Strung Out Episode 24

Send us Fan MailPart  1"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."   We take a look at the contemporary historian Heather Cox-Richardson.Martin may refer to her at Cathleen Richardson, who is hotwired in  his brain as a great Chicago area rocker.  Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Heather Cox Richardson is an expert in nineteenth-century America, specializing in politics and economics. Her most recent book, To Make Men Free, A History of the Republican Party From 1854 To The Present, was released in 2014. Sign up for her free newsletter at this link.   Part TwoPaul Schneider's full review of Everydayeveryday: For an artist, these are truly unique times. The Covid-19 pandemic, if approached the right way, provides the artist not only new inspiration, but a new way of approaching his or her craft.Such is the situation with Martin McCormack. After two and a half decades as one half of the duo Switchback, McCormack realized that, with the pandemic shutting down the entertainment industry and he and his partner Brian FitzGerald losing potentially 200 gigs in 2020, he had to do something else. So, picking up his guitar, he tried to write a song a day. The result is McCormack's first solo album, "Everydayeveryday," Fans of Switchback know that the band has a split personality - sometimes they're one of the top Celtic-American acts around, while other times a rootsy Americana group, their songs sounding like they were born from the dirt and grit of the Midwest."Everydayeveryday" takes the listener in a completely new direction. McCormack uses the wizardry of the studio - and little help from some talented friends - to produce a collection of 10 tunes of contemplation, introspection, hope and love. Safe to say that none of these songs would feel at home on a Switchback album. McCormack spreads his wings as a writer, alternating at times between the contemplative opening ballad, "Song for August,"  the hopeful pseudo title track "Everyday," a couple of kids tunes, "Fear" and "Summer," and the album's closer, "Time," a six-minute meditation on, well, the everyday.The album opens with "August," a tune about a dear relative who died far too young. Yet McCormack shows himself as the eternal optimist, trying to build everyone up around him despite the funereal atmosphere of the present, asking for hope in these most troubled times: "We welcome the dark/as the night gathers fire/Feel the warmth of a beautiful sunrise."From there, "Everyday" takes us back to when times were happier, but even then McCormack looks at the bright side: "All is not lost" he repeats at the coda. "Fear," lyrically a very grown up song about, rather than fearing fear, embracing it and using it to move forward, is nevertheless set against a happy melody that belies the subject matter. It's an interesting presentation, as is "Ill Wind," McCormack's observation of the pandemic and how it's affected his, and our, lives, driven by an unexpected upbeat arrangement.The musical good times continue on the Beatlesesque "Love to Love," all the way down to the Lennon wordplay of "I love the way you love to love me with love." It would make for a good wedding song. "Summertime" is the other kids tune on here, right down to the harmony vocals provided by - who else? - McCormack's 7-year old daughter Aine. While there are a couple of tunes that don't stand up to the rest of the album, for his first solo effort, McCormack draws upon his years of experience as a songwriter to step out of the constraints of his band and produce a strong solo debut. A bundle of restless energy, McCormack continues to write everyday and said he has enough songs for at least two more albums. Don't make us wait too long. Support the showWe are always grateful to have you listening to STRUNG OUT.    Here are some important links:SUPPORT THE SHOW:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/MartyfineaKMARTIN'S WEBSITE:http://www.MARTINMcCORMACK.COM  (note---you can get my weekly bulletin when you sign up on the list!)MARTIN'S MUSIC: Music | Martin Laurence McCormack (bandcamp.com)Martin McCormack | SpotifyMARTIN'S YOUTUBE CHANNELMartin McCormack - YouTubeFACEBOOKFacebook...