Kieran Kane Albums (10)
'Somewhere Beyond the Roses'
Release Date 7/28/2009
Tracks 11
Label Compass
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What The Critics Say
Roots fans frustrated by the lack of banjo and baritone sax folk albums now have their dreams come true. Kieran Kane's first solo release (away from the Kane Welch Kaplin collaboration) since 2002's Shadows on the Ground pushes acoustic music in dynamic new directions with the addition of baritone saxophonist Deanna Varagona (Lambchop). Her contributions to every track are nearly as integral to this project's success as Kane's honest vocals, impressive melodies, and thought-provoking, often dark lyrics. The brittle, plunking qualities of the banjo are perfectly offset by the horn's deep mellifluous tone, making this a match made in folk heaven. Kane may not have been the first folksinger to add sax, but there aren't many who do it this successfully. Electric guitar from Richard Bennett along with Kane's son Lucas' sparse percussion beef up the approach, yet this is still raw and stripped down. The material would be memorable with a typical instrumental lineup, but Varagona's husky sax lines, somewhat similar to those of Morphine's Dana Colley, bring an unusual and compelling jazz tinge to the material. Her vocals also provide shimmering harmonies to choruses such as the bluegrass-influenced title track. Songs like "Unfaithful Heart" might have commercial possibilities if they were sold to a contemporary country star, but Kane's naked, emotional readings are soulful, heartfelt, and raw. It would have been easy, even natural, to feature the saxophone prominently in the arrangements, but Kane and Varagona don't force that issue, preferring to let her solos coexist naturally by underpinning the melodies, never dominating them. David Olney, who has mixed horns with unplugged folk on his own albums, guests on call-and-response vocals during "Don't Try to Fight It," bringing a gospel groove to the proceedings. Certainly Little Walter never envisioned that his "Tell Me Mama" (the set's only cover) would ever sound quite as homey as it does closing out this challenging and genre-expanding release. Interestingly, Kane, who is also an accomplished painter, had his daughter Lucy contribute the evocative cover painting. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Picking up where their last collaboration left off, the trio of Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane, and Fats Kaplin are not simply mailing it in as might be the case with other trios resting on the strength of previous efforts. The slow, barren "Ain't Gonna Do It" has Kane leading the way with Welch providing distant harmonies for a fine result. Meanwhile, Welch shows his prowess during the stellar "I Wish I Had That Mandolin" that glides along thanks to Fats Kaplin adding accents on an electric sitar. It's a song that even a great songwriter like Steve Earle would curse with envy. Perhaps the biggest compliment is that all three let the songs work regardless of who is doing what. The simple story Kane relays of checking into a hotel room during "Red Light Blinking" is probably the first early highlight, but there are many more to come. A few bluesy or Delta-tinged rags come into the album such as "Callin' You" and "That's What I Got" but these pale greatly in comparison to "Last Lost Highway" that Welch nails beautifully. The same can be said of "Highland Mary" which has some subtle Celtic touches guiding it along and the powerful "What Are They Doin' in Heaven Today?" The only miscue is the spoken word delivery of "Dark Boogie #7" which sinks like a stone very quickly. ~ Jason MacNeil, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kieran Kane along with longtime musical associate Kevin Welch and Fats Kaplin join for their second album as a trio. Although it shares the same basic instrumentation and stripped down, one take, folk approach of 2004's You Can't Save Everybody, the follow-up is more full, layered, and seems ever so slightly beefed up. Multi-instrumentalist Kaplin (guitar, pedal steel, oud, accordion, fiddle) is better integrated and helps fill out the sound that is still primarily acoustic, but has flashes of subtle electric guitar fills. The songs are largely ballads concerning the usual suspect topics of lost love ("Clean Getaway"), cars as a metaphor for life ("Them Wheels Don't Roll Anymore") and spiritual concerns ("I Can't Wait"), yet the melodies and singing are so consistently engaging that the project takes on a life of its own. A few more upbeat tunes such as the closing cover of Willie Dixon's "Mellow Down Easy" (a far cry from Little Walter's boogie thumping original) would help keep the energy flowing, but there is no shortage of talent and enthusiasm here. Kane and Welch's vocals, both solo and in tandem, find a melancholy groove that is hypnotic, beautiful and sincere. Welch's reflective "Heaven Now," a sad and insightful meditation on ageing, is stunning in its simplicity and naked emotion. "To the Harvest Look Ahead" takes a simple circular melody, brings a swampy, dusky mood and connects with restrained intensity. Middle Eastern chords infuse the mysterious "Mr. Bones" with Kaplin's oud driving the world beat influences. The recording is clean, clear and crisp, with each instrument defined under the vocals making a good album even better. Highly recommended especially for folk/Americana fans. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
'You Can't Save Everybody'
Release Date 7/20/2004
Tracks 12
Label Compass
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What The Critics Say
