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Trollheart · 09-13-2011, 09:46 AM

Is feidir linn! Yes we can! Feature another Irish album, that is! Been a while now, so let's have a look at what my homeland, the emerald isle, the land of saints and scroungers --- sorry, scholars! --- has produced over the years that you may have missed hearing, or even knowing about.
Stuck together with God's glue --- Something Happens! --- 1990 (Charisma)

Another great Irish band, who could have been the new U2 perhaps, but it just didn't work out. This was their second album, and four years later they had essentially broken up. They still reform to play the odd gig but are not officially a band anymore. If nothing else, they've left us with the best ever acronym for a tour, with the Something Happens Irish Tour!

The album was actually well received when released, at least in Ireland, with two of the singles charting. The most popular was “Parachute”, of which more later, but the opener, “What now?” was actually my favourite, with its powerful rock melody and its great guitar hooks, it was a shoe-in for radio airplay, and it got a lot of that. Second track, “Hello hello hello hello hello (Petrol)” had the parentheses added after fellow Irish band That Petrol Emotion accused them of ripping off one of their songs. I don't know the song, so I can't say, but there must have been something in it, if they made the amendment.

“Parachute” is next, a great piano-driven bopper, with cool vocals from Tom Dunne, who would later go on to great fame as a radio DJ, Ray Harman, the band's guitarist, gets behind the keys to really drive the melody on the piano. Great, commercial, with more hooks than a butcher's shop, and the album is ticking along really nicely so far. “Esmeralda” is a short, bouncy, fun little track with more than a hint of the Waterboys or fellow Irishmen the Stars of Heaven, while “I had a feeling” is far more down and dirty rock, with growling guitar and heavy drums from Eamonn Ryan, more great hooks and another fine track.

“Kill the roses” starts off acoustic with a great bass line, then comes to life for the chorus, recalling the best of Springsteen's “Nebraska” period, and Alan Byrne's bass drives “Brand new god” in a semi-acoustic song with understated singing by Dunne, while “The patience business” opens on a piano line very reminiscent of Billy Joel's “My life”, but then settles down into its own groove. Nice horns, though they're probably on the keyboard? Very little information exists on this album, and the copy I used to have was on a tape cassette, which I no longer have, so it's thanks to Wikipedia for most of the information on the album, and even that's quite minimal.

“Devil in Miss Jones” has some nice piano and some often incongruously heavy guitar, but doesn't impress me as that special a song, and “Good time coming”, while a great little rocker, is again similar, this time too similar to the Stars of Heaven for me to stand out on its own. “I feel good” is a nice atmospheric little mid-paced rocker, with more than a tinge of country-styled rock, and is in fact the longest track on the album, almost five and a half minutes. Some great guitar from Ray Harman helps this track stand out, and then we're into the closer.

“Skyrockets” is less than two minutes long, a sort of half-blues, half-acoustic track with an interesting melody and an almost acapella vocal --- yeah, despite there being music: you'd have to hear it to understand what I mean. It's an innovative end to the album, and certainly a track you remember when you're putting the disc away.

All in all, this album has some flaws but I think that had circumstances been kinder, Something Happens! could have been a real force to be reckoned with in Irish --- and who knows, international? --- rock music. As it is, they certainly penned some great tunes and made their mark, if only for a short time on the charts. What is it they say? The brightest candle burns the shortest? Thinking about those skyrockets again....

TRACKLISTING

1. What now
2. Hello hello hello hello hello (Petrol)
3. Parachute
4. Esmeralda
5. I had a feeling
6. Kill the roses
7. Brand new god
8. Room 29
9. The patience business
10. Devil in Miss Jones
11. Good time coming
12. I feel good
13. Skyrockets

09-13-2011, 09:46 AM	#238 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Is feidir linn! Yes we can! Feature another Irish album, that is! Been a while now, so let's have a look at what my homeland, the emerald isle, the land of saints and scroungers --- sorry, scholars! --- has produced over the years that you may have missed hearing, or even knowing about. Stuck together with God's glue --- Something Happens! --- 1990 (Charisma) Another great Irish band, who could have been the new U2 perhaps, but it just didn't work out. This was their second album, and four years later they had essentially broken up. They still reform to play the odd gig but are not officially a band anymore. If nothing else, they've left us with the best ever acronym for a tour, with the Something Happens Irish Tour! The album was actually well received when released, at least in Ireland, with two of the singles charting. The most popular was “Parachute”, of which more later, but the opener, “What now?” was actually my favourite, with its powerful rock melody and its great guitar hooks, it was a shoe-in for radio airplay, and it got a lot of that. Second track, “Hello hello hello hello hello (Petrol)” had the parentheses added after fellow Irish band That Petrol Emotion accused them of ripping off one of their songs. I don't know the song, so I can't say, but there must have been something in it, if they made the amendment. “Parachute” is next, a great piano-driven bopper, with cool vocals from Tom Dunne, who would later go on to great fame as a radio DJ, Ray Harman, the band's guitarist, gets behind the keys to really drive the melody on the piano. Great, commercial, with more hooks than a butcher's shop, and the album is ticking along really nicely so far. “Esmeralda” is a short, bouncy, fun little track with more than a hint of the Waterboys or fellow Irishmen the Stars of Heaven, while “I had a feeling” is far more down and dirty rock, with growling guitar and heavy drums from Eamonn Ryan, more great hooks and another fine track. “Kill the roses” starts off acoustic with a great bass line, then comes to life for the chorus, recalling the best of Springsteen's “Nebraska” period, and Alan Byrne's bass drives “Brand new god” in a semi-acoustic song with understated singing by Dunne, while “The patience business” opens on a piano line very reminiscent of Billy Joel's “My life”, but then settles down into its own groove. Nice horns, though they're probably on the keyboard? Very little information exists on this album, and the copy I used to have was on a tape cassette, which I no longer have, so it's thanks to Wikipedia for most of the information on the album, and even that's quite minimal. “Devil in Miss Jones” has some nice piano and some often incongruously heavy guitar, but doesn't impress me as that special a song, and “Good time coming”, while a great little rocker, is again similar, this time too similar to the Stars of Heaven for me to stand out on its own. “I feel good” is a nice atmospheric little mid-paced rocker, with more than a tinge of country-styled rock, and is in fact the longest track on the album, almost five and a half minutes. Some great guitar from Ray Harman helps this track stand out, and then we're into the closer. “Skyrockets” is less than two minutes long, a sort of half-blues, half-acoustic track with an interesting melody and an almost acapella vocal --- yeah, despite there being music: you'd have to hear it to understand what I mean. It's an innovative end to the album, and certainly a track you remember when you're putting the disc away. All in all, this album has some flaws but I think that had circumstances been kinder, Something Happens! could have been a real force to be reckoned with in Irish --- and who knows, international? --- rock music. As it is, they certainly penned some great tunes and made their mark, if only for a short time on the charts. What is it they say? The brightest candle burns the shortest? Thinking about those skyrockets again.... TRACKLISTING 1. What now 2. Hello hello hello hello hello (Petrol) 3. Parachute 4. Esmeralda 5. I had a feeling 6. Kill the roses 7. Brand new god 8. Room 29 9. The patience business 10. Devil in Miss Jones 11. Good time coming 12. I feel good 13. Skyrockets __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 05-14-2013 at 04:32 AM.