Songs from the Mardi Gras is the third and last solo album of former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey and was released in early 1991 on Virgin Records.[1] Despite the somewhat non-commercial character of the music, the single "I've Got News for You" did make it into the UK Top 20.[2]
Speaking of the album and decision to finish his solo career afterwards, Sharkey told The Telegraph in 2013: "It's gonna sound quite kind of pathetic in many ways, but it was what I was feeling at the time; the last album I made emotionally I put a colossal amount into it, and I just felt I could not go on making that kind of intellectual and emotional investment anymore."[3]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Select |   [4] |
| Smash Hits |   [5] |
| Q | [1] |
Upon release, Adam Sweeting of The Guardian wrote: "Despite the nostril-assailing whiff of career-calculation, Songs from the Mardi Gras is at least a good deal better than its predecessor, the deplorable Wish."[6] Hi-Fi News & Record Review considered the album to "prove that the days of The Undertones are wiped from [Sharkey's] memory and he is definitely a man of the world - money-minded, star-struck and shallow." They concluded: "Songs from the Mardi Gras is about as intelligent a title as the lyrics on this album deserve."[7] Barry McIlheney of Q described it as "determinedly grown-up and quite frantic in its attempt to be easy listening".[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "After the Mardi Gras" | Feargal Sharkey, Greg Barnhill | 4:47 |
| 2. | "One Night in Hollywood" | Sharkey, Dennis Morgan | 5:32 |
| 3. | "Miss You Fever" | Sharkey, Morgan | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Women and I" | Sharkey, Mick Kitson | 4:44 |
| 5. | "Love Like Blood" | John Hiatt | 4:18 |
| 6. | "I've Got News for You" | Sharkey, Morgan | 4:52 |
| 7. | "To Miss Someone" | Maria McKee | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Sister Rosa" | Sharkey, Phil Ramacon | 4:09 |
| 9. | "I'll Take It Back" | Sharkey, Bob DiPiero, John Scott Sherrill | 4:15 |
| 10. | "Cry Like a Rainy Day" | Barnhill, Kenny Greenberg | 5:40 |
| 11. | "She Moved Through the Fair" | Traditional; arranged by Sharkey | 3:09 |
Personnel
- Feargal Sharkey – vocals
- Dann Huff, Dennis Morgan, Kenny Greenberg, Kevin Armstrong, Reggie Young – guitar
- Don Potter – acoustic guitar
- Michael Rhodes – bass
- Barry Beckett, Mike Lawler – keyboards
- Eddie Bayers – drums
- Charles Rose, Jim Horn, Mike Haynes, Quitman Dennis – horns
- Beverley Skeete, Bob DiPiero, Greg Barnhill, Janice Hoyte, John Scott Sherrill, Johnny Cobb, Jonell Mosser, Kathy Burdick, Lisa Silver, Vicki Hampton – background vocals
- Technical
- Alan Beukers – front cover photography
Charts
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Swedish Albums Chart[8] | 41 |
| UK Albums Chart[2] | 27 |
References
- ^ a b c McIlheney, Barry (5 March 1991). "Songs from the Mardi Gras review". Q. Vol. 55. p. 76.
- ^ a b "Feargal Sharkey - Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ 4:45PM BST 25 Jun 2013 (25 June 2013). "Video: Feargal Sharkey: 'I will never sing on stage again'". Telegraph. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Sexton, Paul (April 1991). "Reviews: The New Discs". Select. p. 81.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (17 April 1991). "Review: LPs". Smash Hits.
- ^ Sweeting, Adam (4 April 1991). "Tom's torch song travesty". The Guardian.
- ^ "High Fidelity News and Record Review - Google Books". 1991. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
- ^ Steffen Hung (22 May 1991). "Feargal Sharkey - Songs From The Mardi Gras". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
External links
- Songs from the Mardi Gras at Discogs (list of releases)
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