''Yola'' is
Eleanor McEvoy
Eleanor McEvoy (born 22 January 1967) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She composed the song "Only a Woman's Heart", title track of '' A Woman's Heart'', the best-selling Irish album in Irish history.
Early life and beginnings
McEvoy's life as ...
's fourth studio album, and her first album on her own label, Moscodisc. ''Yola'' proved to be a turning point in McEvoy's musical direction. Stripped-back, acoustic tracks reflect McEvoy's new approach to recording and performing. McEvoy produced ''Yola'' with pianist Brian Connor.
Critical reception
Colin Harper described the album in ''Mojo'' in 2002, "...the glorious simplicity of this release feels like a homecoming in every sense. Backed by three superb musicians, the live-in-home-studio performances are beautifully restrained, and the vibe of both writing and sound has a warmth and contentedness redolent of gazing through rain-lashed stone-cottage windows in Wexford - which is, as it happens, pretty much how it was. (pg. 101) In its review,
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
suggests that McEvoy's range as a lyric-writer is limited, stating that she "seems to write about only two subjects, lost love and found love, and she tends to rely on well-worn clichés" but notes that her "melodies are easily strong enough to stand on their own", stating overall that "
e purity of the arrangements" of the music on this album "is indeed wonderful."
Track listing
Singles
*Did I Hurt You/Isn't It A Little Late (MSM SACD114)
This double A-side single was the world's first single to be released on the on Super Audio Compact Disc
SACD
Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format.
The SACD format allows mul ...
format.
Super Audio
''Yola'' was released in
Super Audio Compact Disc format in February 2002 by Market Square Records.
Vinyl
''Yola'' was released on vinyl in 2001 by
Market Square Records
Market Square Records was a music promotion and record label company, which operated between 1999 and 2020 based in Buckingham, England. It released the back catalogues of British folk artists and expanded into other genres such as rock, blu ...
and re-released in 2002 by Vivante.
Cover
The cover features a shot of
Bridgetown railway station
Bridgetown railway station or Bridgetown halt (Irish: Baile an Droichid) served the village of Bridgetown, County Wexford, Ireland. It was unstaffed and accessible only via a picket gate.
History
The station opened on 1 August 1906 and closed ...
, at the time still open but closed in 2010. McEvoy took out ads protesting against the closure of the railway line in Wexford newspapers in 2010.
Awards
In 2002 ''Yola'' was named "Record of the Year" by Hi-Fi+ Magazine
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yola (Album)
2001 albums
Eleanor McEvoy albums