''Mirmama'' is the debut solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter
Eddi Reader
Sadenia "Eddi" Reader Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as the lead vocalist of the Folk music, folk and soft rock band Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo caree ...
, released by
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
in 1992. The album reached No. 34 on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
.
The album did not receive a US release in 1992, but was later remastered and issued on CD there by
Compass Records
Compass Records is an American independent record label founded in 1995 by musicians Garry West and Alison Brown that specializes in folk, bluegrass, Celtic, jazz, and acoustic music.
In 2006, Compass purchased the Green Linnet and Xenophil ...
in 1997.
Background
Following the split of
Fairground Attraction, Reader launched her solo career under new management, Douglas Kean of the London-based Interface Management. Fairground Attraction's label, RCA, quickly signed Reader as a solo act before she had recorded any of her own material. For ''Mirmama'', Reader continued working with Fairground Attraction drummer Roy Dodds, alongside other musicians including bassist Phil Steriopulos, guitarist Neil MacColl and multi-instrumentalist Calum MacColl. The combined team were given the name the Patron Saints of Imperfection and the album was recorded in two weeks. Prior to the release of the album, a four-track EP, ''All or Nothing'', was issued in November 1991 to raise awareness of Reader's re-emergence as a solo artist.
Although the album achieved critical acclaim, it was considered a commercial disappointment, reaching No. 34 in the UK. The album's single, "What You Do With What You've Got", failed to chart.
Critical reception
Upon its release, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' wrote, "''Mirmama'' has an irrepressibly good-natured aura about it. Confident and positive, there's nothing brittle about Reader's voice, and the spare, unfussy arrangements hit just the right mood."
David Quantick
David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine ''NME'', his writing credits have included '' On the Hour'', ' ...
of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' described it as "a reasonably predictable but seriously unduff LP" and "an interesting and likeable record with acoustic guitars on it" for which Reader had written "lots of sort of jazz folk songs". He noted that most of the songs "move at an eccentric but relaxed pace" and added that "blandness is generally avoided by means of Reader's major voice and good tunes".
Peter Kinghorn of the ''
Evening Chronicle
The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to in print as ''The Chronicle'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Evening Chronic ...
'' commented, "The restrained rhythm of her single "What You Do with What You've Got" sets the scene for quality, although not typical of the album." He picked "Honeychild", "Hello in There", "That's Fair", "The Swimming Song" and "My Old Friend the Blues" as the album's other "outstanding" tracks.
Tony Clayton-Lea of the ''
Sunday Tribune
The ''Sunday Tribune'' was an Irish Sunday broadsheet newspaper published by Tribune Newspapers plc. It was edited in its final years by Nóirín Hegarty, who changed both the tone and the physical format of the newspaper from broadsheet to ta ...
'' considered ''Mirmama'' to be "better than Fairground Attraction, because there's a bit to these soft songs of heartache and emotional harassment that was formerly missing". He added, "Reader's voice is as crystal clear as ever, while the songs range in style from country and blues to English folk." Robbert Tilli of ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'' wrote, "The musical direction on ''Mirmama'' is not a radical departure from Reader's past, but it's certainly different. It takes more time to fully absorb the tunes which are all arranged in a relaxing semi-acoustic setting. The overall sound is comparable to
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
's pike de la resistance ''
King of America'', with
Edie Brickell
Edie Arlisa Brickell (born March 10, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter widely known for 1988's ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'', the debut album by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians, which went to No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' albums chart. ...
and
Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duet (music), duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in Primary school, elementary school and began performing together as Secondary school, hig ...
overtones".
Lynden Barber of ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' wrote, "
his
His or HIS may refer to:
Computing
* Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company
* Honeywell Information Systems
* Hybrid intelligent system
* Microsoft Host Integration Server
Education
* Hangzhou International School, ...
agreeable album consists of a late-night brand of folk rock with a warm, live feel to it. Reader's voice is light on the ear if occasionally too honeyed, her choice of covers is wise, and her own songs are soft and appealing without being bland." Penny Kiley of the ''
Liverpool Echo
The ''Liverpool Echo'' is a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales – a subsidiary company of Reach plc and is based in St. Paul's Square, Liverpool, England. It is published Monday through Sunday, and is Liverpool's da ...
