Andy White - Rave On (1986)

The Irish singer, songwriter, poet, and author Andy White has emerged in the late '80s with a sound that combined the attitude of punk, the political savvy of protest folk, and the melodicism of pop. Not unlike Billy Bragg or the Waterboys' Mike Scott, White has maintained a consistent literate bent throughout his career while moving across various genres. His exposure grew in the mid-'90s as part of the one-off trio ALT, and in later years he formed a folk duo with Canadian artist Stephen Fearing. In the 2010s, White also began publishing books of poetry and prose and in 2016 issued a career-spanning box set of all his studio albums. At the end of the decade, he re-engaged with his political protest music on albums like "The Guilty & the Innocent" and 2019's "Time Is a Buffalo in the Art of War".

White's career began in 1985 with an EP on Stiff Records called "Religious Persuasion". A move to the London label yielded his debut full-length, 1986's "Rave On", a political protest album in the vein of Bob Dylan that addressed problems in Ireland and his native Belfast. After 1988's "Kiss the Big Stone", he parted ways with London, recording first for Cooking Vinyl (1990's "Himself"), then inking a deal with Warner to deliver 1992's "Out There" and 1994's "Destination Beautiful".

Tracklist:

A1 The Soldier's Sash 3:23

A2 Vision Of You 3:53

A3 Reality Row 4:50

A4 I Will Wait 4:17

A5 Things Start To Unwind 5:56

B1 Religious Persuasion 3:46

B2 Tuesday Apocalypse #13

B3 Rembrandt Hat 3:50

B4 The Walking Wounded 4:40

B5 The Big Rain 5:52


Andy White - Rave On (1986)
(320 kbps, cover art included)