John McGlynn's first solo album, Songs for a Fallen Angel is a unique collection of songs both tender and highly energetic. Most of the songs focus around broken love, while others peruse the memories of childhood and the life of fame.
What makes this album unique is the personal quality to it. Unlike many other recordings, there is a sense of reaching out in John McGlynn's music. His voice is soft and tender, and his guitar playing is intense yet subtle. John's voice is very pleasant to listen to. Vocals and guitar are highlighted throughout this album, and some of the songs have also been arranged for strings by Michael McGlynn.
John McGlynn is currently a member of Anúna and Céide. John has been a featured soloist of Anúna for several years, as well as a soloist in Riverdance in its earlier stages. He is also very active on the Anúna mailing list, keeping the fans up to date on news about Anúna.
Songs for a Fallen Angel opens with the somber love song "The Fisher King." A similar version of this song (also featuring John McGlynn on vocals and guitar) can be found on Anúna's Deep Dead Blue. This song has always been a favorite of mine, as it seems the guitar speaks more than the words of the song do. "I Know You Hear Me" is sung tenderly and passionately; a song about lost love. "Swimming in the Barrow" changes the pace of the album with its fast tempo and light hearted lyrics. "What If You Leave?" is another song about lost love. This features a string composition of Michael McGlynn. "Fallen Angel" is intense in that it switches back and forth from having a sort of dark sense to it, to tender hopefulness. "If I Looked Any Better" is comical in that the chorus is centered around the lyrics "If I looked any better I'd go out of my mind." I find it to be a very entertaining song.
Songs for a Fallen Angel has been officially released. It is a treasured album in my collection, and I strongly recommend it to everyone. For details on how to order Songs for a Fallen Angel go to the John McGlynn Web Site.
Q: Where did you grow up? Did your family and location influence your decision to pursue your musical career in any way?
A: I was born in Dublin and, because my father was an hotel manager and we traveled where his job took him, I was raised all over Ireland. . We were sent to Irish College at the age of 10 for one year and it was there that we picked up most of our interest in the culture and especially the music.
There was always music in our house. Both of my parents are superb singers and nearly every family gathering was finished around the piano. Guitar and piano lessons followed but I could never get the hang of practicing so I gave them both up. There were also a couple of years of formal music and theory in school but I never pursued it with any real vigour. Basically I spent most of my teenaged years playing my Spanish guitar and singing Beatles' songs! I was in a dreadful band at the end of school/beginning of college. We had the unique distinction of having Sinéad O Connor's band supporting us on the only real gig that we ever did (she was going out with a friend of mine at the time)!
Q:
Where did you go to college?
A:
After school I studied Architecture and graduated in 1990. I never really enjoyed it. It wasn't immediate enough. A building takes years to get to its final stage and then it is likely that someone will hate the way it looks. At least with music the reaction is immediate. I still do a little design work mainly on the album covers (my own included!) and currently on the new Anúna web site. Q:
How did you come to join Anúna? It took only a little while to build the group into something unique. I persuaded him to lose the sheets of music, the horrible clothes and to start moving around. It all rose from there. My tentative title in the group is Production Designer. Everything from costume to choreography, lighting to album cover design is my job. Q:
What do you like most about being a part of Anúna? A:
I love the music most of all. There is a sense of God in it, though I am not religious. I believe that music is the closest that we ever get to a creator with order and beauty in perfect harmony. We also have a lot of fun and travel a lot. Most of my closest friends are members of the group. Probably the funniest thing that I have to contend with are the wildly different venues that we perform in, from tiny churches in the West of Ireland to The Royal Albert hall in London within a few weeks of each other! Q:
Is music your only career or do you have other working pursuits? A:
Apart from my design work I run a group called Céide. This includes dancers, singers and musicians and specializes in small scale, high profile shows. We have seven such shows this month alone, so I am pretty busy with that as well. Q:
Do you have a favorite Anúna song? A:
No doubt about that. I love "Where all Roses go" on Behind the Closed Eye. Michael dedicated this to the late Jeff Buckley and it is stunningly beautiful. Though we only knew him for a short time I think that it sums him up perfectly. I love Jeff's music and this is a very fitting tribute to him. Q:
When and where will your solo album, titled Songs for a Fallen Angel, be released? A:
