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Sleeve Notes
The first session for what was to become renegade happened at Poet's Corner Studios in Galway in December 2006. The first session was fantastic … full of energy and the core of the idea began to emerge. Using loops taken from Garageband, Sharon, Mike, Dezi and Jim began putting tunes and loops together. 22 tunes were recorded in various shapes and forms during this session. Mike also demoed The Curra Rd, his first time ever to record a vocal.
Because of various touring commitments in January the next session was scheduled for February. Disaster struck in January, as Dezi broke a bone in his hand and was to be or the bench until May!! Nonetheless, Sharon, Mike and Jim continued refining tunes, adding new ones, with Mike generating new loops from his store of hip-hop beats. Jim also ventured into song and began recording ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'. It was also Jim's first time in front of a vocal mic in a recording studio.
During March, Jim and Sharon got together and put down some new tunes. One of these, Neckbelly, was sent to John Reynolds in London and John brought in Clare Kenny and Justin Adams to add some hip-hop/world music elements to the track. Around the same time, Stanley Banks (Wardlaw Banks Music Publishing) sent us a track from an artiste he represents called 2Play. Jim wrote a tune to fit with the song and later 2Play and singer Roachie put, with some help from Richie Buckley (sax) and Jon Clifford (trombone) the finishing touches to this track that became ‘Got A Hold Of Me'.
The initial sessions were engineered by John Dunford and Leon O'Neill (who added some great hammond organ) and then Keith McDonnell (who has engineered and mixed the last 5 Sharon Shannon albums) arrived to take over the reins in April. Keith also contributed Fender Rhodes. From then on, with Dezi back in harness, the project began to steam forward. At one stage, Poet's Corner was working away with Richie Buckley and Jon Clifford while Donald Shaw beavered away in Scotland, 2Play and Roachie in London and Mike and Neil (trumpets) up in Manchester.
Keith put the finishing touches to the mixes during June. During the recording Catriona kept everyone healthy and happy, John and Keith got in some fishing, Mike made various outings to Barnadearg, Ballinderreen Pier was the favourite swimming spot and Cawley's Public House was a great social club.
Thanks to all who visited us at Poet's Corner — Tom Joyce, Leo Healy, Sean Staunton, The Deans from Athenry, Jack Maher, Paul O'Driscoll, Winnie Horan, Mick McCauley, Sammy Dunford, Danny Mullen from San Francisco, Jane Rooney & Rory Patrick McDonnell, Mary Shannon, Sally May Melia, Kathleen Coltherd, Sean O'Gaoithin, Borat, Annie West and Daithi Turner.
The Maid Behind The Bar
a) The Road To Cashel — The first tune in this set was written in the late 70's by Charlie Lennon. Charlie tells us that it was recorded at one stage by Kevin Burke and some friends and mistakenly entitled The Cabin Hunter (Sharon)
b) The Maid Behind The Bar — I learned this lovely version of the tune from Charlie McKerron of Capercaillie (Mike)
Neckbelly
a) When we started recording this CD, I brought myself a little Dictaphone and was didelling into it constantly in an effort to retain tunes that were racing around my head. The first tune in this set is one of those (Sharon)
b) The second tune is very much a joint effort by Jim and I. l already had the third part completed when I first played it to Jim. He loved it. We started making up a first and second part for it and within three or four minutes we had the rest of the tune written together by Jim shouting chords at me and me playing around them (Sharon)
Can't remember why we called these tunes Neckbelly — something funny we saw on telly one night during the time we worked on this track. We just used it as a working title but it seems to have stuck. (Sharon and Jim)
Freemount Bypass
a) Freemount Bypass — This is a tune I composed on the journey from Macroom to the studio in Galway. There were delays on the road before Freemount and I was forced to go a number of back roads. By the time I was back on track on the right road this melody was in my head. When I arrived later that day we recorded it after a lovely line at the end of the tune was suggested by Dezi (Jim)
b) Machair at Dawn — This tune was written by Donald Shaw — a great friend and a writer of many brilliant tunes. (Mike)
It was written originally in 3/4 time for a scene in the BBC film 'Crowdie and cream' — a story about a young boy growing up in Harris after the first world war (Donald)
Got A Hold of Me — Stanley Banks suggested that this track might work. 2Play had recorded it a few years back and only a rough mix existed. The track was rebuilt from scratch with new tune by Jim inserted into the melody (Sharon)
Produced by 2Play aka Wessley Johnson for 365 Artists/2Play Productions
Vocals by Roachie aka Clinton Outten.
Sally May Melia
a) Aggie's Waltz — Here we're playing a combination of two different versions of the same tune. The first two parts were learned many years ago from a really nice family album by Seamus Egan (Solus) and his sisters. The third part was learned more recently from a fantastic album by old friends from Clare — great musicians P.J. Crotty, James Cullinane and Carol Talty, (Sharon)
b) Sally May Melia — This is for my gorgeous little godchild, Sally, daughter of my sister, Mary, and her husband, Darren. (Sharon)
c) Ballinderreen Pier — This tune was the result of a chord progression I played while messing about on the studio mic. I asked Keith to record it with a notion of writing a melody over the progression later. A few minutes later I drove do Ballinderreen Pier for a swim and this tune was in my head before I hit the water! (Jim)
The Curra Road — I've loved this song for a long time because it reminds me of the carefree summers in Ireland with Anna and the kids. I'm a big fan of all of Ger Wolfe's stuff. Do check him out if you don't already know him (Mike)
Madonna Groove — This is a lovely simple little tune I learned many years ago from a tape I made in Milltown of a session I had with a long time friend — accordion player Karen Tweed and flute player Madonna Herron. Can't find who wrote this. Please get in touch with us if anyone knows (Sharon)
The Full Set — This is a jig and a reel that I wrote for an RTE programme called The Full Set. It got its first airing on that programme and I'm delighted with the version that we have now on this record (Mike)
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face — This was a song that always made me say ‘I'd love to learn that song' every time I'd stumble upon it, usually on the radio. Having met and played a festival with Peggy Seeger earlier the year before I went home and wrote out the words to learn it. I loved that she and her partner Ewan MacColl wrote this for eachother when they first meet (Jim)
Gaffo's Ball — These are two reels called after the great entertainer — funny dog Gaffo (Sharon)