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Interpreting Isn't Kennedy's Skill

By
Mike Farragher,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:08 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 5:47 PM

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THERE are times I dread bringing out the nails and wood to crucify an artist, which makes this a truly dark day at the office. There is no nicer man than Brian Kennedy. Though we've never sat down for a formal chat, we have rubbed shoulders at various Irish events over the years.

You couldn't find a more charismatic person than Kennedy, and it felt like running into an old friend when I saw his face in an Irish record shop peering back at me on the cover of Interpretations, his new CD.

Alas, the man with the full frontal charm I observed in social settings and onstage was a far cry from the crooner limping in the studio on Interpretations. Kennedy has decided to apply his angelic voice to mostly smoky, modern soul classics, creating the musical equivalent of a drink of milk at the biker bar.

His read of U2's "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," while flawlessly executed, is completely bloodless.

His diction is crisp, which is miles away from the croaky looseness of the original. With the aid of cloying strings and spacey keyboards, he accomplishes the impossible; he completely strips the classic "Brown Eyed Girl" of its soul.

It didn't have to be this way. Kennedy learned about soul at the feet of one of the best.

Spotted by Van Morrison, he joined Van's renowned Blues and Soul world tour for a period of six years, performing with some of the legends of the music industry, including Joni Mitchell, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan and many others. He also backed Van on several albums -- Days Like This, The Healing Game, Back on Top and others. The experience allowed him to join Van and John Lee Hooker on the live album, One Night in San Francisco.

Things were going so well that Morrison even made a personal appeal to ask Kennedy to record the soundtrack version of "Crazy Love" for the film When a Man Loves a Woman. His pristine delivery was always the perfect foil to Van's rough-hewn growl. Without his sparring partner on these soul tunes, Kennedy sounds completely one-dimensional.

That's not an adjective you want on your back when you attempt to replace the great Tina Turner on "Let's Stay Together." The supple bossa nova cocktail arrangement is certainly interesting enough, but Kennedy regrettably reaches for his inner Westlife instead of his Wilson Pickett for this interpretation.

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