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New Album
(launch August 15)
The Burning Word
“Truly a beautiful piece of work. It achieves an engagement with faith and God that will not "lose" the doubter or the sceptic, but will draw them to itself, reassuring them by the depth and quality of its music and poetry. I identify very strongly with the songs, and at no time feel the sense of creeping unease that afflicts me at some stage while listening to most Christian-inspired music. I think this is because Johnny comes to the music from a position in the world, in life, in culture, and seeks to comprehend the Mysterious Otherness by means of that language, rather than accepting the "given' language of religion and simply utilizing that as a code to summon up beliefs assumed to be held in common with his audience. There is therefore something primary, if not primal, about the album. It speaks to the human being who comes to these questions with nothing but a flimsy raft of openness resting on an ocean of doubt and fear.”
John Waters
All these wonders of love
Like feathers of a wing
Form the image of a dove
Above whom I sing
The Burning Word is the first completely new album I’ve produced in years. The dove emerging from the lick of fire on the cover is symbolic not only of the fact that the songs are spiritual but also that the collection has evolved from my album Flame, and may one day merge with it.
Over the years I have received letters from people all over the world telling me that the spiritual dimension in my songs has helped them through times of crisis as well as marking occasions of celebration. This contributed to me going below the surface of my faith for this work.
In the opening song, The Coat, the listener is asked to lay aside doubt and put on a garment of faith so as to make a journey in a cold season to a place of prayer. An invitation to a spiritual meal is extended in The Flame is Lit. Emily Dickenson’s This World is not Conclusion choruses the unfathomable mystery of our world and heralds an afterlife. Wonders catalogues a series of miracles that stem from Christ’s charitable nature, and Surrender gives in to the declaration of faith of the Lord’s Prayer.
The incarnation mystery at the centre of the title song, The Burning Word, reflects on the paradox that pain lies at the heart of the joy of creation. Song of the Bird grew from a boyhood memory of arriving home with an injured bird which my mother allowed me to keep in our shed till it was strong enough to fly. The Storm chronicles my father’s exemplary courage after a family tragedy. Sure Amen is a hymn for the weary and doubtful. Part of a Tribe, an anthem for community. And finally, Old Story charts an epiphany experienced after a dawn mass.
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Some emails I’ve received regarding my shows:
The show was fantastic it was well worth the trip. The music and your singing and also
the way you introduced each song was fantastic.Your songs touched every one that was
there and my favourite was The Beacon. I met an old guy outside after the show and he
was leaning against the wall, crying. I asked him was he ok and he said he was and then
he said to me “That man’s music really got to me tonight”. I had a few more words with
him and then we went our separate ways. Johnny, it was for me a magic night and I hope
it will not be too long before I see you again.
Take care.
John McDonough
Your concert was the perfect antidote to a world gone mad. Loved the stories, the
singing, the simplicity. My husband loves the melody and I love the poetry. I cried
through “Your Sure Hand”. We have all had the same pain, the same joy; the same
frustrations in rearing children and the same frustration with life in general. Just one
man with guitar and soul made the night perfect. Thanks for that moment in time.”
MaryJo Hannon
Recent interviews:
“My life’s work is reflected in four collections of songs - Just Another Town, To The Light,
The Voyage and Flame - which correspond to the four chapters of my lyrical autobiography,
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