‘Naked Music’ features some of Eleanor’s best known songs in the stripped back and re-arranged format that we’ve all become familiar with from her live performances.
The album opens with fan favourite ‘Wrong So Wrong’. A song full of forbidden lust that in this present arrangement played only on acoustic guitar sadly just doesn’t work quite as well as the usual blistering live version we’ve become used to where Eleanor is accompanied by fiery and intricate violin playing.
What does work well is the bluesy guitar that accompanies ‘Deliver Me’. Another favourite since we first heard it on 2010’s ‘I’d Rather Go Blonde’. A song that challenges hypocrisy and double standards and which, in this case delivers a shot across the bows of the Catholic Church in a response to several well publicised scandals.
Deliver me from you what do. Deliver me from what you knew. Deliver me from what you say. Deliver me from how you pray.
An acapella version of ‘The DJ’ is haunting and we hang on every note that Eleanor delivers during this journey of how powerful music can be.
I sip my drink and I thank the lord for music sweet and slow. So vital to my soul, so needed in our times.
Like 2011’s ‘Alone’ this record was also recorded in the Grange Studio in Suffolk. Whereas the previous sessions were recorded unknown to Eleanor at the time, this record has been planned and follows the same format of Eleanor’s vocal accompanied only by a single instrument which allows her powerful lyrics and the themes she weaves in her music to shine through.
‘Look Like Me’ is a rallying cry against conformity. Possibly stemming back to Eleanor’s own time spent dealing with major record labels in the 1990s and their efforts to mould and change her. The song is also a battle cry for women around the world who feel pressure daily to conform to image stereotypes created by the media and very often Photoshop.
I do not think it’s up to some someone else to tell me how to dress. I don’t think my aim in life should be to look like all the other girls I see.
‘Isn’t It A Little Late’ features Eleanor using her acoustic guitar as a percussion instrument tapping out the rhythm of the song as she delivers the stark message contained within over the beat. This is clearly one lady that doesn’t suffer time wasters.
Isn’t a late to be coming back here and crying to me. Isn’t it a late to be coming here at all.
As a collection of songs ‘Naked Music’ is hard to fault. It doesn’t have the edge or spontaneity of 2011’s ‘Alone’ and while we’d love to hear new material this record delivers a master class in song writing from an artist who can explore themes of lust, hypocrisy, protest and love in equal and eloquent measures armed only with the barest of accompaniment.
It takes bravery to step out from behind the music sometimes and not many artists successfully make the transition. Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen spring to mind as a being able to cross this bridge joining them is Ireland’s own troubadour, Eleanor McEvoy.
‘Naked Music’ is released on the 5th of February 2016 and you can pre-order the album here. Eleanor will be embarking on a supporting tour with details on her website.