Elaine O'Rourke
No Beginning, No End
© 2006 Ruby Moos Red Feather Boa Music (747728961625)
CD IN STOCK. ORDER NOW. Will ship immediately.
SPECIAL: 20% discount if you buy more than one copy of it today!
Compelling and hypnotic, dark and haunting. O'Rourke's deceptively sweet and seductive voice and entrancing acoustic guitar style lure the listener to a mystical, ancient place. An eclectic mix of original songs ranging from celtic to folk rock to jazz.
tracks
try this
albums you will love
genres you will love
By Location
Recommended if you like ...
notes
Compelling and hypnotic, dark and haunting -- these are words repeatedly used to describe Elaine O'Rourke's debut CD, "No Beginning, No End."
Resonating with the spirit of her native Ireland, O’Rourke’s deceptively sweet and seductive voice and entrancing acoustic guitar style lure the listener to a mystical, ancient place. A tempting risk-taker, O’Rourke is an explorer who beckons you to wander, curious, beyond the expected, beyond the comfortable conventions of modern folk music.
No Beginning, No End marks O’Rourke’s recording debut, and it’s a strong one. Known to audiences in her adopted hometown of Gloucester, MA for her expressive live performances, O’Rourke assembled an impressive list of talent to get her unique musical vision down on tape. Co-produced by “Super Genius” singer/songwriter Michael Barry, No Beginning, No End features legendary English drummer (and Marblehead resident) David Mattacks on drums and keyboards. Mattacks, who has played with Richard Thompson, Rosanne Cash, and Mary Chapin Carpenter, says, “Mike, with whom I play in “Super Genius”, played some tracks for me, and I thought they were great. Elaine's music has a rare honesty – an authenticity. I very much enjoyed doing the record."
Joining Barry and Mattacks are Jim Lounsbury, Elaine’s frequent on-stage accompanist, who contributes standout violin passages, as well as piano, “Four Piece Suit” instrumentalists Dave Sholl and Milt Reder, playing Irish whistle and electric guitar, respectively, and “Whalebone Farmhouse” acoustic guitarist Rocky Kramm, who lends a nice touch to the CD’s closer, “Nighttime Shadows”. The record was mixed by Huck Bennert, who has mixed records for Lori McKenna, Carrie Rodriguez, Katie Curtis, and Dar Williams.
"She has a beautiful voice. The songs have wonderful lyrics and her voice is clear and resonant…the mood was very haunting and moody…I love that. She slipped easily from the Celtic folk sound to a more jazzy piece called 'Fly Baby Fly', to rock. The first time we played her CD in the store, two customers wanted to know who was singing.” -- Susan Emerson of Gloucester Music.
"She's just a fantastic spirit. Her vibe is going to sell her records. She's got a very unique style." -- Fly Amero of the band "Orleans".
"Ms. O’Rourke’s lovely and strategically deployed contralto is an integral addition to this versatile, largely folk-oriented collection of melodic ballads…There is a wistful, almost sentimental, quality to her voice which lends to even her most subtle tunes a timeless appeal…In a folk music marketplace glutted with sound-alikes and wannabes, this hauntingly original and remarkably assured debut CD is a keeper". -- Francis DiMenno, The Noise
No Beginning, No End is available at www.elaineorourke.com. Also visit her at www.myspace.com.elaineorourke
reviews
Please log in to review this album.
An amazing cohesive body of work...
author: Boston Girl GuideElaine O’Rourke’s debut record is aptly entitled No Beginning, No End. Appropriate because it’s hard to believe this is her first record, nor do we hope it would be her last. This amazing singer/guitarist/songwriter brings a cohesive body of work together which is drenched in her Irish heritage but absolutely maintains a balance of good American folk rock. Ideal instrumentation of violins, dulcimers, & whistle color these songs with the essence of her native Ireland. Opening track Sepia Tones sets the captivating tone of this record, quickly taking a rock twist with the charming Tangerine; a great little folk rock song that exhibits Elaine’s brilliant vocal harmonies. The record tours us through a beautifully dark side of this wonderful artist; songs like Free Me & You Can’t Avoid Me are both haunting and lyrically intriguing. We highly recommend this record, even for the non-folk-rock folks.
Zen music!
author: KevinNo Beginning, No End gets you where feeling begins, somewhere under the skin, deep under the skin. Passion, ache, fragility, big town lonelines, the need for love - it's all there. And the lyrics are poems in their own right, deeply felt, hauntingly sung. This is Zen music.
Wow...
author: Mickey PayneGreat CD -- unlike anything I've heard. Reminds me a bit of a female Nick Drake, or even Maddy Prior, if she were Irish. Hypnotic and haunting, O'Rourke uses her voice (and the great band she put together for this record) to lull you, sweetly, to another plane, before turning on you. She brings you to a lovely meadow, spreads a blanket, gets you to lie back and relax, then turns the world upside down and inside out -- twisting, turning, souring, soaring -- and all of it coming from that same sweet little voice. At the end you'll want to start the CD over from the beginning and go all over again. Summary: A wonderful blend of traditional Celtic-flavored folk and dark quirkiness from a great new singer/songwriter.
This hauntingly original and remarkably assured CD debut is a keeper
author: The NoiseDevotees of Maddy Prior and Fairport Convention will find Ms. O’Rourke’s lovely and strategically deployed contralto an integral addition to this versatile, largely folk-oriented collection of melodic ballads, which are instrumentally toughened by electric guitar and sweetened by fiddle and acoustic guitar. There is a wistful, almost sentimental, quality to her voice which lends to even her most subtle tunes a timeless appeal, and which enhances immeasurably remarkable songs like Sepia Tones, Tangerine, Why Do I and (the comparatively gritty) Stir Crazy. In a folk music marketplace glutted with sound-alikes and wannabes, this hauntingly original and remarkably assured CD debut is a keeper.