Kieran Kane

Shadows On The Ground

"Kieran Kane has continued to move his music along the path of true country--bypassing the smoke-choked freeways clogged with big hats, empty heads, pierced navels and refurbished 70s rock maneuvers to, instead, wind through hamlets of straight-up folk, back porch guitar pulls and honest, from-the-heart lyrics beautifully sung over sturdy, humble melodies." ~ Jim Musser

 

(Dead Reckoning/Compendia) Kieran Kane came to Nashville in 1978 from California. He found work as a session player, and became a house writer for Tree Publishing, where he scored a few minor hits. In 1985, he teamed up with fellow Tree writer, Jamie O'Hara, and formed the duo, The O'Kanes, aligning themselves with the neo-traditional movement that had sprung up. By 1990, after three albums, 6 top 10 hits, and one #1 hit, they decided to split up and pursue solo careers. Kieran signed with Atlantic Records, and put out his first solo album, Find My Way Home. The album met with critical acclaim, but sold poorly, as the musical tide was turning in country music, with the rise of Garth Brook's brand of "arena country," and Kieran's brand of honest, simple country songs, was deemed no longer "marketable." He and Atlantic parted ways, and shortly thereafter, with musical sidekicks/pals Kevin Welch, Harry Stinton, Tammy Rogers and Mike Henderson, who found themselves in the same boat, and no longer wishing to play the game of "major label roulette," they joined forces and started their own label, Dead Reckoning. Here they had the freedom to create the music they wanted, without having to answer to anyone but themselves. Kieran put out his first album on their new label with 1995's Dead Reckoning. He followed that with 1998's Six Months, No Sun, and 2000's The Blue Chair.

 

Kieran now returns with his first solo effort in 3 years, Shadows On The Ground. Shadows is a mostly acoustic affair, that enlists the vocal and instrumental support of fellow Reckoners and assorted regular cohorts, Kevin Welch, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson, Harry Stinton, Fats Kaplan, Glenn Worf, Sean Locke, and Claudia Scott. With it's tight harmonies and traditional instruments: mandolins, fiddles, autoharp, banjo, accordion- and yes, pots and pans- most people today are going to call this a "bluegrass" album, just as they did with "O Brother." However, these days, people seem to hear banjos, fiddles, mandolins, and mistakenly categorize any music that incorporates them, as being "bluegrass," which is not the case. And neither is Kieran jumping on the "roots music" bandwagon. On the contrary, it just happens that a certain segment of country music listeners have finally come back to (or have just discovered) the place where Kieran's been all along. Kieran has simply created another stellar album of "back porch" mountain music, with simple, full-of-honesty lyrics, and sturdy melodies, that incorporate various elements of country, folk, blues and Celtic into his songs.

 

As usual, he tosses in a couple of covers, along with originals. On this outing, he chose AP Carter's spiritual, "Will You Miss Me," in which he captures the essence of the original to perfection, with outstanding harmonies by Tammy Rogers and Harry Stinton. The other is a traditional folk song, "Handsome Sally," which he chose because of it's beauty in the simplicity of the lyrics, which still powerfully convey the mournful story of a lost love.

 

"Ain't Holdin' Back," is a bluesy proclamation of leaving the past behind and turning over a new leaf, while "Shut Up" is about a man who's past keeps haunting him. The title cut, "Shadows On The Ground," reminds us that while we all may be very different individually, in the end, the one thing we all have in common is, we're all people just passing through this world. The outstanding "Mountain Song," with it's Celtic flourishes, sings of the joys of living in the mountains, and taking in all the beauty that surrounds it. "One Raindrop" is a mid-tempo song that uses imagery of nature to describe how love can change a person's life.

 

Another standout is the dark blues lament of "The Baby Keeps Cryin', " about a man breaking his back, workin' his fields day and night, barely scraping by, but though many times he's ready to surrender, he's got a family to feed and keeps trudging on. "Better Take It Slow" explains that nothing comes easy, and hard work will eventually pay off, if you keep at it. Kieran pays high tribute to June Carter Cash in the toe tapping, "June Carter (Can Sure Sing)," at the same time taking a swipe at today's contemporary, so-called "country divas", with lyrics such as "in a world of country costume jewelry, she's a real diamond ring." Shadows closes with a lovely ballad, "Harmony," that somehow easily conjures up an instant and gentle Don Williams vibe to it, and compares the beauty and intricacy in harmonies sung in a song, to the love between two people.

 

Kieran, along with a little help from his longtime friends, has delivered yet another first rate album of "back porch" songs, with Shadows On The Ground. Fans longing for the honesty and simplicity, along with the sturdy melodies that were once country's mainstays, shouldn't let this one pass them by. As a bonus, also included with copies of Shadows On The Ground, is a 4 song sampler disc that contains songs by some of Dead Reckoning's other artists, Kevin Welch, Mike Henderson, The Fairfield Four, and The Dead Reckoners. 

AnnMarie Harrington Take Country Back October 2002