Circus

by Mary Black

Overview

On Mary Black's seventh solo album, CIRCUS, the usually upbeat singer explores the complex themes of isolation and loneliness within relationships. Still sticking to her Celtic roots, but with a decidedly modern twist, she opens up vocally in a deeper way than previously, making the album an empathetic experience for anyone who has ever felt the pain of life and love. The title song, written by long-time collaborator Noel Brazil, makes good use of the circus metaphor to show how its underside can still contain a well of emptiness. Mary Chapin Carpenter's wistful "The Moon and St. Christopher," where an older woman looks back at her younger stubbornness and how she may have run from love, is interpreted with a air of sadness; in "All That Hammering," Black sings how she never trusts happiness and always prepares for the worst. Song after song sheds light on the desperation of a lover leaving or a couple deciding that it is time to part. There is something so personal about each of the songs here that, at times, Black's hushed, fragile tones sound more like a friend's whispered confidences.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/17/1996
Label:	Curb
UPC:	0715187783225

Tracks

1. The Circus
2. In a Dream
3. The Moon and St. Christopher
4. Wonder Child
5. All That Hammering
6. Donegal Breeze
7. A Stone's Throw from the Soul
8. Free as Stone
9. Roison
10. Into the Blue
11. Gabriel
12. Raven in the Storm

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Mary Black   Primary Artist,Tambourine,Vocal Harmony
Eleanor McEvoy   Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Frank Gallagher   Viola,Conductor,Synthesizer,Vocal Harmony,Whistle (Human)
Noel Bridgeman   Percussion,Vocal Harmony
Carl Geraghty   Saxophone,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano),Sax (Baritone)
Declan Sinnott   Sitar,Slide Guitar,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Dave Early   Drums,Percussion
Garvan Gallagher   Double Bass,Guitar (Bass),Vocal Harmony
Pat Crowley   Piano,Accordion,Keyboards,Vocal Harmony
Stephen McDonnell   Trumpet,Flugelhorn

Technical Credits

Marie Reilly   Color Tinting
Billy Robinson   Assistant Producer,Mixing,Engineer
Shane Howard   Composer
Jimmy MacCarthy   Composer
Kevin Doherty   Composer
Geoff Bartley   Composer
Frank Gallagher   Arranger
Joe South   Composer
John Gorka   Composer
Mary Black   Assistant Producer
Carl Geraghty   Brass Arrangement
Alastair McMillan   Assistant Engineer
Declan Sinnott   Producer
Rob Kirwan   Assistant Engineer
Mary Chapin Carpenter   Composer
Noel Brazil   Composer
Conan Doyle   Assistant Engineer
Mike Bunn   Photography
Stephen McDonnell   Brass Arrangement