing songs in particular meant a lot to us [The title track and “a’town”].
“Bap made a demo of the title track, “Above All, Love” that he planned to take into the studio. But somehow this beautiful song managed to slip through the net. As I listen to it now, it feels like a mission statement of what Bap was all about”.
Brenda reveals a lovely backstory about” A’town” the closing track of the 10. “A’town may seem like an unusual title for a song, but Bap had a good reason. When his mother Lily asked him to write a song about the place they called home, Bap joked that Andersonstown would never work as a song title. Then he noticed a road sign that had Andersonstown shortened to A’town – and he had his title.
“The song was a great hit with Lily, and for the final mix, Bap included a clip from a voicemail she left him about it, which you can hear as the track fades out. He often talked about releasing A’town for her, so it seems fitting for the very last word on the album to go to bap’s mother, Lily. ‘See you later son’ “.
The title track, ‘Above All, Love’, gives the album its emotional and creative centre, and across the record Kennedy’s voice remains unmistakable: warm, plain-spoken, soulful and deeply human. Songs such as “Old Majestic Moon,” “Silent Sea,” “Going Back To Nashville” and “A’town” reflect the range of his writing – rooted in Belfast, touched by Nashville, and shaped by a lifelong commitment to the craft of song.
Rather than a retrospective compilation, ‘Above All, Love’ offers something rare: new material from a songwriter whose work continues to connect across generations and genres. For long-time listeners, it is a rare opportunity to hear brand new Bap songs. For new listeners, it is an invitation into the work of a serious Belfast songwriter admired by some of the finest names in modern roots music.
Not long before he died in 2016, Bap said a poignant and heartfelt thing: “All I ever wanted was for people to feel what I feel – the magic of music”. Well these 10 unearthed tracks from “the vaults” cannot fail to achieve his wish if the listener appreciates sheer class in songwriting and performance.
Bap’s legacy lives on in fine, fine form. File under: “Gone far too soon, but never forgotten”.
Bap Kennedy solo releases:
Domestic Blues (1998)
Hillbilly Shakespeare (1999)
Lonely Street (2000)
Long Time a Comin’ (2002) – limited release
Moriarty’s Blues EP – Black Edition (2005)
Moriarty’s Blues EP – White Edition (2005)
The Big Picture (2005)
Howl On (2009)
The Sailor’s Revenge (2012)
Let’s Start Again (2014)
Reckless Heart (2016) – posthumous release
Love Hurts EP (2018)
By Christopher Weston
Photo by Brenda Kennedy
(1 / 5) ‘Dull Zone’
(2 / 5) ‘OK Zone’
(3 / 5) ‘Decent Zone’
(4 / 5) ‘Super Zone’
(5 / 5) ‘Awesome Zone’
Recent Comments