Mary Black

Country of origin:

Ireland

Type of music generally:

Traditional Celtic and contemporary folk

Status:

Most recent release, Orchestrated (with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra, 2019)

See also:

The Mary Black Page

Wikipedia's entry for Mary Black

The Ectophiles' Guide entries for The Black Family and her sister, Frances Black

Comparisons:

Frances Black, Joni Mitchell

Covers/own material:

Covers and own

General comments:

In the late '80s Mary Black toured with her brothers and sister Frances as The Black Family

Beautiful voice. (sspan)

I love Irish singer Mary Black's music; I hated her album, Shine. (candre@enteract.com)

Comments about live performance:

Indeed, her singing is quite divine, so it only seems likely that somebody/thing is watching over her concerts! :-) (jbr@casetech.dk)

Recommended first album:

Babes in the Wood

Recordings:

• Mary Black (1983)
• Collected (1984)
• Without The Fanfare (1985)
• By The Time It Gets Dark (1987)
• No Frontiers (1989)
• The Best of Mary Black (compilation, 1990)
• Babes in the Wood (1991)
• The Collection (compilation, 1992)
• The Holy Ground (1993)
• Circus (1995)
• Looking Back (1995)
• Wonder Child (1996)
• Shine (1997)
• Song For Ireland (1998)
• Speaking With The Angel (1999)
• The Best of Mary Black 1991-2001 (compilation, 2001)
• Mary Black Live (live, 2003)
• Full Tide (2005)
• Twenty-five years—Twenty-five songs (2 cd compilation, 2008)
• Stories From the Steeples (2011/2)
• Down the Crooked Road: The Soundtrack (compilation, 2014)
• Mary Black Sings Jimmy MacCarthy (covers, 2017)
• Orchestrated (with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra, 2019)

Collected

Release info:

1984—Gifthorse Records—G2-10006

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals, backing vocals, synthesizer

Guest artists:

Martin O'Connor—accordion
Peter Browne—Uilleann pipes
Pat Armstrong—guitar, backing vocals
Brendan O'Regan—bouzouki, mandolin
Kevin Glackin—fiddle
Amrit Grewal—sitar
Pat McCarthy—percussion

Produced by:

P. J. Curtis

Comments:

A lovely, low-key collection of mostly traditional songs. (JoAnn Whetsell)

By the Time It Gets Dark

Release info:

1987—Gifthorse Records—G2-10013

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended

Group members:

Mary Black

Guest artists:

Declan Sinnott—guitars, slide guitar, Spanish and acoustic guitars, EMAX synth, harmony
Pat Crowley—piano, Rhodes piano, accordion, DX7 synth, Rhodes bass, harmony
Noel Bridgeman—congas, shaker, claves
Garvan Gallagher—double bass, bass
Mandy Murphy—harmonies
Honor Heffernan—harmony
Úna Ní Chauiainn—cello (4)
John Sheehan—violin
Carl Geraghty—soprano sax
Caroline Lavelle—cello (8)

Produced by:

Declan Sinnott

Comments:

I love the opening title track which has great energy and promise, but the rest of the album, while really lovely, is a bit too samey and slow for my taste. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Babes in the Wood

Release info:

1991—Grapevine (Ireland)—GRAPECD 008 (I believe this has also had a U.S. release)

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Must have, if you can tolerate folk at all. (jbr@casetech.dk)

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals

Guest artists:

Maire Bhreatnach—fiddle, synth
Noel Bridgeman—percussion
Pat Crowley—accordion, piano, backing vocals
Garwan Gallagher—double bass
Carl Geraghty—saxophone
Declan Sinnott—guitars, dobro, mandolin, backing vocals

Comments:

Great voice, a little sharp but very pleasant. Good lyrics and music, too, often very wistful. (jbr@casetech.dk)

Looking Back

Release info:

1995—Curb Records—D2-77718

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Recommended for fans

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals

Guest artists:

Declan Sinnott—electric & acoustic guitars, dobro, synthesizer, harmony & backing vocals
Dave Early—drums, percussion
Carl Geraghty—tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, saxophone
Garvan Gallagher—bass, double bass, electric bass, harmonies
Frank Gallagher—synthesizer, tin whistle, fiddle
Pat Crowley—electric piano, keyboards, piano, accordion, harmony & backing vocals
Liam Bradley—harmony vocals (1, 7)
Noel Bridgeman—percussion, drums, accordion, harmonies
Donal Lunny—synthesizer, bouzouki
Caroline Lavelle—cello
Maire Bhreatnach—synthesizer
Noel Eccles—drums, percussion
Bill Shanley—guitar
Jim Tate—bass
Emmylou Harris—vocals (8)
Philip Begley—synthesizer
Eoghan O'Neill—bass

