Michael McDermott “Lighthouse on the Shore” & “East Jesus”

The best singer-songwriter of his generation? – Discuss. Michael McDermott delivers an awesome twosome!

“Michael McDermott is one of the finest singer-songwriters of this generation” – so said Stephen King after listening to McDermott’s third album “Gethsemane ” in 1993 (and after listening to McDermott’s two new albums, released simultaneously, who am I to disagree, but more of that later). He knew something, that Mr King, who quoted lyrics from one of McDermott’s songs in one of his books and who used the name of his daughter Rain in another. He is also quietly credited with encouraging McDermott to join AA in a bid to seeking sobriety – but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

Being tagged ‘the next big thing’ after his early albums, particularly his debut “620 W Surf “(1991) and being compared to Bruce Springsteen, saw his star rise quickly and he seemed a very likely contender for superstardom. Sadly his life went very pear-shaped very soon after, and he descended into a hell of drink and drugs and petty crime (with resultant jail time), that seemed a spiral from which he would not escape. It lasted about 20 years. He continued to record and release albums and perform live but his star had faded and his albums, despite the ongoing quality of his writing, were human stories about the dark side that he was experiencing – addicted to drugs and petty crime – and they did not resonate as they had before when his only minor hit, ‘A Wall I must climb’, from his debut album included lyrics such as “Have you ever looked at your face so much / Until it became askew? / Because the road that’s less travelled is / The one that leads right back to you”.

You can read about his years of hell in his recent book “Scars from Another Life”, published in 2023. But in early 2014, just as it seemed certain that he would be lost forever, figuratively and literally, McDermott started the process of getting sober by attending an AA meeting, honestly recalled in a Facebook post in January this year on the 10-year anniversary of the beginnings of his sobriety.

None of the above explains why McDermott flew so far below the radar of this writer, who is now playing catch-up. In 2016 he released “Willow Springs” which dealt with the conquering of his demons, and spoke to family and, in a small way, the sunnier uplands that he now aspired to, rather than the deep dark experiences at the time of his addictions. “Out from Under” followed in similar vein in 2018,  “What in the World” in 2020 and “St Paul’s Boulevard” in 2022, a story-set about the imaginary inhabitants of said street in Chicago, from where McDermott hails. Colleagues at AUK have, of course, always known about Michael McDermott – the last three above-mentioned albums received rave reviews, as they did from other music critics. Apart from a couple of albums of offshoots and live recordings and his separate project, The Westies (another AUK favourite), together with his wife, the sainted Heather Lynne Horton (yet another favourite), who he credits as his saviour in the so far successful battle against his old demons, all of his solo work in the last ten years has led to the release of two new albums, “Lighthouse on the Shore” and “East Jesus”, released contemporaneously as a joint package but not as a double album, all courtesy of a successful Kickstarter campaign.

“Lighthouse on the Shore” is the lighter (musically), the so-called ‘quiet’ record exploring love, survivor’s gratitude, hope and family. However, nothing that McDermott writes (lyrically) is light – he is heart-rendingly honest about his demons, and his emotions, in some songs that in the hands of some writers might come across as a bit twee, but which in the hands of McDermott have an untrammelled dramatic intensity. The title track is the centrepiece, a declaration of love and thanks to his wife, wrapped around a lodestar for life’s direction: “You found me shattered beyond repair / When I was falling you were there I see the healing in your eyes /  And you lifted me up when I was capsized / We rise and fall like waves upon the sea / When I was drowning you would rescue me / You wove together the pieces that we’ve torn  / For you are my lighthouse on the shore”. Every song is lit up with lovely melody and beautiful arrangements and there are scintillatingly catchy choruses throughout, such as the second track ‘Nothing Changes‘ which lifts the tempo from the majority of the songs,  and is led off by Will Kimbrough’s mandola (he also plays lovely elegant guitar throughout), about a challenging relationship, with these poignant lyrics: “She needed a change of scenery I could tell that she was hurt / She said “ It feels like coming home is like my own Gettysburg / She had undertaker’s eyes that would never look away / She said ‘I know I’ve only myself to blame'”.  ‘Hey La Hey #23’ is a ballad with an equally catchy chorus, with the great line “I said “Hey, Bartender, pour me a new outlook on life?” .

