Tales of Silversleeve is the second album released by Irish singer Cathy Davey. It was released on 12 October 2007 as the follow-up release to Davey's 2004 debut Something Ilk. The album contains eleven tracks, including the singles "Reuben", "Sing for Your Supper" and "Moving".

Tales of Silversleeve
Studio album by
Released12 October 2007 (Ireland)
Recorded2006–2007
GenreAlternative rock
LabelEMI Ireland
ProducerLiam Howe
Cathy Davey chronology
Something Ilk
(2004)
Tales of Silversleeve
(2007)
The Nameless
(2010)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Irish Independent(A+)[1]
Entertainment.ie[2]
The Irish Times[3]
RTÉ Entertainment[4]

Tales of Silversleeve led to several award wins and nominations for Davey and her album, including a win in the Best Irish Female category at the Meteor Music Awards. There was also a Choice Music Prize nomination for Irish Album of the Year 2007.[5] Although the album failed to chart, Davey received positive remarks from newspapers, radio stations and members of the general public alike, being described as "a bright, bold and breezy rush of imagination, creativity and sheer glorious sounds" by journalist and blogger Jim Carroll.[6]

Background and recording edit

Davey performed a nationwide tour in late May 2007, debuting songs from the album which at this stage was referred to as Silversleeve.[7] All but two of the songs were recorded in her home.[8] The album, released under the title Tales of Silversleeve, was preceded by "Reuben", its first single, on 21 September 2007.[9] Davey explained the title choice, "I had a runny nose when I was a child and let's just say I didn't wipe it with a tissue".[10] The album was produced by Liam Howe of Sneaker Pimps.[11]

Reception edit

Tales of Silversleeve received a largely positive reaction from critics and reviewers in the Irish media.

entertainment.ie reviewer Lauren Murphy described Tales of Silversleeve as "Without doubt, one of the best albums of the year", noting "there's a magic about Tales of Silversleeve that makes it an album you're almost afraid to listen to twice, in case it's not as good as you remember the first time".[12]

Jim Carroll, rock critic with The Irish Times, called the record "The most charming pop album you’ll hear in Zero Seven".[13]

Public service broadcaster RTÉ reviewer Harry Guerin said the album was "even more imaginative" than her debut and gave it four out of five stars.[14]

The Irish Independent''s reviewer gave the album five stars, describing it as "a record that she can be proud of".[15]

The Irish Times placed Davey third in a list of "The 50 Best Irish Acts Right Now" published in April 2009,[16] saying "There's no better female songwriter in Irish music right now".[17] Her closest female rivals on the list were Lisa Hannigan and Róisín Murphy at numbers five and seven respectively. Tales of Silversleeve was named sixth best Irish album of 2007 by John Meagher of the Irish Independent and ninth best album of the decade by Jim Carroll, Tony Clayton-Lea and Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times.[18][19]

The album was certified double-platinum in Ireland.[20]

Track listing edit

Source

All tracks are written by Cathy Davey

No.TitleLength
1."Sing for Your Supper"3:44
2."Reuben"4:10
3."The Collector"2:51
4."Moving"3:44
5."Mr. Kill"4:28
6."Overblown Love Song"4:17
7."No Heart Today"3:41
8."Harmony"2:48
9."Can't Help It"4:08
10."Rubbish Ocean"4:17
11."All of You"3:39

Singles edit

Tales of Silversleeve includes eleven tracks, including three singles. Ed Power of the Irish Independent described Davey's song "Reuben", a number one single,[21] as "a skewed romantic tirade glazed in sugar-candy vocals".[22] "Sing for Your Supper" was described by the same reviewer as Davey's "biggest smash to date".[22] "Moving" was used in as part of advertising campaign by mobile network operator Vodafone in Ireland.[22]

Awards edit

Tales of Silversleeve led to several award wins and nominations for Davey and her album.

Choice Music Prize edit

Davey's second album Tales of Silversleeve was nominated for the Choice Music Prize in January 2008.[23][24] Surprise was expressed within the Irish media when she was beaten by Super Extra Bonus Party.[25][26]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008 Tales of Silversleeve Irish Album of the Year 2007 Nominated

