On 1st November 2016 – All Saint’s Day – one of Ireland’s most talented sons and respected songwriters, died too soon. He still had so much more to do and to give. A prolific songwriter, he wasn’t finished yet – there was an album in the works, songs that were written and recorded and ready to see the light of day, before he has taken away.
Music may have taken Bap around the globe – to work with titans such as Mark Knopfler, Steve Earle and Van Morrison, but his mother city Belfast is where the heart is. This city loved Bap just as much as Bap loved Belfast, and it was here his soul was shaped.
Rising to fame on the Belfast music scene with Energy Orchard (which recorded five albums in the 1990s) Bap’s first solo album, ‘Domestic Blues’, was produced by Steve Earle and helped place him firmly in the Americana world. He later worked closely with Mark Knopfler on ‘The Sailor’s Revenge’, and also co-wrote with Van Morrison. The Irish Times described him as “one of Ireland’s greatest contemporary songwriters – a musician’s musician who died at the height of his powers”, while Culture NI called him “one of the most gifted singer-songwriters and performers ever to emerge from the Northern Irish scene.”
Still deeply missed a decade on, we can celebrate his craft with ‘Above All, Love’. This album has been curated and produced by Brenda Kennedy, Bap’s wife and long time musical collaborator. She has thoughtfully brought these recordings carefully into the world for listeners old and new – a posthumous release.
The title track, ‘Above All, Love’, gives the album its emotional and creative centre, and across the record Bap’s voice remains unmistakable: warm, plain-spoken, soulful and deeply human. Songs such as ‘Old Majestic Moon’, ‘Silent Sea’, ‘Going Back To Nashville’ and ‘A’town’ reflect the range of his writing – rooted in Belfast, touched by Nashville, and shaped by a lifelong commitment to the craft of song.
‘Don’t Be Like That’ – the second track, is full on Bap – complete with brass section, a delightfully jazzy rock n roll number – Bap at his best. ‘Going Back to Nashville’ has that classic Bap country rock vibe, lilting along, a little tongue in cheek. ‘Above All, Love’ is reflective, tender, sensitive – and has a clear sense of place – of home. ‘Songs like Silent Sea’ and ‘Sugar Love’ seem to speak of the mindset of a man with a prophetic sense of what was coming down the track. ‘Something’s Working On Me (I can feel it in my bones)’ sadly seems to let us know what’s ahead, the dark nights of the soul, just trying to get back home, but there’s always something in the way.
Don’t be mistaken – this is a joyful and upbeat album despite it all. It rocks. It rolls. It lilts and lingers – and it’s unmistakeably Bap Kennedy.
There’s a beautiful moment at the end of the last song titled ‘A’town’ – an upbeat tune that takes us from a long white limousine in Sunset Boulevard to A’town – local shorthand for Andy Town, or Andersonstown to give the locality its full name. It’s a long, long way back to A’town as the tune bounces along. There’s a boyish sense of how did he get from A (A’town) to B (the Boulevard) – yet there’s that ancient Irish yearning to get back home, where you belong. Back in Belfast, reminiscing, paying off the guitar week by week, there’s a sweet moment where the song – and in fact the album – ends with his mammy’s voice, in a clear westie accent “Just wanted to let you know I got good vibes from it all round. Talk to you later son.”
Rather than a retrospective compilation, ‘Above All, Love’ offers something rare: new material from a songwriter whose work continues to connect across generations and genres. For long-time listeners, it is a rare opportunity to hear brand new Bap songs. For new listeners, it is an invitation into the work of a serious Belfast songwriter admired by some of the finest names in modern roots music.
‘Above All, Love’ is available for pre-order now via lonelystreetdiscs.com
Postscript: Coincidentally, I have a cat called Bap. He listened very carefully, and gave ‘Above All, Love’ the paws up. I swear he was bopping along in time to the tunes for sure.