Paul Brady is a thirty-year veteran of the music business, starting in Ireland in the late sixties with The Johnstons, recording with Planxty, releasing solo albums, and probably best known on this side of the pond for writing songs Bonnie Raitt made famous ("Trick or Treat," "Not the Only One")
Brady has a distinctive voice, best described as Sting crossed with Roger Hodgson (Supertramp). The title track opens the CD. "Nobody Knows" is about our quest for attention and fame while dealing with the vagaries of life:
Nobody knows why Elvis threw it all away
Nobody knows what Rubik had to hide...
No use in asking -- the answer is 'nobody knows.'
"Nothing But the Same Old Story" is a story about being Irish in England, during a time when that wasn't an easy thing to be -- Brady growls through this much in the style of Michael Been (The Call). "The World is What You Make It" has an Irish feel, and is a bit more optimistic. Musically, it features an African-chant chorus, and the banjo of Bela Fleck.
Bass legend Victor Wooten chips in on "Just in Time" and "Trust in You", a song that portrays the eternal difference between men and women. The latter, while recorded in the 90's, has a distinctly 70's sound to it. Jeff Porcaro (Toto, Bonnie Raitt) contributes throughout on drums.
Nobody Knows is a mixture of musical styles: from light rock to 80's to traditional Irish music ("Lakes of Pontchartrain", "The Homes of Donegal", "Arthur McBride"). "Paradise Is Here", recorded by Cher and Tina Turner on separate occasions, is performed here by Brady himself, and resembles Richard Page (Mr. Mister) vocally. On "Follow On" Brady channels Bruce Hornsby, while at other times he could be a Mark Knopfler clone.
In all, Nobody Knows spans twenty years of Brady's career, offering insight into the various musical eras he has outlasted. Some of it sounds dated, but I imagine that is natural when you deal with songs that are twenty years old.
3 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Bert GanglBorn in Strabane, Northern Ireland, Paul Brady picked up the guitar relatively early on and, by age eleven, was meticulously applying himself to the catalogs of guitar-oriented American Rock & Roll acts like Chuck Berry, the Shadows and the Ventures. After moving to Dublin in the mid-'60s to attend college, Brady worked as a singer in a succession of Soul and R&B bands before joining up with…The Phantom Tollbooth 2002Reviewed by Dan SingletonI'll tell you exactly who's going to like this album. If you're a fan of the softer side of either Dire Straits (e.g. "Portobello Belle") or Tom Petty (e.g. "The Best of Everything"), give Paul Brady a listen. His tenor voice complements a diverse selection of instruments (especially among strings) and a style that can be characterized as, at times, folk with a touch of blues and country, and at…Similar sounding releases
1993Randy StonehillStories
1995Steven Curtis ChapmanThe Music Of Christmas
1999Billy SpragueSignature Songs
1999Kim HillSignature Songs
The ImperialsLegacy 1978-1989
2000Garth HewittGospel Singer
