Crooner not suited to these times
With some songs almost drowned out by talking punters, Brady's style would be better in arenas than dark clubs
Monday April 21 2008
Owen Brady's mid-Atlantic falsetto and penchant for cornball saxophone solos place the young crooner unambiguously in the tradition of the big-lunged, mullet-adorned male singers -- one thinks of Michael Bolton, Richard Marx, et al -- who once bestrode popular music. He's even cultivated a Bolton-esque mane.
Steeped in languid melodies and soulful grooves, Brady's songbook feels like a lost artefact from drive-time radio circa 1979.
Having signed a major label deal last year and bagged a 'Hope for 2008' gong at the Meteors, he is being lavishly groomed for the mainstream -- presumably on the basis that, with the old Chris de Burgh slipping towards obscurity, there is room in the public's affections for a younger version.
You've got to wonder, though, if, Brady truly is made for these times. Released to lukewarm reviews last month, his long-play debut, 'Prepare to be Happy', hasn't exactly lit up the charts. And while it was billed as his highest profile show to date, Whelan's was far from filled to capacity.
More worrying yet, not everyone is even here to listen to Brady -- when he lowers the tempo to strum the semi-acoustic 'Sun Shining Down' the hubbub from the bar threatens to drown him out.
Still, it would be a pity were hype -- or lack thereof -- to obscure Brady's talents. He may marinade his songs in sax and over-pump his vocals, but on smoochy rockers such as 'Baby Lion' and 'Been A Lot Better' his strengths as composer and arranger glimmer brightly.
If there's a problem it's that this kind of music -- yearning, syrupy and anthemic -- is designed for ringing out across adoring arenas, not wooing semi-curious punters in a darkened club.
- Ed Power
