Reunion fever is rampant in rock music, and many a sleeping dog has been unwisely awoken and set loose on the nostalgia circuit. But when Paul Cleary announced that he was reforming The Blades for a special Christmas concert at the Olympia, well, this had to be a cause for seasonal celebration.
The Blades were always on the cusp of greatness, but after one too many battles with the music biz, Cleary jacked it all in at the end of the '80s. Last year, Reekus Records rereleased The Blades' back catalogue, and the response was so great that Cleary was encouraged to take up the songwriting sword again. And so, with a new album, Crooked Town, in the shops, Cleary and his almost-famous cohorts - bassist Brian Foley, drummer Jake Reilly, guitarist Conor Brady and keyboard player Pat Fitzpatrick - led us on a return visit to Raytown.
The setlist comprised some of Irish pop's greatest near-misses, including Downmarket, Revelations Of Heartbreak, Those Were The Days, The Last Man In Europe and Ghost Of A Chance. The real revelation was just how fresh and robust these songs still sound, and how deftly Cleary uncovers these rough, buried pop gems. With horn backing from The Blue Brass, aka Frank Duff and Paul Grimes, Cleary proudly displayed his Motown obsessions, performing a classy cover of The Temptations' My Girl. New songs like A Man Without Love showed that the muse is still with Cleary, while his seasonal single, The Ghost Of Christmas Past, should really be the Christmas Number One. Oh, well, maybe in another life.
