Review Text
Pretty Little Mountain ... Some Reviews and a Conversation About the Songs ... "Even during my first listening to Pat Maloney's songs, they seemed somewhat familiar. It's his plainspoken singing style and quiet, subtle arrangements that drew me in and made me want to listen. But, ultimately, it was the mature, often dreamlike, poetry of his lyrics which seems to reveal more each time I listen, that have held me and brought me back again. In many of Maloney's songs there's a fascinating juxtaposition of the real and surreal. In 'Noah's Ark,' for example, he sings as a spurned lover, who sees himself as the last man on earth, drinking by himself in his loneliness as he watches the animals assemble two by two. In 'Roll on Evangeline,' Maloney effectively compares the game of life to games of chance, while in 'Clown in the Puddle,' he paints the scene of a parade of unrelated characters marching to the sound of a big bass drum. My favorite song on the album is 'Red Bandana,' a dreamy song in which Maloney uses the image of a red bandana to tie together several themes, including the death of Al Grierson. The red bandana-wearing, Texas-based, Canadian singer-songwriter who was killed in a flash flood in November 2000. Maloney dedicates the album to Grierson's memory and the only non-original song in the set is a touching version of Grierson's 'Things That Never Added Up to Me.' The album is sparingly produced with restrained backing from just a couple of other musicians--including his wife Rosie Maloney on harmonies, whistle and accordion--whose contributions nicely complement Maloney's guitar and voice." COPYRIGHT 2003 Sing Out Corporation There may not be a single song here that flat out floors the listener like the title cut of his last release, 'Perfect Oblivious Moon,' which is one of the best songs ever written. But this offering possesses strengths of it's own. Multiple ones. So looking at the present rather than the past, the enjoyment derived from these 13 songs are due to the collective observations, insights and profundities proffered by Maloney. A simple yet touching example is a verse from 'The World Looks Blue From Mars': '...In the midst of this profusion, the earth looks so alone It lies amongst the splendor like a little shiny stone Dressed in simple colors like a poor girl at a dance A lonely, fragile beauty, with a proud defiant stance...' Powerful in it's entirety, but the specific line '...dressed in simple colors like a poor girl at a dance...' is such a vivid and moving metaphor. Maloney has always danced somewhat with the oblique in his lyrics and does even enjoyably more so with this CD. The marvelous 'Red Right Returning' is such a song. In 'Noah's Ark,' he contrasts the biblical, two-by-two pairing up of animals with being solo, not being the one chosen for a relationship. The word 'who' gets multiple and varied uses in the touching cut of the same name, as a little boy, still crying out the same question, grows to young adulthood. Depicting a traveler's journey in the title cut 'Pretty Little Mountain,' Maloney sings: '...I got no problem with the master design Just wish the painter was a better friend of mine Or that he would at least send me a sign Whether I should go, or I should stay...' In 'Roll On Evangeline,' he speaks of the title character's relationships: '...Of course the game is rigged in this crooked house of cards But when the roof caves in we'll play poker in the yard And where a lesser soul would falter and begin to not believe You'll be standing at the table with a heart up every sleeve...' As part of a tribute to his late friend Al Grierson, Maloney borrows from the Grierson songbook and performs a forceful version of 'Things That Never Added Up To Me.' He also dedicates the aforementioned 'The World Looks Blue From Mars,' an intriguing song about the relationship to and of all things, to Grierson, as well as mentioning his passing in 'Red Bandanna.' Despite minimal backing, Maloney make
