Rude Awakening

Rude Awakening is Andy Irvine's second solo album, recorded in December 1990 and January 1991 at Westland and Ringsend Studios, Dublin and Frank MacNamara's Park Studio, County Meath, and released in 1991 on Green Linnet Records. It was produced by Bill Whelan with a line-up that included Whelan himself (keyboards, percussion), Rens van der Zalm (fiddle, mandolin, guitar), Carl Geraghty (soprano saxophone), Arty McGlynn (guitars), Davy Spillane (whistle) and Fionnuala Sherry (fiddle). Recording This album features Irvine's tribute song to Woody Guthrie ("Never Tire of the Road"), alongside mainly self-penned material celebrating some of his many other heroes: WW2 Swedish diplomat "Raoul Wallenberg", Union organiser "James Connolly"—a traditional song for which Irvine wrote new music, Mexican revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata ("Viva Zapata!"), Michael Dwyer ("Michael Dwyer's Escape"), Antarctic explorers "Douglas Mawson" and Aeneas Mackintosh ("Rude Awakening"), and American novelist Sinclair Lewis ("The Whole Damn Thing"). The only other traditional song is "Allan McLean", for which Irvine wrote new music also.