The Breath
Something on Your Mind
(Real World)
I can easily take or leave most tribute records, but this is exceptional.
Alongside those much lauded albums that you'll notice celebrating their fiftieth anniversaries this year (Marvin, Joni, Janis, Funkadelic...), is the haunting 'In My Own Time' the second and final album by the long lost folk/blues icon Karen Dalton. Bold songs, heart wrenching vocals, distinctive and idiosyncratic arrangements, it's an equal to any of those other, far more famous, records.
Anyone attempting to pay tribute to Dalton must be brave and exceptionally talented. So, thank heavens that award winning singer and songwriter Ríoghnach Connolly and guitarist Stuart McCallum (collectively known as The Breath) are fans. Connolly is a vocalist whose warmth, range and soul brings songs to life in a way that makes you feel her presence, to make you understand her own take on the story.
The Breath's interpretation of 'In My Own Time' opener 'Something on Your Mind' is exquisite. As a singer Connolly had channelled her own grief and trauma into the song. It is a a song of survival and it is a cathartic and remarkable interpretation.
A stunning and essential release.
Essential Info
The Breath band image by Duncan Elliot
