The collection on this album is no more, nor no less, than Ronnie Drew’s musical epitaph, the music he wanted the public to hear after a lifetime of playing and recording in the world-renowned style of The Dubliners and their associates.
This album is different, the musicians backing Ronnie are jazz players , the duets are with some of our leading singers in a diversity of styles, including classical, and Hugh Buckley’s inspired arrangements place Ronnie in a setting he has never had before. It is also something of great historical importance – Ronnie Drew’s last record, made between November, 2007, and May, 2008, three months before he died of cancer.
The idea was born from an interview Aengus Fanning did with Ronnie for the Sunday Independent in August, 2007, not along after his wife Deirdre’s death, also from cancer, a few months earlier.Ronnie had over the years been a frequent caller to jazz gigs at JJ Smyth’s in Dublin where he sat in with Hugh and Richie Buckley, and Myles Drennan. Around the same time, he frequently came to the late Peter O’Brien’s gigs and did shows with him in the National Concert Hall in jazz style.
He loved the idiom and on more than one occasion he lamented the fact that he had spent most of his life playing what he called ‘diddly aye’ music. After that heartbreaking interview in Dali’s restaurant, Aengus suggested to Ronnie that, if he could get sponsorship, they might enlist Hugh Buckley’s musical genius and get a record done in that style. Michael Fingleton of the Irish Nationwide Building came up with E25,000 and the show which became ‘The Last Wave’ was on the road.
On a cold morning in November, 2007, Aengus picked Ronnie up at his Greystones home to drive to Gavin Ralston’s studio in Newtownmountkennnedy. ‘I’m fucked’, said Ronnie as he sat into the car. ‘In the long run, we-re all fucked,’ said Aengus. An hour later, Ronnie was as happy Larry in Gavin’s studio, surrounded by his friends Hugh, Myles, and Dave Fleming, working with dedication, love and fun on Kurt Weill’s ‘September Song.’
Over the following seven months, there were eight sessions in all with the initial band being joined by Richie, Paul Sweeney, and Ciaran Wilde, and singers as contrasting as Damien Dempsey, Mary Coughlan and Emmanuel Lawlor. Hugh recalled the unique atmosphere in the intimate studio during the sessions. ‘We were all friends and there was a great vibe of mutual respect in the air.
‘Each day in the studio was full of that wonderful feeling that something special was happening.’
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A Dedication
First and foremost, we would like to extend a warm thank you to all those who have contributed their personal memoirs and musings on Ronnie and to the overall creation of the album. We know you hold a great deal of this close to your hearts.
Through the blog, we intend to give the world a glimpse into those precious moments, long, short, joyful, stirring, poignant, inspirational.
Like the album, this blog is a celebration of his life, the remarkable man that he was and what he loved to do.
If you have any moments you'd like to share with us, please don't hesitate to email us at: ronniedrewblog@gmail.com, and do feel free to comment.
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