Arguably Ireland’s greatest living musician is back with another amazing album titled A Terrible Beauty. Christy Moore is a living legend in terms of Irish music, at nearly 80 years of age, he is still managing to bring us beautifully crafted songs in his signature fashion.

Moore has established himself as one of music’s best storytellers over his lengthy career, this newest addition to his extensive discography serves to further cement this point. From “Joxer goes to Stuttgart”, “Viva la Quinta Brigada”, “Black is the Colour” and “Beeswing”, Moore has time and time again delivered hits that showcase his narrative abilities in an undoubtedly Irish way.

Similarly to his last album Flying into Mystery, in this release Christy uses his profound abilities to bring us a collection of emotionally poignant stories. From personal to political, heart-breaking to hilarious, soft and slow to loud and fast, this album has got it all. Old fans will be pleased and new fans can be guaranteed, Christys done it again. 

“A Terrible Beauty” - A Collection of Beautiful and Terrible Stories 

The album opens up with “Boy in the WIld”, a soft and emotional song advising a young man to lean on his father for strength. The tender message of the song is accompanied by delicate music as well as none other than Andy Moore, Christy’s son singing the backing vocals. Moore wrote this song with longtime friend Wally Page just before his death last year. The song is a stand out on the album and is obviously quite significant to Moore himself, as it has been released with a music video, only the second time Christy has done this in his 50+ year career. The video starring Liam Cunningham and Ollie West, softly depicts a father and sons relationship and is just as tender as the music it’s created for.

“Sunflowers” is another powerful piece, this time for more political reasons. This track shows Christy utilising his spoken word skills as he reads a poem by Mike Harding. The poem tells a story of war, more specifically ordinary people's resilience in the face of it. Children murdered, families destroyed, invaders uninvited coming from the east. Immediately it is assumed Moore is referencing Irish history and telling the tale of English occupation that he has told in many forms before. It is only in the song's final lyric that we learn Moore is referring to Ukraine, and the war being fought against Russia.

Moore explores similar themes in the closing track “Palestine” which was written by Jim Page. This song highlights the atrocities ongoing in Palestine currently discussing “settlers from far away” and “dollars from the USA”. Moore once again uses his musical abilities to draw attention to issues he believes in, his moral integrity unwavering. When speaking to The Irish Examiner he comments on this, saying: “I doubt if suffering can be alleviated by some faraway folk singer. Sometimes consciousness can be raised that might lead to changing attitudes, to summoning support, perhaps raising funds to help agencies directly involved in delivering aid.”

“Black and Amber” and “Lemon Sevens” are two other tracks on the album that share similar themes, dealing heavily with alcoholism and addiction. Both tracks were written by Brian Branagan, lead singer of Dublin’s A Lazarus Soul. The stories here are told beautifully, brimming with subtle social commentary as well as the melancholic subject matter.

Moore beautifully pays tribute to Ann Lovett and Lyra McKee in “The Life and Soul” and “Lyra McKee” respectively. Two Irish women who sadly lost their lives far too young, for reasons that should have and could have been prevented. Terrible stories beautifully told, and necessary for all of us to remember.

One of the more fast paced songs on the album is “The Big Marquee”. A bright and bustling song, written about a venue in Cork of the same name. Christy wrote this track on his way to play at the venue and it can be viewed as a sort of love letter to the venue itself, as well as the County Cork as a whole. Littered with references to places and people of the county, the song was instantly well received from all over, not just Cork. Reminiscent of Christy’s classic “Lisdonvarna” which features on On the Road and is beloved by millions, not only people from County Clare.

Experience “A Terrible Beauty” on Vinyl at The Record Hub

This album is another beautiful collection of stories from Ireland’s national treasure. With a career spanning over five decades, Christy has earned his title as a living legend. His music is as beautiful, powerful, and necessary as it ever was. As always, he places the content of the stories being told in the music at the forefront, delivering an impactful and meaningful piece of work.