Michael O'Neill “From The Beginning”(Sleeping Trout Music 2005)  Review by Michael Mee

There's a veneer of normality spread over Michael O'Neill's From The Beginning. The opening track, Tell Her is the kind of pleasant, lonesome country song that you'd find on any one of a dozen top quality country rock albums, it's an honest, rugged, square-jawed love song. That veneer is reinforced by the gentle melodies and homely rhythms that run through From The Beginning. The sea change begins with Punta Mita which is full of sunny rhythms but also has a definite darker undercurrent. However at this early stage the suspicion is that this will be long on appeal but not particularly challenging. But that really is just a facade because a peek behind the curtains reveals that From The Beginning has been wrenched from bitter experience. Life certainly hasn't broken O'Neill's spirit but it's given it a dent or two. The benefit for the listener is that all the best art is born out of suffering. Even at an early age O'Neill appeared to be destined for great things. At 24 he opened for a then unknown U2. He was then signed by legendary manager Don Arden and spent a decade learning and honing his craft on the road with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and writing with Bob Weir, Steve Cropper and Jason Scheff, Then, not unlike a character you'd find in one of his songs, the upward curve took a downturn. A string of brawls and lawsuits, lightened by the odd hit, seemed destined to deny him his rightful place at the top table. But like a true country musician adversity has been harnessed and used to good effect, giving From The Beginning a razor-sharp edge. Having lived the life, O'Neill brings depths to his music that few can match. Here By Me, Goodnight My Sweet and Indigo demonstrate the unstoppable force of simple expression, no fuss, no frills, just straight from the heart of Michael O'Neill. His brand of country music comes not only with the cracks showing, they are an integral part of its appeal. It's all about what's going on inside the man himself. Without resorting to outward signs of rage, O'Neill sits alongside the very best of the flawed, hard core troubadours. While some use music as an expression of anger O'Neill, having been through the mill, doesn't allow himself to wallow. He has come out the other side a wiser man and a complete musician.