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IRISH TIMES NEWSPAPER
Friday, July 18, 2008
TRADITIONAL
The latest release reviewed SIOBHÁN O'BRIEN ~Songs I Grew Up To by Siobhán Long -Writer, Irish Times
Limerick singer Siobhán O'Brien treads a vocal pathway forged with such brio by Susan McKeown .This
collection shimmers through the low-key yet sympathetic arrangements of songs borrowed from her
childhood, her beloved Radio Luxembourg and her family get-togethers. Her uncle, Brendan Bowyer,
lends unbelievably delicate vocals to O'Brien's reading of Scarlet Ribbons, a song rooted in the past
that somehow transgresses the chasms of the decades with the fleetest of footfalls. Paddy Moloney of
The Chieftains adds suitably haunting pipes and whistles to The Long Black Veil, a song to which he's no
stranger himself. A sweet, ultimately satisfying snapshot of a singer still building her identity through a
repertoire that stretches from the grindingly familiar (Lakes Of Pontchartrain) to the unapologetically
fresh faced (In My Room).
Friday, July 18, 2008
TRADITIONAL
The latest release reviewed SIOBHÁN O'BRIEN ~Songs I Grew Up To by Siobhán Long -Writer, Irish Times
Limerick singer Siobhán O'Brien treads a vocal pathway forged with such brio by Susan McKeown .This
collection shimmers through the low-key yet sympathetic arrangements of songs borrowed from her
childhood, her beloved Radio Luxembourg and her family get-togethers. Her uncle, Brendan Bowyer,
lends unbelievably delicate vocals to O'Brien's reading of Scarlet Ribbons, a song rooted in the past
that somehow transgresses the chasms of the decades with the fleetest of footfalls. Paddy Moloney of
The Chieftains adds suitably haunting pipes and whistles to The Long Black Veil, a song to which he's no
stranger himself. A sweet, ultimately satisfying snapshot of a singer still building her identity through a
repertoire that stretches from the grindingly familiar (Lakes Of Pontchartrain) to the unapologetically
fresh faced (In My Room).
| Highlights 2009 Clive Barnes CD The Ghost Country Siobhán sings backup (5 tracks) Highlights 2008 Guest Vocalist with THE CHIEFTAINS Boston Symphony Hall Massachusetts, USA Performed on RTE 1 TV SHOW SEOIGE & O'SHEA Dublin, Ireland Guest Appearance w/ SHARON SHANNON & BAND Charity Fundraiser Purcells Ruane, Co. Clare Ireland Guest Vocalist of DAMEIN DEMPSEY Kavanagh's Laois, Co. Clare Ireland |
Siobhán O'Brien finds her own voice..
By Linda Laban Globe Correspondent
March 2008
When Siobhán O'Brien heard that the Frames frontman
Glen Hansard had won the Oscar last month for best
song for "Falling Slowly," his duet with Markéta Irglová
from the film "Once," she was so happy for him that she
cried. Her father told her he had heard the company
that makes the guitar Hansard favors had seen him
playing his battered old instrument at the awards show
and offered him a new one. More stories like this "I was
going, 'Don't take the guitar, don't take the guitar,' "
O'Brien recalls from her home in Limerick. She got her
wish. Her father said Hansard had declined. "That's Glen.
I knew he wouldn't take the guitar," says the 38-year-old
Irish singer-songwriter. O'Brien seems to need her heroes
unsullied and intact; she isn't into the "glitz and the
glamour" of success: "I just love doing this," she says of
making music. O'Brien met Hansard 15 years ago when
they bonded over a mutual love of Bob Dylan. Around
the time, Dylan had invited O'Brien, a plucky girl with a
strong, delicately tremulous voice, to sing his song "The
Fox" onstage in Dublin with him. That song is just one of
many covers - from Harry Chapin's "Shooting Star" to
Brian Wilson's "In My Room" - that O'Brien recently
recorded for her self-released covers record, "Songs I
Grew Up To." READ MORE>>
By Linda Laban Globe Correspondent
March 2008
When Siobhán O'Brien heard that the Frames frontman
Glen Hansard had won the Oscar last month for best
song for "Falling Slowly," his duet with Markéta Irglová
from the film "Once," she was so happy for him that she
cried. Her father told her he had heard the company
that makes the guitar Hansard favors had seen him
playing his battered old instrument at the awards show
and offered him a new one. More stories like this "I was
going, 'Don't take the guitar, don't take the guitar,' "
O'Brien recalls from her home in Limerick. She got her
wish. Her father said Hansard had declined. "That's Glen.