'' commented, "Eddi's album can't help sounding like Fairground Attraction. It has her instantly recognisable voice, the mostly acoustic-based sound and the folk-jazz style of song. What it lacks is Mark Nevin's way with melody. The album has a good sound and good words but the extra spark is missing."
In a retrospective review of the album, William Ruhlmann of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
felt ''Mirmama'' showed "Reader adopt
ngan atmospheric folk style somewhat akin to Enya, but not as produced or accessible". He concluded, "The result sounds more like the kind of quirky, side-project solo album that group members make than like the kind of bold solo statement expected from an emerging star."
Track listing
Personnel
*
Eddi Reader
Sadenia "Eddi" Reader Order of the British Empire, MBE (born 29 August 1959) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, known for her work as the lead vocalist of the Folk music, folk and soft rock band Fairground Attraction and for an enduring solo caree ...
– vocals (all tracks), concertina (tracks 3, 11)
* Neill MacColl – guitar (tracks 2 to 7, 9 to 11), piano (track 2), backing vocals (track 2), autoharp (tracks 7, 10), mandolin (track 11)
*
Dominic Miller
Dominic James Miller (born 21 March 1960) is a British guitarist. He has worked most of his career as a sideman and guitarist for, among others, Julia Fordham, Eddi Reader and notably Sting. He has also released several solo albums.
Career
Mi ...
– guitar (tracks 1, 8 to 9)
* Phil Steriopulos – double bass
* Roy Dodds – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
*
Huw Warren
Huw Warren is a Welsh jazz pianist and composer whose work crosses several genres. He is known as co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Houseplants.
Career
Huw Warren was the co-leader and founder of the jazz quartet Perfect Hous ...
– cello (tracks 1, 8 to 9), accordion (tracks 8 to 9), piano (tracks 8 to 9), vibraphone (track 9)
*
Aly Bain
Aly Bain MBE (born 15 May 1946) is a Scottish fiddler who learned his instrument from the old-time master Tom Anderson. The former First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell called Bain a "Scottish icon."
Career
Bain was born in the town of Le ...
– fiddle (track 1)
* Kim Burton – accordion, Hammond (track 1)
*
Jools Holland
Julian Miles Holland (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Marc Almond, Jayne County, To ...
–
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...
(tracks 2 to 3, 7), piano (track 5)
* Calum MacColl –
penny whistle
The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...
(track 3),
zither
Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body.
Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
(track 4),
dulcimer
The term dulcimer refers to two families of musical string instruments.
Hammered dulcimers
The word ''dulcimer'' originally referred to a trapezoidal zither similar to a psaltery whose many strings are struck by handheld "hammers". Variants of ...
(track 6)
Production
* The Patron Saints of Imperfection – producers (tracks 2 to 7, 10 to 11), additional production (track 9)
* Eddi Reader, Roy Dodds, Kevin Moloney – producers (tracks 1, 8)
*
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Morgan Robertson (born 14 October 1958), known by the stage name Thomas Dolby, is an English musician, producer, composer, entrepreneur and teacher.
Dolby came to prominence in the 1980s, releasing hit singles including "She Blinded Me ...
– remix (track 1)
*
Phill Brown
Phill Brown (born 1950) is an audio engineer who has worked with a number of well-known musicians, including: Traffic, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Babasonicos and Talk Talk. He is also the younger brother of Terry Bro ...
– mixing (track 8)
* Terry Medhurst – engineer (tracks 1 to 7, 10 to 11)
* Randy LeRoy – remastering (1997 Compass Records CD release)
Other
* Andrew Catlin – front cover photography
*
Jill Furmanovsky
Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians.
Life and work
Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents - her father subsequently worked at an architecture prac ...
– inside photography
* Roger Swanborough – art direction
* Eddi Reader – concept
* Carol Walters – layout
Charts
References
{{Authority control
1992 debut albums
Eddi Reader albums
RCA Records albums