Craic On

The Man Who Burst the Bubble – Leo McCauley

Leo McCauley has been a major part of the Moville music scene for years.

Indeed it could be argued that he and Paddy the Shoe are the Gran Daddies of pop and rock around here.

They have taught guitar and influenced the next generation of musicians in the town.

He is a regular at Songwriter Contests and Festivals.

Now, he has finally laid it down on a CD which has three songs on it.

Here is our review of it.

Familiar

I am familiar with this song as Leo has played it on several occasions at Songwriter Contests. Indeed, he has played it in front of Beatles road manager Tony Bramwell.

Leo writes some great ballads and this is one of them.

The musicianship is good too.

It’s about asking a girl if they had met many years before. “Did we march in line, 1984?”

He names the places they may have been. “Ooooh, You’re so familiar to me”.

It’s a great catchy song with excellent lyrics.

Beauty and Grace

This is a slower, more mellow song. It is about a mother’s love.

He really is an old softy.

“if you ever pass this way again, be sure to say hello. We never did get to say goodbye that day you had to go. But when we next meet, on some distant street, we’ll talk and sing of love and all. Because your beauty and grace is missed around this place.”

It’s a very tender song, about someone who is no longer here but whose “face is now in God’s embrace”.

It’s like an anthem.

The music is great, the lyrics are great and it is a thoroughly good song.

The Man Who Burst the Bubble

One of the songs that Leo is most noted for when he plays around the town is the Rolling Stones classic ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and this is definitely an influence on this song.

It’s not a steal and it’s not a copy. It is, however, of the same genre.

And that is good. It’s probably my favourite Stones song and all the better for having discovered it late.

It’s a great name for a CD and a song.

It’s about two bankers who made money in the boom and one of them lost out big.

One is still rich and the other is down and out.

“First to the bar. Two under par” in good times.

Now it’s “don’t look down on me” as he holds out a cup looking for spare change.

It has a great end and fade out.

You could imagine someone shouting “Wooh! Wooh” like on Sympathy for the Devil.

Maybe the fade out could have lasted longer as on Sympathy.

This one could easily be a hit at national or even international level.

Conclusion

It’s a great three-song CD and well worth a fiver.

I actually put it back on again as soon as it was finished,

It’s being released tonight (Friday) with a free concert at the Caiseal Mara starting at 10pm. Click on Leo’s CD Launch in Caiseal Mara for details.

Maybe they could have played on the roof of the kayak place down Bath Green and release white butterflies.

I might nip it over to Tony Bramwell to see what he thinks.