Bury Me Deep
by Mandy Bingham
All songs written by Mandy Bingham,
except The Days of Pearly Spencer
written by David McWilliams
Track Listing
1 In The Creases Of My Heart
2 Flamingos Lament
3 Epically Falling
4 I’m Not Crying
5 Broken Glass
6 Not Enough
7 The Human Touch
8 Talk To Me About Love
9 Bury Me Deep
10 The Days Of Pearly Spencer
Musicians/singers: Mandy Bingham,
Graham Bingham, Michael Mormecha, Edelle McMahon, Laura McFadden, Arco String
Quartet, Janet Henry, Lola Bingham, Bob Speers, Anthony Toner, Stephen
Scullion, Roy Fullerton.
Produced by Michael Mormecha at
Millbank Studios, Northern Ireland
Artwork by Vikki Scott. Graphic
Design by James M. Lyttle
In 2015, I blogged this:
“Every
once in a while, you hear a song, music, a voice, a lyric that forces you to
stop what you are doing and just listen. So much popular music is throwaway,
ho-hum stuff that is just noise at the end of the day. But, sometimes, and not
often enough, something special emerges and stops you in your tracks. I bring
you news of a stunning 6-song collection from Northern Ireland
singer-songwriter Mandy Bingham.”
I was referring to the brilliant EP “Mandy
Bingham Vol.1”. Now I bring you news of Mandy’s debut album “Bury Me Deep” and
if the EP was the taster, prepare to salivate and savour an exceptional album
from a writer and performer growing in stature and confidence, showcasing nine
new songs and a very special cover.
“Bury Me Deep” is a mood album, a
journey into sometimes dark places, reflecting on relationships, on love and
loss, exploring sadness, memories and the meaning of this thing we call life – “I
hope I did my best”; “I’m epically failing at love”; “Guess we never saw it
coming, Baby, here we are at the end”; “I’m holding this grudge close and very
tight”; “Life can get a little lonesome when you’re older”; “I’m not crying for
the leaving, I’m not crying ‘cause I’ll miss you anytime soon ……. I’m crying ‘cause
you didn’t even try”. There is heartbreak, self-appraisal, brutal honesty and
thoughts of what might have been. But, strangely, given the temperament of the
album, there is a positive edge to the songs and strength in the intention to
survive whatever is encountered in love, in relationships and in this often
rocky and challenging road between cradle and grave.
I hope I am not being downbeat here
in my comments because the album works extremely well and the songs and their
content flow into a tapestry of short stories. The production is wonderful, the
musical arrangements and accompaniments are beautiful (I’ll single out Graham
Bingham here amongst an amazingly talented supporting cast) and Mandy Bingham’s
singing is pure delight, heartwarming and ever a joy to this listener. Her
original nine songs are testament to a superbly talented artist.
It is not often helpful to draw comparisons but occasionally I was reminded of the sublime Dory Previn and Janis Ian.
It is not often helpful to draw comparisons but occasionally I was reminded of the sublime Dory Previn and Janis Ian.
The superb nine songs are rounded
off by something that I always thought would be impossible – a distinctive and
memorable cover version of one of the most distinctive and memorable records
ever made, The Days of Pearly Spencer by David McWilliams. Mandy and Co have
pulled it off. Many of us know, but there may be some who do not, that Mandy is
David McWilliams’s daughter. David McWilliams is a singer-songwriter I
revere. He was/is much more than Pearly.
Mandy Bingham is a magnificent singer-songwriter in her own right, with her own
identity. I love him. I love her and I love this album.
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