Declan Nerney, The Saturdays and the Athenry connection

IT'S strange the sort of older type songs that sometimes strike a chord with the younger generation such as Declan Nerney's Stop the World and Let Me Off. But the younger generation are probably much bigger fans of his niece Una Healy of Pop group The Saturdays who recently appeared with Declan on the Late Late Show. While she is associated with him and his native Co Longford where her mother, Declan's sister comes from, there is also a strong Galway connection as her father, John Healy, a GP in Tipperary, is a native of Athenry. 'He played hurling with Athenry and the family are very involved in sport as they are also related to top athlete Paul Hession,' says Declan who is very proud of the success of his niece in the international Pop world. You can hear his song Stop the World often played at discos beside the latest chart-topping Rock song such as those of The Saturdays but while Declan's new CD has 14 good tracks it's unlikely that any of them will have the same impact with younger music lovers. Even though he meanders into the realms of Pop music when he sings the Cyndi Lauper song Time After Time most of the other tracks on Thank Heaven for You are typical of the Country and Irish songs that Declan does at his live shows. In recent times Declan gained some media attention for joining his niece, Una on The Late Late Show and she also sang with him at a marquee in Drumlish during the summer. While one might have expected her to join him for a track on this album perhaps her contractual obligations to some UK record label may have prevented her doing so. For fans of Declan it has been some time since he last released an album but no doubt this selection of songs means the wait has been worthwhile. He has opted for a lot of originals plus a smattering of Country songs for this set. The opening track is a golden oldie which was a hit for American Country veteran Ray Price decades ago titled I'll Be There If You Ever Want Me. This is followed up with a nice version of another old Country song Lonesome 77203 which was revived here years ago by Country outfit Bill Ryan and Buckshot who had a minor hit with it in the 1970s. Declan then delves into the world of around the house and mind the dresser type of Country â€Ëœn' Irish music with the track Rosie Donahue which has, as is pointed out by Fr Brian D'Arcy in the sleeve notes, a hint of a hooley about it. It is an original, as is the next track, though Thank Heaven is in a very different musical vein. This is a Pop ballad from the pen of British Country singer and songwriter Dave Sheriff. It is back to the Country â€Ëœn' Irish scene for the track My Hero Lies in Cookstown which is a tribute to the late Dan O'Hara who was one of the great guitar players of the 1970s Country scene in Ireland. Dan O will probably be best remembered as a member of Philomena Begley's Ramblin' Men and it is nice that his memory now lives on in a song. Dan O was one of the greats from the era of the Country bands in the 1970s and while he has sadly passed away a few other stars from that now re-emerge as session musicians and backing singers on this album. The most prominent of these is Ray Lynam who is on harmony vocals on many of the tracks while former Cotton Mill Boys musician Charlie Arkins is on harmonica and fiddle. Gay Brazil, formerly of Pop band Tweed, features on dobro on several tracks and Daniel O'Donnell's long time band member and former colleague of Ray Lynam in The Hillbillies, Kevin Sheerin, does the honours on steel guitar on most of the tracks. We state most of the tracks because all but one were recorded under young producer Jonathan Owens in his Spout Studios in Granard, Co. Longford. But one track, This Little Spot was produced by Tony Maher of The Conquerors in his studio in Headford.  Tony's colleagues in The Conquerors, Frankie Coolahan and James Blenderhasset, are among the backing musicians on that track. There is a touch of nostalgia about the track Never Take You Back Again which was written many decades ago by Slim Whitman and it recalls times that are long gone but not forgotten. As with all of Declan Nerney's releases this is a top class production and arrangement which is what one would expect from the Longford singer who worked first as a lead guitar player and later as the record producer who was in charge of the first album by his neighbour Mick Flavin many moons ago. This album will consolidate Declan's popularity with his vast number of fans but it's doubtful if there is any track here that could every match the crossover appeal of his version of Stop the World and Let Me Off. â€â€ T.G.