I knew he wouldn't take the guitar," says the 38-year-old
Irish singer-songwriter. O'Brien seems to need her heroes
unsullied and intact; she isn't into the "glitz and the
glamour" of success: "I just love doing this," she says of
making music. O'Brien met Hansard 15 years ago when
they bonded over a mutual love of Bob Dylan. Around
the time, Dylan had invited O'Brien, a plucky girl with a
strong, delicately tremulous voice, to sing his song "The
Fox" onstage in Dublin with him. That song is just one of
many covers - from Harry Chapin's "Shooting Star" to
Brian Wilson's "In My Room" - that O'Brien recently
recorded for her self-released covers record, "Songs I
Grew Up To." READ MORE>>
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SONGS I GREW UP TO
Album Features ~
Paddy Moloney (The Chieftains)
Pete Cummins (Fleadh Cowboys/Chieftains )
Brendan Bowyer (Royal Showband)
Paul Kelly (David Munnelly/Fleadh Cowboys) )
Album Features ~
Paddy Moloney (The Chieftains)
Pete Cummins (Fleadh Cowboys/Chieftains )
Brendan Bowyer (Royal Showband)
Paul Kelly (David Munnelly/Fleadh Cowboys) )
Biography
Siobhán Marie O’Brien
(pronounced Shiv-awn)Born: Limerick, Ireland.
Siobhán is a singer and songwriter who performs with
acoustic guitar and harmonica.No newcomer to the
entertainment field, Siobhan made her first audio
recording at the tender age of six, with an old sea
shanty. Siobhan has roots from four generations in the
music industry.
Her great grandparents were Travelling Opera Singers,
The Bowyer/ Westwood Opera Company,they came
from Blackpool in England. Their only son Stanley played
violin.They settled in Ireland when Albert Bowyer(Great
Grandfather)died in Omagh Co.Tyrone while touring.
Most notably ,O'Brien is the niece ofIreland's Sixties
music legend,Brendan Bowyer (The Royal Show Band)
note * The Beatles played support for Bowyer at The
Cavern, Liverpool Pavilionin England.
Siobhán O’Brien has explored many traditions of
American song,from folk, blues and country to gospel,
rock and roll to English,Scottish and Irish folk music.
Siobhan performs with an everchanging line-up of
great musicians. She is a performer and recording artist
and generally known for her haunting vocals and
songwriting.
Siobhán Marie O’Brien
(pronounced Shiv-awn)Born: Limerick, Ireland.
Siobhán is a singer and songwriter who performs with
acoustic guitar and harmonica.No newcomer to the
entertainment field, Siobhan made her first audio
recording at the tender age of six, with an old sea
shanty. Siobhan has roots from four generations in the
music industry.
Her great grandparents were Travelling Opera Singers,
The Bowyer/ Westwood Opera Company,they came
from Blackpool in England. Their only son Stanley played
violin.They settled in Ireland when Albert Bowyer(Great
Grandfather)died in Omagh Co.Tyrone while touring.
Most notably ,O'Brien is the niece ofIreland's Sixties
music legend,Brendan Bowyer (The Royal Show Band)
note * The Beatles played support for Bowyer at The
Cavern, Liverpool Pavilionin England.
Siobhán O’Brien has explored many traditions of
American song,from folk, blues and country to gospel,
rock and roll to English,Scottish and Irish folk music.
Siobhan performs with an everchanging line-up of
great musicians. She is a performer and recording artist
and generally known for her haunting vocals and
songwriting.