Initially it will be available through my own web site which is under construction or through the Anúna web site. It is being released on Anúna's own label, Danú at the end of July/beginning of August and will be available on the NET for everyone. However if you can't wait you can get it from the Anúna site by snail mail. However it will not be available for at least a month so check out the Anúna web site for details. Q:
What inspired you to make a solo album? A:
After two years as lead vocalist in Riverdance I felt creatively drained. I had a number of songs (including "The Fisher King") which had been left on hold. So I decided to produce a complete album which was not a part of my life with Anúna. Q:
How long did it take for you to put this album together and where was it recorded? A:
It has taken nearly three years and four separate studios to finish. The final recording session was in Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. Q:
Were there any obstacles you had to overcome in its creation? A:
Initially no. It was a self-financed project from the start. It was a risk and all of the problems associated with it were pretty much expected. The only major problem has been time. It was due to be released over a year ago, but booking studio time in the best places in Dublin is very difficult. Q:
From what does the title Songs for a Fallen Angel come? A:
From the title track. It also describes most of the pieces on the album. They came from the ashes of a long, passionate and ultimately painful relationship. Some of the songs are very sad but extremely honest. Mainly they are deeply personal and I think the title could be a description of either one of the two people in any failed relationship. Q:
How would you describe the style of music? A:
It is mainly vocal driven, with acoustic guitars, double bass and drums for some of the songs. Michael did six excellent string arrangements. The main balance however is between guitar and vocal. Anyone who knows my guitar arrangements for all of the Anúna albums will find this familiar. Q:
"If I Looked Any Better" is one of my favorite songs on your album. What inspired the lyrics to this? A:
Ironically "If I looked any better" is inspired by Michael Flatley who I got to know extremely well in Riverdance. It is quite tongue-in-cheek and even funny, but it pretty much describes the way we all were at that time, with the show breaking records every day and every night another party. A:
"Swimming in the Barrow" is a reference to my childhood swimming with my cousins in Co. Carlow. When you are a child you are a different creature to a teenager and ultimately adulthood removes every vestige of the little people that we are before our 11th birthday. Our parents remember us but we have only a very vague idea of what we were. This song was written from a series of flashing memories of small boys jumping into the Barrow River in the sunshine. The water was a dark healthy brown and we all had tea in bottles to drink. As for it sounding Irish well I am Irish! If you mean traditional Irish music then you would have to bring most of what is perceived as being of this type to into question. Q:
"The Fisher King" appears on your solo album as well as on Anúna's Deep Dead Blue. What is it about this song that made you decide to include it on Songs for a Fallen Angel? A:
I think that it is very appropriate to the time that it was written. It is very ethereal even unreal, yet is ultimately a love song using images of nature and much Irish literary symbolism. Q:
Do you plan to stay with Anúna and further pursue your solo career at the same time? A:
There is no question of me leaving Anúna. In fact I am extremely lucky to have two wonderful musical outlets so diverse, both of which I love. Besides we have lasted over 10 years now and ten more seems to be a probability. Why quit when you are enjoying the ride? 
A:
When I first joined Anúna, many of the original members left! They were outraged that Michael would dare to bring someone in who was almost completely unable to read music! Anyone who has seen Anúna perform recently will not believe that the gentlemen wore tuxedos, the choir had the music stuck under their noses and Michael frantically conducted them (the standing joke in the group is that Michael is probably the worst conductor in Ireland though he seems to do pretty well with orchestras!). This was combined with no lighting or sound and audiences of up to 3 (all related to the lead soprano of the night in some odd way). 
Q:
"Swimming in the Barrow" is the only really Irish sounding song on your album. Why did you choose to include it? What is it about?
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Sara | Deirdre | John | Michael | Katie |
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Méav Ní | Eimear |
Stephanie Giamundo conducted the interview with John McGlynn, wrote the review of Songs for a Fallen Angel, created the web design, and edited the graphics and photos found on this feature. Stephanie is the webmistress of her web site, Rua's Realm. At Rua's Realm you can find information about Celtic Corner and Uisce, as well as other information dealing with Celtic Music. Celtic Corner is Stephanie's mailing list that discusses mainly Celtic Music, as well as Celtic culture and literature. Uisce is Stephanie's Celtic band, a band centered mostly around traditional celtic music. You can find mp3s of Uisce's music at Rua's Realm.
