Musically, "Red Blues" is characterized by Coughlan's distinctive vocal delivery, which effortlessly navigates between tender whispers and soaring crescendos. Her voice is accompanied by a minimalist yet effective instrumental arrangement, featuring a blend of acoustic and electronic elements.
The 11-track record functions as a curated gallery of reinvented classics. Coughlan selects songs famously defined by other artists and aggressively claims them as her own.
Mary Coughlan, the Irish singer-songwriter, has been a beloved figure in the music industry for decades. With a career spanning over 30 years, she has established herself as a masterful storyteller, weaving intricate narratives that capture the complexities of the human experience. One of her most critically acclaimed albums, "Red Blues," released in 2002, showcases her exceptional skill in crafting songs that are both deeply personal and universally relatable. Mary Coughlan - Red Blues -2002-
The album is characterized by a "dark stuff" intimacy, frequently featuring slow-burning arrangements that give Coughlan's vocals space to explore the tragicomic side of romance.
The album also has fun. The cover of Randy Newman's suggestive "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is deliberately underplayed, creating an atmosphere of sass and menace that feels more intimate than the famous Joe Cocker version. Likewise, "She's Got a Way With Men" is a rollicking, up-tempo blues-rocker where Coughlan demonstrates her ability to rock out with conviction. Coughlan selects songs famously defined by other artists
The album opens powerfully with a cover of Bobby Bland's "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City". From the first line, Coughlan’s voice is front and center, drawing the listener into a world of hard-won experience. She follows this with Louis Jordan’s 1940s classic, "Blue Light Boogie". The Hotpress review praised this track for receiving the "full third millennium boudoir blues treatment," with O'Brien’s piano and Mead’s sax creating images of "smoky, seedy backrooms". Next is Randy Newman's sassy and suggestive "You Can Leave Your Hat On". Coughlan’s understated delivery brings "added sass and menace" to the song, making it her own and avoiding the bombastic interpretations it often receives. A standout is the original composition "Portland," written by guitarist Bill Bourne. The track has been described as possessing "the kind of unsettling undertow you normally get from Tom Waits," a perfect vehicle for Coughlan’s unique expressive range.
– A powerful cover of the Etta James staple. Black Coffee – A signature jazz standard. One of her most critically acclaimed albums, "Red
Mary Coughlan - The Glasshouse International Centre for Music
The heart of Red Blues lies in its stellar backing ensemble. The band for the sessions featured a formidable lineup of players: Kester Smith on drums, Bill Rich on bass, Mary's trusted pianist Peter O'Brien, and the versatile saxophonist Frank Mead (who had played with Bill Wyman). They were joined by the guitar trio Tri Continental, which included the formidable talents of Madagascar Slim, Lester Quitzau, and Bill Bourne, the latter also contributing to the songwriting. The German music website gaesteliste.de quoted Coughlan as modestly downplaying the album's seriousness, noting, "Oh, that's not a particularly serious album," a characteristically nonchalant remark reflecting the sessions' laid-back, spontaneous atmosphere.
To discuss Red Blues without discussing Coughlan’s voice is impossible. By 2002, her voice was no longer the technically "pretty" instrument of her youth. It had deepened, roughened, and gained a gravelly texture that tells a thousand stories of whiskey, cigarettes, and tears. She doesn't hit high notes; she falls into them. She doesn't sustain long phrases; she lets them crack and dissolve.
Red Blues served as a deep dive into the genre that had always underpinned Coughlan’s work. Rather than trying to be a purist blues recording, the 2002 album blends these influences with her cabaret-jazz styling, often reminiscent of Billie Holiday or Peggy Lee.
Managed Hosting Services provided by