The phenomenon of young white men from Brooklyn doing their best to sound like old black men from Mississippi is by now so thoroughly institutionalized in pop music that it doesn't even raise an eyebrow. Which is a good thing for Kieran Kane, who's not that young anymore but is still plenty white, and whose songs tend to sound as if they'd been scraped up out of the Delta mud and wiped off perfunctorily before being performed. Kevin Welch, a native Oklahoman and longtime Nashville resident, comes by his regional inflections a bit more honestly, and writes from a similarly rough-hewn perspective. The two of them collaborate beautifully on this spare, moody collection of originals and cover songs, an album that shines brightest in its dark, quiet moments and falters only when it descends into tired homily. For the former, check out Kane's lovely but resigned title track and Welch's gentle but powerful rendition of Ron Davies' "Dark Eyed Gal," and, best of all, Welch's quietly glorious "Prayer Like Any Other," which closes the album. For an example of the latter, check out the obvious and deeply banal anti-corporate screed "Everybody's Working for the Man Again." Highly recommended overall. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
'Shadows on the Ground'
Release Date 10/8/2002
Tracks 15
Label Dead Reckoning
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What The Critics Say
Kieran Kane, formerly of the not-quite-neo-trad (but utterly compelling) country group the O'Kanes, has released his finest album to date with the primarily acoustic Shadows on the Ground. On this effort, Kane pares back his tunes to only their most essential, suggestive elements, and the result can be compared to the most evocative short stories of Ernest Hemingway. This is his simplest effort yet -- but there's great artistry at work. Shadows on the Ground was recorded in a couple of days in a single room in Nashville, and is dedicated to Kieran's son Lucas, who had been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. The hard, simple truths on the album perhaps stem from that situation, with the lyrics often coming off like unadorned little nuggets of Eastern thought (such as the title track's "Truth is always truth, stone is always stone/We all live and die but not alone/We go by different roads/We go by different names/Shadows on the ground all look the same"). The combination of the stark but intelligent lyrics and low-key yet impressive instrumentation and arrangements -- in fact, two songs feature only one chord -- results in an album that, like the best art, doesn't telegraph its message. Rather, it's suggestive enough to draw the listener in for the act of discovery. (On a blunter level, it's also a darn fine listen.) The intelligence and artistry at work on this album are remarkable, and here in the new millennium, it baffles the mind that a talent like Kieran Kane and the O'Kanes once hurtled up the mainstream country music charts. ~ Erik Hage, All Music Guide
'The Blue Chair'
Release Date 10/24/2000
Tracks 10
Label Dead Reckoning
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'11/12/13: Live from Melbourne, Australia'
Release Date 6/20/2000
Tracks 15
Label Dead Reckoning
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
These are live recordings from Kane's joint appearances with fellow country-folk songwriter (and fellow Dead Reckoning artist) Kevin Welch in Melbourne, Australia, on November 12 and November 13 of 1999. For these shows, the pair played unaccompanied, using just a bass and a guitar. Sometimes harmonizing, sometimes letting one or the other sing solo, they ran through 15 songs, mostly original material composed by Kane and Welch separately, although there are covers of John Hiatt's "Train to Birmingham" and Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man." There's an informal, playing-before-friends feel to the performances, on tunes that are mostly good-natured and easygoing, even if songs like Kane's "Table Top Dancer" get into something a little darker. Low-key country-folk, suited for Sunday morning tea. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
'Six Months, No Sun'
Release Date 4/7/1998
Tracks 13
Label Dead Reckoning
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What The Critics Say
On Six Months, No Sun, Kieran Kane continues along the path that he started down first as one-half of the O'Kanes, and then on his first two solo albums, Kieran Kane and Dead Rekoning; solid songwriting embellished by almost understated instrumentation, drawing on country, bluegrass, folk, and rock elements in equal portion. The songs on Six Months, No Sun, most of them penned by Kane, are in a range of styles. The two inspired covers, though, demonstrate his range: the bluegrass standard, "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight," and the pop standard, "What a Wonderful World," made familiar by Louis Armstrong. Highlights on the album include the title track, which is a solid country song, and "Table Top Dancer," which is a rather bleak vignette of working-class life. Another stand-out is "Hysteria," co-written with Irish singer/songwriter Andy White. There are also skillfully worded songs of love gone wrong, including "I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" and "Foolish As That May Be." Relying primarily on acoustic instrumentation (including the fiddle and mandolin of Tammy Rogers), Kane places the emphasis squarely on the songs themselves. His skill as a songwriter is such that the songs are substantial enough to stand such stark relief. While perhaps not as strong as his earlier solo efforts, Kane has made another solid album with Six Months, No Sun. ~ Martin Monkman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kieran Kane is one of the new outlaw country types surfacing in Nashville these days. Only the "outlaw" aspect doesn't apply to the lifestyle as in the old days. Here, it applies to the music, which bypasses the major labels and trends in favor of independently operated labels and a sense of following one's heart in making music. Kane's own "This Dirty Little Town" has a nice, ragged quality to it, and his cover of Hank Williams' "Ramblin Man" comes off high lonesome. Pleasing, but not exactly laid-back, Kieran Kane's Dead Reckoning has a haunting quality that keeps you coming back for more. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Kane quietly and effectively examines his relationships and decisions in songs that are as acutely accurate as they are minimally drawn. ~ Michael McCall, All Music Guide
