Eamonn McCormack - Storyteller Album Review

Eamonn McCormack is a blues rock musician from Dublin. Eamonn began playing guitar at the age of six after being influenced by Rory Gallagher, Neil Young and Slade. By age twelve, he was singing and playing guitar at church mass. He found the church setting quite restrictive so he got himself an electric guitar and joined a local garage covers band. By the time he was sixteen, he performed live on national radio and won a major school competition for his original music. 

Eamonn then headed to USA and joined a band with former members of Canned Heat. After four years he returned to Ireland with a new sound influenced by his time in America and a new stage name, Samuel Eddy. Throughout his career, he has played and toured with legends such as Rory Gallagher, ZZ Top, George Thorogood and Nils Lofgren. He also performed at festivals sharing the billing with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Robert Plant. Eamonn McCormack has recently released his 7th studio album "Storyteller".

The album begins with "The Great Famine" which is obviously about the famine but the famine never sounded like this before. The guitar solos are genuinely mind blowing. This is proper blues rock right here.

"Gypsy Women" errs on the cheesy side lyrically. It's reminiscent of a David Brent song. That being said, the guitar again is undeniably fantastic and the harmonica adds an extra level of cool.

"Help Me Understand" edges into Pink Floyd territory and finds Eamonn praying for the future of the world and questioning if his Lord can hear him.

"Tie One On" is a lighter song about getting drunk one night out on the town. It's engaging and you want to hear how the story ends. It's much bluesier than the previous songs and makes you feel like you're in a hillbilly bar.

"Cowboy Blues" continues the humour as Eamonn tells a story about a country musician taking a wrong turn in Nashville and ending up as a blues rocker. The slide guitar is the star of the show here.

The stunning "In A Dream" is up next. The song takes on a more sombre heartbroken note where again the guitar playing is just out of this world.

The sombre lamenting is carried on by "Every Note That I Play" which is genuinely quite a heart wrenching song. Eamonn's vocals suit this style of song more than some of the rockier efforts.

"With No Way Out" takes us back to rock city in this tale about an ex who traps him in a nightmare with no way out. Again the guitar solo towards the ends will have your jaw on the floor.

"Cold Cold Heart" is an enjoyable country rock song about a woman with a cold cold heart who could cool your whiskey shot just by looking at it.

"South Dakota Bound" is about riding down mountains with his biker friends on his Harley Davidson. The piano blends very nicely with the lead guitar to create a sound that reflects the motorbike journey.

The album ends with "Make My Move" which is all out blues rock. The guitar is fast and the drums are loud. Perfect way to close out the album.

"Storyteller" is a fine album. Musically Eamonn is a genius. The words guitar virtuoso sum him up brilliantly. Lyrically and vocally though, he doesn't reach the same heights. Some of the songs sound a little too cheesy whilst others sound fantastic. It's definitely an album worth listening to though.

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