O - Damien Rice

- DAMIEN RICE O - Singer/Songwriter Damien Rice strolled quietly onto the music scene back in 2003, with the hauntingly beautiful album 'O', and before too long he had made a big noise in the music industry. Irish born Rice had previously left the rock band Juniper to pursue a solo career. Juniper had already released two singles and was well on their way to putting out their first album with Polygram. But Damien was disenchanted with the label and left the band behind in 1999 in search of pastures new. Rice left the Emerald Isle and busked around Europe gathering musicians to fit in with his new direction in music, in the ...  Read the complete review

An album that made it too late into my top 10 for the year is Damien Rice?s debut offering ?O?. He?s another along with Jason Mraz who I have discovered thanks to Virgin Radio where his last single ?Cannonball? seems to have made it onto the play list on a regular basis. The Irish artist has built up a large fan base since the release of this album back in July and the more people who hear his new adaptation of folk music seem to fall in love with it instantly. The soothing sounds of the album can be comparable to David Gray and Tom McRae who were given time to create new albums and come up with something rather special. It has taken Rice almost 2 years for this ...  Read the complete review

The first time I heard anything about Damien Rice was when a colleague of mine appeared in work listening to this album. I am always open to new bands and new sounds, so after hearing him raving about this album for a day or so I decided I needed to check it out for myself. After loaning his copy over night I decided that there was something pretty special about this album and that I should get myself a copy. ** Background ** Damien Rice was born in Ireland, just outside Dublin in the 70’s. In his youth he was a member of a band called Jupiter before leaving to go travelling around Europe for a year in the late 1990’s. When he returned to Ireland he ...  Read the complete review

Damien Rice's debut album "O" brings together a collection of extremely personal and expressive songs that demand the attention of the listener. Some may argue that his acoustic, singer-songwriter talents can be casually played in the background - perhaps as some slightly classier lounge music. However, I feel that his honest and earnest songwriting is enjoyed (and experienced) the best if you listen by yourself, preferably late in the evening with a glass of fine wine. One of the most popular track from this album "Cannonball" is, in my opinion, one of the weakest songs on the album. There's no doubt that the three acoustic guitar ...  Read the complete review

Drawing Circles ‘round my Goosebumps… Damien Rice - O I first heard of Damien Rice around the time of my thirtieth birthday, listening to a glorious song called The Blower's Daughter, and thinking WOW, in that way you think WOW when you hear a song or a piece of music that literally has every hair on your body standing on end. Whether it was the acoustic guitar (which I love), the lyrics, the softness, the voice, or perhaps the beautiful blend of all those things, I'll never know, but I loved it enough to rush out quite ceremoniously and stand in a Saturday afternoon queue in HMV and spend my hard earned cash on it. And I don't do that very often. ...  Read the complete review