Paul Brady - Welcome Here Kind Stranger (1978)

Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947, Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was into a wide variety of music from an early age. During his career he has passed through several major bands and on to a successful solo phase.

Brady began performing as a hotel piano player in Donegal at the age of sixteen before becoming a guitarist, during the 1960s, in two rhythm and blues bands: Rockhouse and the Cult. There followed a stint with The Johnstons as a guitarist and singer that ended in 1974, and a shorter one with Planxty that saw Brady touring extensively but recording no albums. In 1976, Brady recorded an album with Andy Irvine that he now regards as his best. Welcome Here Kind Stranger, released in 1978 was the summation of his interest in Irish music and was followed in 1981 by Hard Station, Brady's engagement with commercial rock. Brady went on to record several other albums and collaborated with Bonnie Raitt and Richard Thompson. In 2006 he collaborated with Cara Dillon on the track "The Streets of Derry" from her album After the Morning. He has also worked with Fiachra Trench..

Paul Brady is also well known as a songwriter and has had his songs recorded by artists such as Tina Turner, Santana and Brooks & Dunn. Probably the best known song of his recorded by another artist is "Paradise is Here" sung by Tina Turner.

Welcome Here Kind Stranger is a 1978 album by Paul Brady.

After leaving The Johnstons, Paul Brady toured with Planxty, but never recorded with them. His first solo album, "Welcome Here Kind Stranger" (1978), was his only solo folk album. It was voted "Folk album of the year" by Melody Maker. He then became and a rock singer and achieved chart success (the album "Trick or Treat" reached number 72). Despite the praise given to the album, it is something of a rarity. It was issued once on vinyl and once on cassette. It was not issued on CD (excluding a bad bootleg).

Two of the songs are long ballads - "I am a Youth that's Inclined to ramble" and "The Lakes of Pontchartrain." The latter song had been recorded previously by Planxty on Cold Blow and the Rainy Night, though Brady's version is slightly different. He later recorded it in Irish as "Bruach Loch Pontchartrain" on "Eist Vol.2: Éist Arís, Songs In Their Native Language" (various artists) (2002). The historical context of an Irishman in Louisiana is unclear. It might be set during the Battle of New Orleans.

The songs on the album are highly arranged - instruments are heard then disappear as they are replaced by others. This backfired on Brady when he tried to perform them at a concert in Liberty Hall, Dublin in 1978. The audience burst into laughter as he laid down one instrument then picked up another while simultaneously singing.

Paul Brady had no power to force a record company to reissue the album, so he took matters into his own hand by issuing "The Liberty Tapes" in 2001 on CD. It appeared on his own record label - PBCD. He had asked the engineer to record his 1978 concert on "bog-standard" tape. He then forgot about them. In 2000 he rediscovered these tapes in his attic. Two tracks are missing: "Young Edmund", and the instrumental track. There are three additional songs plus three new tunes. The resulting live album is sometimes called "The Missing Liberty Tapes" because the word "missing" is in small letters on the sleeve. The title of the album is a line from the song "The Lakes of Pontchartrain".

Produced by Paul Brady and Dónal Lunny.


Track listing

01 - Don't Call Again (Trad)
02 - I am a Youth that's inclined to ramble (Trad)
03 - Jackson and Jane (Trad)
04 - The Lakes of Pontchartrain (Trad)
05 - The Creel (Trad)
06 - Out the door and over the wall (Paul Brady)
07 - Young Edmund in the lowlands low (Trad)
08 - The Boy on the hilltop/Johnny goin' to Ceilidh (instr) (Trad)
09 - Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore (Trad)