By Larry Heagle

Irish Heart is a distillation of Larry Heagle’s life, and not every life story song is a funny one. Sometimes a tune contains a tear or two. This is a compilation of the songs he has created over a long period of time. Among them are: love songs for his wife, Kim; a lament for a young friend; a rousing tune about the vast yacht-like Oldsmobile of his youth; and, curiously, a celebration of a former Attorney General of the United States. (I yield to no one in my admiration for a man who can write a song the first line of which is: “I’m in love with Janet Reno, and she’s in love with me.” Were it only true!)

The emotional center of Irish Heart is an Irish heart now stilled. It is a song about our great friend Gerald Fitzgerald who died almost five years ago as I write this, at age 49. He was a fine man and a good one, too, and those of us who loved him remain, and shall always remain, unreconciled to his passing. Now here is the fine thing and the touching thing and the thing that makes it such an honor to know Heagle: Irish Heart is Larry’s stepping forward from mere sorrow. His goal is a simple one, and one that all true artists share: to stop time and bring back the dead. To stop time and bring back the dead, that is all he wished to do. He failed, of course. Yet the result of that effort – before you now – is nevertheless a remarkable achievement: heartfelt, courageous, and profound.

Tom Johnson
New York City

Featuring

  1. Kim’s Song
  2. Rocket Action Oldsmobile
  3. Siren Song
  4. Ian’s Eulogy
  5. Don’t Look Away
  6. The Wolf
  7. Irish Heart
  8. Janet Reno
  9. Shelter in the Storm
  10. Daddy Jack
  11. The Big Tomato
  12. Senorita Velveeta

$15 plus tax and shipping