A Splash of No Regrets Reviews
Deirdre Costello, Westland Recording Studio, Lombard
St. Dublin, October 28, 2010
I love the album. Great song choices with lovely arrangements
and excellent production. Of your own songs I particularly like The Park. As a
Jimmy MacCarthy fan I love the Mad Lady and Me, and I think your version of Love’s
Been Good to Me is great.
Bill DeYoung, Connect Savannah Magazine.
For those of you who only know this native Irishman from his ongoing stint as an onstage
regular at Kevin Barry’s, this CD will come as fresh and welcome as a breeze
out of the ocean. It is a fully-realized set of acoustic ballads – some
original, some from the Celtic tradition – that features not only O’Donoghue’s
supple tenor voice and guitar, but pipes, whistles, flutes, piano, percussion,
cello and angelic background vocals by Marian Makins.O’Donoghue co-produced the
album in New Jersey with master musician Gabriel Donohue, who toured for years
with the Chieftains’ band, and there isn’t a voice or instrument out of place.
From the haunting “The Mad Lady and Me” and “The Galway
Shawl” (the one-two punch that opens the disc) to the traditional Scottish
lament “Loch Lomond” to O’Donoghue’s “The Time Has Come (Ron’s
Song),” A Splash of No Regrets is a thing of beauty.
“A great album”…Joanie
Madden, Cherish the Ladies
Kieran Goss, singer / songwriter.
“A beautiful arrangement of Reasons to Leave,
congratulations on the album”…
“Well done all,nice work”….John Reagan,
broadcaster, Limerick, Ireland.
Jackie Hayden,
Hot Press Magazine, Ireland. November 4, 2010
Harry O’Donoghue is a Drogheda singer-songwriter settled in the US
from where he’s been generously supportive of Irish artists on his The Green
Island Radio Show broadcasting weekly in Georgia and on the Internet. His
new CD A Splash of No Regrets
contains a mix of trad stuff, covers and originals, and it’s the latter that
primarily concern us here. ‘Where You Happen To Be’ is a tasty song about the
pleasures of familiar places, its simple melody delivered by O’Donoghue’s warm
vocal. ‘Snow On Millmount’ is a more plaintive instrumental offering, with
whistles from Gabriel Donohue adding colour. ‘The Time Has Come’ has a
heartfelt wistfulness that should attract cover versions from singers in the
soft-folk genre.
No mistake, Harry has hit the proverbial
home run with Splash. The song selection is awesome, with each set of lyrics
complementing his slightly husky, laid back, story-telling voice. And the
instrumentals and chorals — oh my, what a lovely listen. Gabriel Donohue is more a fine producer; his string
work seems effortless. And Joanie Madden, Marian Makins, and Lanny Paykin give
such skill and soul to their harmonies and instruments, each interlude and
backup are worth attention.
My favorites? It’s hard, it really is. Knife to my throat, I would name The Galway Shawl and The Time Has Come, but the rest are bunched up like a tinker’s tick.
John Hutton, author. Rating: 5 of 5 stars!
Diane Byrnes, Echoes of Erin, WEDO 810AM, Pittsburgh PA.
As I sat here
listening to the CD, listening was like sipping a glass of fine wine! It
was so soft and gentle, descriptive – I could visualize many of the
songs! The music was beautiful – Gabriel Donohue & Joanie Madden are
awesome, and to hear Joanie with her harmony vocals…yes!I have suggested to her
several times she should harmonize more because she does a beautiful job. Harry
O’Donoghue, I have been aware of you for a very long time, but unfortunately
never heard you sing … until now. I really like what I am hearing, you
have a beautiful voice, so lovely and genteel.I’m listening for the second time
I think A Splash of No Regrets deserves some good air play, and I’ll
begin airing you next Sunday. You have recorded some really good songs; I just
love ‘The Mad Lady & Me’, plus your songs are really very, very nice.
I have enjoyed ‘The Park’ & ‘Where You Happen to Be’ – these are especially
descriptive, your words created pictures for me! I think this is a beautiful
recording and much success to you Harry ’Donoghue!