Skip to content
Elly Roberts reviews
Parlophone (EMI)
- Cat.no: CURCD202
- Released: April 2006
- Rating: 6/10
Rather than go for expensive therapy, Irishman Don Mescall has opted to exorcise his demons through Innocent Run.
At its heart is a painful divorcewhich means plenty of heartache, all played out for all and sundry: tounderstand or snub. As a debut, Innocent Run brings home the reality of’making it’ and holding down a relationship at the same time: how many ofthose have we heard of in the music industry?
Anyway, Mescall articulately tackles the personal trauma: call itself-indulgence or cathartic, he’s coming from direct experience. Gripped byremorse, and ‘on-the-run’ from his woes, some might call it a mawkish effortto forget his loss, (or come to terms with it) with a classic line like,“How come you never know what you’ve got until its gone / Too bad, ‘cos itnever felt so good with anyone.” And that’s just for starters, on openerTrouble Is.
It’s followed by Left In L.A. which could easily be The Lighthouse Familyre-visited, with an edge. Song three, a rousing Beautiful Regret is theanthemic highlight of the 14. The achingly beautiful Son To A Father makesreference to his ‘growing’ as a man, with some all too brief ethnic stringsthat bring the song to life.
Trying to go through his transitional period of a single man again, heponders endlessly on what might have been, but to his credit, he’s not,musically anyway, gone down too turgid a road. There are ambient momentsthat keep the flow, highlighted on Last Chance. His compatriot Damien Ricehas had some minimal influences, breaking through on Not Enough Rainbows,One Of Those Days, but more pronounced on a live Shadow Of A Doubt.
Technically, the album is faultlessly produced. His singing is heartfelt andempathetic, to a point. The messages are universal. The songs are wellcrafted. Not many are memorable. It’s a middling album that will please allwho hear it, but lacks that killer track. It won’t become a coffee-tablealbum either.
This, like so many others, is perfect fodder for Radio 2 and American MORstations.
Weblink:Don Mescall.com
The full list of tracks included are :
1. Trouble Is
2. Left In L.A.
3. Beautiful Regret
4. You Don’t Love Me
5. Grace Of God
6. Son To Father
7. Innocent Run
8. Last Chance
9. Not Enough Rainbows
10. Not Coming Back
11. One Of Those Days
12. Why Didn’t I Know
13. Speed Of Love
14. Shadow Of A Doubt (Live)
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.