(Ashmont Records) Mike Ireland was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He grew up with plenty of music in his house, his father played guitar and his mother played piano. When he got older, he took up playing the alto sax, and earned an undergraduate degree in music education. About this time, he headed off in another musical direction, joining some friends in a rock band, playing bass, which he had two weeks to learn before their first gig. That band turned out to be The Starkweathers, who's core members managed to stay intact for a decade. Their sound was described as 'half Cash, half Clash.'  Unfortunately, in the mid 90's, just as The Starkweathers were on the verge of a national breakthrough, things fell apart when Mike discovered his wife was having an affair with the band's lead singer.

The traumatic breakup of the band and his marriage, wound up opening a new musical door for Mike. Soon songs started to come flooding to him, as did a sound that was completely different than The Starkweathers' sound, or that of anyone else out there. This led up to the release of Mike's debut album in 1998, Learning How To Live, which revolves around the breakup of his marriage. Both Mike and the album were immediately embraced by critics, garnered him several appearances on the Opry, but being an indie release, commercially sold poorly.

Mike returns with his sophomore release, Try Again, an album that even tops his last outing. Mike's sound is indeed different from anything else out there, because it draws heavily on Countrypolitan. He's drawn to the sounds he heard on the radio in the 70's growing up, and the sounds he was most drawn to were those of the smooth crooners such as Conway Twitty, Glen Campbell, Charlie Rich, and even that period's later work by Ray Price and Marty Robbins. Though his style is based on these sounds, Mike's work is most definitely not your father's Countrypolitan. Mike has managed to take the sounds from the past and update them, by using them to frame his undeniably contemporary songs. The sound is still smooth, but Mike's voice has a such decided twang to it, that it keeps it far more country than than the Countrypolitan sound on which he bases his music. Strings are present, however, they're kept far in the background, and blend in so well, they are barely detectable to the ear in relation to the overall sound. The production, while reminiscent of Billy Sherrill, is not nearly as slick or polished. Aside from Mike's twangy vocals, steel and guitars are front and center, as opposed to the strings. Joining Mike (on bass) is his band Holler, this time made up of Dan Mesh on acoustic guitar (the sole holdover from his debut), Spencer Marquart on drums, John Horton on guitar, and veteran steel guitarist Buddy Cage lends his steel playing. Jerry Yester once again contributes as string arranger/conductor. 

Try Again starts out where Mike left off on his last disc, still full of heartache. The opening track, the mid-tempo "Welcome Back," tells of the irony of returning to a place that you'd thought you'd long left behind. "Right Back Where I Started" reflects on how denying the past won't make it go away. The melancholy, "Mr. Rain," perhaps the most classically Countrypolitan song on the disc with sweeping strings and piano, tells of how the rain reflects exactly how he's feeling inside. "The Other Way" is an up-tempo Bakersfield honky tonker, about ignoring all the signs in a love going wrong, while the romantic shuffling ballad, "Tonight" is a song of struggling to forget.

From here, Try Again takes a turn toward the hopeful. The honky tonker, "Sweet Sweetheart" shows that it's time to make a new start and the possibilities of falling in love again, and with "I'd Like To Try," decides that's just what he'd like to do. He starts moving slowly and cautiously back into starting a relationship, in "Love's The Hardest Thing We'll Ever Do" and "Close Enough To Break Each Other's Heart." "Try Again" is a smoky, bluesy number where as he discovers not every love is out to break his heart, he finds getting back into the game of love might not be so bad after all, and proclaims he is indeed ready to give it a try again. The album's sole non-Ireland penned song, is a cover of Charlie Rich's "Life's Little Ups And Downs." Not quite the way Charlie did it though. Mike's version is soulful, sweaty, sultry and very Southern gothic- instantly bringing Bobbie Gentry and "Ode To Billy Joe" to mind. The disc's closer, the tender "Let Me Hold You," shows how resilient a heart can be after all, and no matter how broken it is, it can still find love again if it's owner is willing.

The very word "Countrypolitan" can make many a country music fan go running for the hills. However, Mike Ireland has redefined the sound. The "Country" is undeniable and first and foremost. The "politan" is geared to a more sophisticated audience, but he's not targeting an "urban" one, just merely an "adult" one, one which can relate to his songs of loss, heartache, the struggles of trying to pick up the pieces after a fall, and finding the courage to move on. Mike Ireland hits his target perfectly, and Try Again is a brilliant effort.

 

 http://www.mikeireland.com