Killer ballads abound – the opener ‘Bradbury Daydream’ is an extraordinarily moving piece contemplating the end of life and the proclamation of undying love “Some people will be crying / I’m sure some people will be sad  / I just hope I’m smiling,  thinkin’ bout the life we had  /  I’m gonna dance with you at the end of the world”  End of life is the theme of ‘I am not my Father’, with its stunning denouement:  “I held his hand as he lay dying…./ Made sure he never saw me crying… / I sat there and held his hand in mine…/ For the first time”.

‘Gonna Rise Up’ is a joyous tour-de-force about being sober and not letting the demons return (with its Bruce Hornsby-like piano overtones), and the hymn-like ‘Where God never goes‘ is about dark places and redemption which starts “’Christian is an atheist’ / Maggie smiled and said in dulcet tones…”. 

Aside from McDermott on guitar and piano, and Kimbrough, the band includes John Deaderick on piano and keys, Matt Thompson on bass (some great lines throughout both albums), and the secret ingredient, Heather Lynne Horton on violin and background or harmony vocals – her contribution to the title track is exquisite. The album is a triumph.

“East Jesus” is the ‘loud’ album, slightly heavier and more upbeat, but lacking for nothing in terms of melody and lyricism. Using the same band in support of McDermott on guitars and piano, with the addition of Grant Tye on additional guitar and Stephen Gillis on drums (and co-production), the album looks back at ten years of being sober and recognises the challenges of addicts in maintaining their sobriety.

The opener ‘FCO’ is a mid-tempo Tom Petty-ish song about recovery from the depths – “Woke up in Rome / Went to sleep in Chicago /  Strayed so far from home / Lived at the bottom of a bottle”.   (FCO is the airport code for Rome). ‘Berlin at Night’  is another mid-tempo rocker describing the inner turmoil of the struggling post-alcoholic and the love that helps protect you – “I only wanted you for to be happy / I only wanted you to be free / These days I see the way you’re looking at me  / And it sends a chill inside of me…”.

The title track addresses the same struggle against temptation – “All quiet on the western front / In East Jesus it’s coming undone  / I’m just a clown with a five-leaf clover / The greatest mistake anyone can make  /Is believing the war is over”.  ‘Behind the Eight’ is a scorching rocker, about being in a difficult position using a billiards metaphor, ‘Quicksand‘ is mid-paced and speaks of being dragged back down, with a great chant before a wonderful chorus, ‘A Headful of Rain’ has a positive oft-repeated chorus of sunny uplands set against ‘an overcast heart’, with a glorious outro from Kimbrough: “It’s sunny everyday / It’s just sometimes the clouds get in the way”.

And I haven’t mentioned the other tracks… Another triumph.

Michael McDermott writes great songs and great tunes (he is almost as good a melodist as he is a lyricist) and possesses a distinctive ‘rock’ voice,  very gritty and very expressive; and he has excelled himself with these albums.  Despite the comparisons with Springsteen or Petty or Browne, or even Marc Cohn or Eric Carmen, he is without doubt his own man. You would be hard-pressed to listen to twenty tracks lasting more than 90 minutes and not for one moment feel that the quality has dropped at any stage.  When you listen, it is as if every song is a favourite at the time you are listening to it. You would be equally hard-pressed to find songwriting of this consistent quality amongst his peers, at any stage of their careers. The backing is brilliant, the soloists dipping in and out of the songs with lovely runs and riffs.  Production (mostly by McDermott) is excellent.  Considering where he has come from, the achievements over the last few albums leading to these two albums are nothing short of miraculous.

No apologies are given for the length of this review -it could have been much longer. This package is very likely to end up on several critics’ Best of the Year for 2024. Let us hope that McDermott’s star returns, because it seems that, judged on this material, McDermott is without peer.  Do yourself a favour, get out there, splash the cash and add to your collection – you won’t regret it. This is quite some achievement – brilliant!