Six decades of experience inform lyrical début of Canadian folk-roots songwriter.
A new name to our readers, Mike Guiney released his début album The Grace of Eloquence at the age of 61 in 2025. Now reissued on the artist-run Wolfe Island Records, the ten tracks draw upon a lifetime of day jobs, a stint in the military and 28 years as a firefighter. Growing up in Canada’s most easterly province of Newfoundland and inspired by country singers such as Marty Robbins, Guiney wrote poetry and song lyrics from an early age. Some of the songs here go back many years, developing their identity as life unfolded. Opening track, Gone Dry, had a gestation of some 30 years, while Gone Are The Days became associated in the writer’s mind with the death of his father. In many ways then, this is a collection of songs from across the years, not overtly describing particular events but more a synthesis of experience.
Recorded at Wolfe Island’s Post Office Studio and in nearby Kingston, both situated on the northeastern fringe of Lake Ontario, Guiney was able to call upon the services of some distinguished local musicians. The album was produced by Canadian singer/songwriter Chris Brown, who had filled in for Kevin Hearn for several months with Canada’s much-loved Barenaked Ladies. Mixing was done by Zane Whitfield, and there are guest appearances by bassist Jason Mercer, guitarist Tony Scherr, Mickey Raphael on harmonica, and Miss Emily, who provides exquisite vocals on the duet Love Can Be Dangerous.
Guiney’s own voice has a raspy, lived-in feel, with the lyrics semi-spoken. This underlines their poetic origins and the fact that Guiney is very much a lyricist, on three occasions reaching the semi-finals or final of the International Song Competition and having had his work published in five issues of the magazine American Songwriter, twice being the Grand Prize Winner of their Lyric Contest. The rewards of these successes included co-writing experience and recording sessions in Nashville as well as three guitars on which to develop his playing and composing skills.
With a fondness for what he calls “cowboy chords”, Guiney has written ten songs that vary from the harmonica-laced Gravedigger Blues to the jazzy New Orleans-style arrangement of Come Down (Before You Fall), a title inspired by an old folksy aphorism. The crystal-clear production allows scope for the vocals to dictate the tone of the record, with some tasteful fills from the instrumental playing to add colour. Beyond Fate’s Control takes its title from a compliment that people would pay each other: “You fly beyond fate’s control”, and includes another:“The grace of eloquence is seated upon your lips”, the latter from which the album derives its title. Sarah McDermott’s haunting background vocals on this and on the closing track, Counting Lucky Stars, have a similar effect to those lovely harmonies that Sharon Robinson and the Webb Sisters provided for Leonard Cohen. A lengthy outro coda extends the song to over seven minutes and allows the ensemble of musicians and technicians the chance to shine.
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