Produced by:

Declan Sinnott; track 8 produced by Mary Black, Eleanor McEvoy & Noel Eccles

Comments:

Pretty soft pop, very pleasant easy listening, but even the most affecting song here "Ellis Island" doesn't grab me and inspire to listen to the album again. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Shine

Release info:

1997—Curb Records—D2-77888

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals, backing vocals

Guest artists:

Jerry Marotta—drums, percussion
Garvan Gallagher—bass
Bill Shanley—guitars, electric high-strung guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin
Pat Crowley—Hammond organ, accordion, piano
Frank Gallagher—fiddle & whistle, keyboards
Larry Klein—bass, guitars, drums, percussion, keyboards
Michael Landau—electric guitar
Greg Leisz—acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, pedal steel guitar, baritone guitar, Weisenborn guitar solo (6)
Jim Cox—Hammond organ
Paul Brady—vocals (7)
Amy Kanter—backing vocals (8)

Produced by:

Larry Klein

Comments:

Beautiful pop album with much better-than-average songs and lyrics and mild Celtic influence, all carried by Mary's beautiful, crystal clear voice. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Song for Ireland

Release info:

1998—Gifthorse Records—G2-10050

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals, bodhran

Guest artists:

Declan Sinnott—guitars, synthesizers, harmonies
Pat Crowley—piano, Rhodes piano, dx7 synth, accordion
Mandy Murphy—harmonies
Honor Hefernon—harmonies
Pat Armstrong—guitars, backing vocals
Máirtín O'Connor—accordion
Brendan O'Regan—bouzouki
Peter Browne—pipes
Kevin Glackin—fiddle
Martin Black—backing vocals (5), harmonies (6)
Frances Black, Shay Black, Michael Black (The Black Family)—harmonies (6)
Donal Lunny—synth, bouzouki
Caroline Lavelle—cello
Philip Begley—synthesizers
Noel Bridgeman—percussion, drums, accordion
Eoghan O'Neill—bass
Frank Gallagher—synth
Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh—additional vocals (10)

Produced by:

Declan Sinnott, P.J. Curtis, Philip Begley

Comments:

The unifying theme of Irish songs (in subject and style) makes this a very nice retrospective of Mary Black's work (mostly solo, but one track from (The Black Family) is included). Fans of traditional music will find this album a pleasure to hear. (JoAnn Whetsell)

Speaking With the Angel

Release info:

2000—Curb Records—D2-77958

Availability:

Wide

Ecto priority:

Highly recommended

Group members:

Mary Black—vocals, backing vocals, bodhran, paintbrush

Guest artists:

Donal Lunny—bouzouki, electric bouzouki, guitar, backing vocals
Bill Shanley—acoustic guitar, high strung guitar, guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
Rod Quinn—drums, percussion
James Blennerhasset—double bass, electric bass
Pat Crowley—keyboards, accordion, electric piano, Hammond, piano, backing vocals
Brendan Power—harmonica
Alvin Sweeney—backing vocals
Frank Gallagher—low whistle, fiddle, whistle, violas
Ciaran Tourish—fiddle
Nollaig Casey—fiddle
Liam O Flynn—whistle, Uileann pipes
Steve Cooney—guitars, acoustic guitars, bass, double bass, didjeridu, percussion
Brian Dunning—flutes
Paddy Cole—clarinet
Laoise Kelly—harp
Colin Dunne—dancing feet
Liam Bradley—tambourine, drums, backing vocals
Noel Bridgeman—percussion, drums, backing vocals
Billy Robinson—bass
Martin Brunsden—vibes
Lloyd Byrne—percussion

Produced by:

Donal Lunny (1, 3, 4, 8), Mary Black (2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11), Steve Cooney (5, 7, 9, 11)

Comments:

One of Mary's most engaging albums. Not as pop as Shine, but a much better mix of bright, joyous upbeat songs and slower, more melancholy ones than on some of her older albums. Includes a heartbreaking cover of Sting's "Fields of Gold." (JoAnn Whetsell)

Further info:

Mary Black's songs appear on many compilations. Video releases include: The Collection Live (1992); Mary Black Live (2003); and Mary Black Live at the the Royal Albert Hall (2007). Other video appearances include The Late Late Show—Tribute to Sharon Shannon (1993); Gael Force (1998); Celtic Tides: A Musical Odyssey (1998); Bringing It All Back Home: The Influence of Irish Music (2001); and The Paul Brady Songbook (2002).

Thanks to Jens P. Tagore Brage and JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.