Meteor Music Awards edit

Davey won Best Irish Female at the 2008 Meteor Awards.[27][28][29] Tales of Silversleeve was also nominated for Best Irish Album at the same event but lost to Paddy Casey. Casey later admitted he would have preferred if Davey had won the award.[30] Upon being embraced by and photographed alongside Sinéad O'Connor at the launch, Davey remarked on how odd it was "to put your arms around someone you don't know".[31]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2008 Cathy Davey Best Irish Female Won
2008 Tales of Silversleeve Best Irish Album Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "Tales Of Silversleeve". Irish Independent. 17 October 2007.
  2. ^ "Review on Tales Of Silversleeve".
  3. ^ Carroll, Jim. "Review on Tales Of Silversleeve". The Irish Times.
  4. ^ "Review on Tales Of Silversleeve". RTÉ News. 20 November 2007.
  5. ^ "Choice Music Prize shortlist announced". RTÉ. 10 January 2008. Retrieved 10 January 2008.
  6. ^ Jim Carroll's review of Tales of Silversleeve
  7. ^ "Cathy Davey to gig around Ireland". Hot Press. 11 May 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2009. She headlines Cork, Cyprus Ave (May 26); Limerick, Upstairs @ Dolans (28); Galway, Roisin Dubh (29); Belfast, Speakeasy (30); Dundalk, Spirit Store (31). The tour will be the first time fans can get an earful of her second album, tentatively titled Silversleeve. It's the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Something Ilk, which was her first LP for Parlophone.
  8. ^ Paul Byrne (25 June 2007). "Cathy's no wallflower". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  9. ^ "Cathy Davey announces residency tour". Hot Press. 29 July 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2009. Tales Of… is produced by Sneaker Pimps man Liam Howe, and preceded on September 21 by its flagship single, 'Reuben'.
  10. ^ John Meagher (5 November 2007). "Q&A: Cathy Davey". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  11. ^ Jim Carroll (30 October 2009). "Marina on a mission". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 November 2009. The next step was hooking up with producer and co-writer Liam Howe (the guy from the Sneaker Pimps who produced Cathy Davey's last album, among other releases).
  12. ^ Lauren Murphy (17 October 2007). "Cathy Davey – Tales Of Silversleeve". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  13. ^ Jim Carroll (16 October 2007). "Cathy Davey "Tales of Silversleeve" review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  14. ^ Harry Guerin (20 November 2007). "Cathy Davey – Tales of Silversleeve". RTÉ. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  15. ^ "Captivating Cathy". Irish Independent. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  16. ^ "The next 50 bands". The Irish Times. 10 April 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  17. ^ Jim Carroll; Tony Clayton-Lea; Sinéad Gleeson; Lauren Murphy (3 April 2009). "The 50 best Irish music acts right now". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Her live performances have been consistently enriching – witness her tremendous Electric Picnic performance last year (which even Elbow failed to worm their way into the packed tent to witness). There's no better female songwriter in Irish music right now.
  18. ^ John Meagher (14 December 2007). "Local heroes". Irish Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  19. ^ Jim Carroll, Tony Clayton-Lea and Lauren Murphy (1 December 2009). "What, no Westlife? The best albums of the decade". The Irish Times. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  20. ^ Cathy Davey brings The Nameless to The Glens Archived 3 August 2012 at archive.today
  21. ^ "Friday February 20th 2009". The Tubridy Show on RTÉ. 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2009. Songstress and platinum selling artist, Cathy Davey joined Ryan and played her number one single "Reuben" live in studio. Cathy is playing in Tripod Friday 27th February.
  22. ^ a b c Ed Power (3 March 2009). "Cathy: Eruption in the Tripod". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  23. ^ "Choice Music Prize shortlist announced". RTÉ. 10 January 2007. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  24. ^ John Meagher (15 February 2008). "Choice Cuts". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  25. ^ "The Choice of regeneration?". Irish Independent. 28 February 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Then last year, as if over-compensating for the Divine Comedy victory, the jokers in the pack Super Extra Bonus Party took home the €10,000 cheque, to a general air of bemusement and bewilderment. Many asked: how, exactly, was Cathy Davey overlooked?
  26. ^ John Meagher (11 April 2008). "The week in... 11th – 17th April". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Some folks were very upset that this Kildare collective snatched the Choice Music Prize from the likes of Adrian Crowley and Cathy Davey, but there's no doubting their infectious enthusiasm and boundless energy.
  27. ^ Andrea Smith (1 February 2009). "Rita and her family album". Sunday Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
  28. ^ Fiach Kelly (16 February 2008). "Orange is the new red at the Meteors". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Dublin's Aslan won the Best Irish Band award, Best Irish Female went to Cathy Davey, Duke Special scooped Best Male and Paddy Casey won Best Irish Album for 'Addicted to Company'. The Blizzards won Best Irish Live Performance for their Oxegen gig last summer.
  29. ^ "Westlife are still number one". Irish Independent. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Singer Cathy Davey won Best Irish Female while Best Irish Male went to Duke Special at Friday's glitzy ceremony at the RDS.
  30. ^ Paddy Casey (27 December 2008). "Paddy Casey". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009. At the start of the year, Addicted to Company won the Meteor Award for Best Album, which was great, even if I think Cathy Davey's album should have got it.
  31. ^ Anne-Marie Walsh (30 November 2007). "Sinead brings the Meteors down to earth". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 November 2009.