Stockfisch-Records

Paul O´Brien

"A working class poet from British Columbia with a knack for straightforward language held aloft by a sweet gift of melody ... " - Boulevard Magazine

He is a songwriter with deep roots and broad horizons. An English-born child of Irish immigrants now living in British Columbia, he cut his teeth on Irish music. A natural story teller, Paul O'Brien has developed an eclectic folk style that is broadly appealing and not easily categorized.

Stockfisch-Shop

Paul O´Brien

- a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist with a gift for going straight to the emotional heart of the story.

Tracklisting / Samples

"Long May You Sing"

The second studio album from Stockfisch records is an album of Canadian classics plus a brand new song written by Paul. On this album Paul is joined (among others) by master Canadian guitar player and composer Don Ross. On the album there are songs written by Gordon Lightfoot, Joni Mitchel, Neil Young, and Leonard Cohen to name but a few.

Paul O'Brien about this recording: "This collection of songs is the audio equivalent of the “big kid in the candy store”. To be able to choose my favourite songs written by Canadian writers was one of the most enjoyable experiences I as a singer could have. On the other hand however, it was the most frustrating because there were so many songs I could have, and perhaps should have chosen. I have a feeling this will be but Volume 1 of a long labour of love.

All of these songs have in some way touched me more than the fact they are amazing pieces of art. It was not simply cherry picking (although when I look now at the track list it looks just like cherry picking).

I have taken a few artistic liberties with these tunes, and I truly hope I do not offend anyone, but it seemed to me that I had to try at least to add a little of me to the performances."


Super-Audio-CD Hybrid: SACD Stereo + CD-Layer
SFR 357.4080.2  •  total time 54:42

Stockfisch-Records offer this recording with Paul O'Brien also as audiophile 180g-Vinyl-LP cutted with Stockfisch´s inhouse Direct-Metal-Mastering DMM cutting lathe.



SFR 357.8080.1  •  total time 44:12  •  LP

"To be able to work with Don Ross on this record was a dream come true. Thank-you Don! My final thank-you is to Canada, a country that welcomed me, my wife, and three children nine years ago for who we were not just who we could be. It is a place where the only thing that matters is your willingness to belong and to connect - this melting pot is a fine place to be."

musicians

performing on this album "Long May You Sing":

Paul O´Brien - vocals, guitar, bowed psalter / Don Ross - guitars, dobro, fretless bass / Lutz Möller - piano / Stefan Pless - piano / Martin Huch - dobro / Ian Melrose - low whistle / Lea Morris - backing vocals / Beo Brockhausen - percussion, monochord / Grischka Zepf - electric bass, percussion / Hans-Jörg Maucksch - fretless bass

           


Tracklisting / Samples

    A-Side

  • 1 Walk Back Home
  • 2 American Car
  • B-Side

  • 1 Madrona
  • 2 Berlin At 5

Paul O´Brien & Uli Kringler Trio - "live at Stockfisch Studio"

Stockfisch Records released also an exclusive new HIGH END 2010 Vinyl: 12 inch • 45 upm • 180g pressing, including four songs with Paul O´Brien accompanied by the Uli Kringler Trio!

Recorded live at Stockfisch Studio, Northeim, Germany, September 29, 2009 - during the concert tour of
Paul O´Brien & Uli Kringler Trio – no edits, no overdubs!

During the recording sessions for Paul O´Brien´s Stockfisch album we let the HDcams roll. You can see some studio impressions on the Stockfisch-Channel on YouTube.

Sorry, the 180g-Vinyl version is out of print.

SFR 357.8010.1  •  total time 21:00  •  180g-Vinyl 12inch

musicians

performing on this album exclusively released as vinyl:

Paul O´Brien - vocal & guitar / Uli Kringler - guitar, dobro / Lars Hansen - bass / Heinz Lichius - drums, percussion

           


"Walk Back Home"

Energisers wanted! (in times like the present) The likes of Paul O’Brien, the British artist of Irish stock has covered a remarkable musical waterfront. Now he has reached Stockfisch-grade maturity. O’Brien is a courageous man. And courage it takes to leave everything behind and start a new life on Canada’s most western shores - a life in which music was initially no longer meant to play a vital part.

But an artist cannot get away from art easily. What does that mean? Paul O’Brien will tell you in "He Can Dance", a song about an artist who can dream and dance. Dream and dance can change reality, they can transcend it – just like faith ("Romero", a song about a bishop who changed his world). This song features a children’s choir. Up-tempo songs begin and end a performance offering an eclectic best of folk, country and jazz.

Children that grow up. Old people who don’t understand today’s world while making it a better place without even realising it. Giving and receiving: „Don’t try and understand it, let it lead you through your life.“ This is the way a singer looks at the world, a singer whose broad shoulders are home to a sensitive soul.

Walk back home. „Wohin gehen wir? – Immer nach Hause.“ (In the words of the German Romantic poet Novalis: Where are we bound for – always for home.) Collective pub-consciousness (pardon the pun): Hands clapping, fireworks – that’s the state this music will leave you in - beware: Long live the energisers!

Super-Audio-CD Hybrid: SACD Stereo + CD-Layer
SFR 357.4064.2  •  total time 53:38

musicians

performing on this album "Walk Back Home" :

Paul O´Brien - vocal & guitar / Uli Kringler - guitar, tremolo guitar, dobro, piano, charrango, percussion / Lea Morris - backing vocals / Hrólfur Vagnsson - accordion / Annika Lückebergfeld - mandolin / Lucile Chaubard - violoncello / Martin Großkurth - hammond organ / Lars Hansen - upright bass / Hans-Jörg Maucksch - fretless bass / Noah, Rubén, Julen, Elián, Samuel - children´s choir


REVIEWS

Beoga
"Paul 0´Brien ... is a modern day poet, a guardian of our history. He knows how to tell us, easily and gracefully, stories that are serious, romantic, personal by turns; about love, and nature, and ... well, life!" - Marc Philip, Magazine Audio

"The moment of listening had that feeling of being something special and rare. Paul ( ... ) has a perfect voice for his subjects, strong, warm and able to create a sense of intimacy with his listener. He calls us to action with songs that ring like anthems and makes us cry with reminders of social injustice." - Sheryl McKay, CBC Radio Two

"Paul O’Brien is not only a great songwriter, but also a gifted instrumentalist and poet who offers heartfelt, uplifting accounts of his experiences. The entire disc ("Walk Back Home") is filled with touching and often poignant prose that chronicles the people and places that have colored Paul’s existence on Vancouver Island." – Tom Gibbs, http://audaud.com