| Balance and Control | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Photo by Bob Hobby. | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1980 | |||
| Recorded | Keystone Studios, Dublin | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 35:01 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | WEA | |||
| Producer | John Martyn | |||
| Scullion chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Balance and Control | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Hot Press |   [1] |
Balance and Control is the second studio album by Irish band Scullion. It was released in 1980 by WEA. The album was produced by John Martyn.
All tracks are written by Sonny Condell except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jump" | 3:11 | ||
| 2. | "Coffee Talk" | 3:21 | ||
| 3. | "Fear" | Philip King | King, Greg Boland | 2:30 |
| 4. | "Avoid My Eyes" | 3:04 | ||
| 5. | "Eyelids Into Snow" | 5:11 | ||
| Total length: | 17:17 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Tension" | 2:57 | ||
| 2. | "18" | King | King, Condell | 5:41 |
| 3. | "Back At Two" | n/a | Boland | 3:19 |
| 4. | "Circumstances" | 2:49 | ||
| 5. | "Yellow Train" | 2:58 | ||
| Total length: | 17:44 | |||
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 1980 | WEA | stereo LP | K 58205 |
Tír na nÓg are an Irish folk band formed in Dublin, Ireland, in 1969 by Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell. They are often considered one of the first progressive folk bands with other artists like Nick Drake or groups like Pentangle. Their music mainly consists of their own compositions, based on strong Celtic roots and typically featuring intricate acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. In their early years, they toured the folk clubs of the United Kingdom or internationally as a support act for several rock bands. Today, they regularly give concerts, especially in Ireland.
Scullion is an Irish folk rock band that formed in the mid-1970s. The group was popular in Ireland, releasing LPs and two CDs, in addition to the compilation Ghosts And Heroes on the Kitten label in 1992 and another compilation, Eyelids into Snow – A Collection, in 2001. The founding members were Sonny Condell, Philip King, Greg Boland and Jimmy O'Brien Moran. O'Brien Moran left the band in 1980, after the first album. Robbie Overson, replacing guitarist Greg Boland, joined the band in 1987. Scullion continue to play live.
Tír na nÓg is the first album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in May 1971 in the United Kingdom by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Island Records but was not published in the United States because Leo O'Kelly and Sonny Condell refused to record a cover of Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" for the album, a song they regularly played live.
German and Spanish presses of the LP have an Island label although the Chrysalis logo also appears on them.
A Tear and a Smile is the second album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in the United Kingdom on 7 April 1972 by Chrysalis Records and was the first Tír na nÓg album to be released in the United States, in October 1972. The track list is different between the US and the UK releases. Because of this, two editions of the album exist but there was no reissue of the North American version.
On this last one, "Daisy Lady" and "Dante" are taken directly from the first album Tír na nÓg. The song "Looking Up" was already on the previous album but Leo O'Kelly was not very satisfied by the first version: he and Sonny Condell decided to record a new one, produced by Tony Cox, for A Tear and a Smile. The Lady I Love which was released as a single in Europe, appears also on the US version of the album, these four songs replacing "Down Day", "Bluebottle Stew", "Hemisphere", and "Goodbye My Love".
Strong in the Sun is the third studio album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on 26 October 1973 in the United Kingdom and in January 1974 in the United States.
"I'm Happy To Be " is the first single by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on October 2, 1970 by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Island Records on 7" vinyl with "Let My Love Grow" as its B-side. The German release of the single has an Island logo on a pink label although the Chrysalis logo also appears.
"Bluebottle Stew" is the third single by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released in 1972 by Chrysalis Records and distributed by Festival in Australia and New Zealand on 7" vinyl with "Come and See the Show" as its B-side.
"Strong in the Sun" is a song by Irish band Tír na nÓg written by Leo O'Kelly. It was released on September 7, 1973 by Chrysalis Records as a single, with "The Mountain and I" as its B-side. It was later released on the studio album of the same name.
A Tear and a Smile Strong in the Sun is a compilation album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It was released on December 7, 2004 by BGO Records and contains the remasters of their two last studio albums from 1972 and 1973: the United Kingdom version of A Tear and a Smile, and Strong in the Sun.
White Side of Night is the third studio album by Irish band Scullion. It was released in 1983 by WEA and produced by Nicky Ryan with the band.
Camouflage is the debut solo album by Irish musician Sonny Condell. It was released in June 1977 in Ireland by Mulligan Music.
Someone To Dance With is the second solo album by Irish musician Sonny Condell. It was released in 1994 by STARC.
Valparaiso is Rita Connolly's second solo recording, released in 1996. It features a guest appearance by Iarla O'Lionaird on vocals.
French Windows is the third solo album by Irish musician Sonny Condell. It was released in 1999 by Hummingbird Records.
Ray Dolan is an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist. He began his career in the early 1970 by playing folk clubs in Dublin with James Connolly as a duo, contributing to the success of the Universal Folk Centre at Parnell Square. In 1973, they were involved in the five-member band Heir. The two musicians also participated in the final Anne Byrne album Come by the Hills, published in 1974, and containing a cover of the Dolan's song "Constantly Changing". He went solo that year, and recorded an album on EMI label in 1975, Restless Night, but he remains mainly known for the Tír na nÓg version of his song "Hey Friend" from their eponymous album released by Chrysalis Records in 1971. The Irish duo contributed to his solo album with Leo O'Kelly as producer, and among other guests like Philip King, future Scullion founder with Sonny Condell. The same year, he did a brief screen appearance in an episode of the BBC Two documentary series The Camera & The Song, dedicated to O'Kelly and Condell.
Navigation is the debut album by Irish Sonny Condell's band Radar and was released in May 2005
Live at Sirius is a live album by Irish band Tír na nÓg and was released in June 2010, celebrating the duo's 40th birthday. It has been recorded during two gigs on August 21, 22, 2009 at the Sirius Art Centre in Cobh. They performed tracks taken from their all three studio albums or written during the Tír na nÓg first era, excepting a few ones. Two songs are covers from The Rolling Stones and Nick Drake.
"The Fruitsmelling Shop" is a song by Irish musician Sonny Condell with band Scullion. It was released in 1979 as a single by Mulligan Music and distributed by Polygram Records, with "Down in the City" as its B-side. Although single is introduced as a solo work on its front sleeve, "The Fruitsmelling Shop" comes actually from the eponymous first Scullion album, while "Down in the City" is taken from the first Condell's solo album, Camouflage, published in 1977.
The lyrics are excerpted from the 10th episode, "The Wandering Rocks", of the James Joyce's Ulysses novel.
Cooler at the Edge is the debut EP by Irish band Scullion and was released in 1989 on compact cassette by Gravepine Records, intended as a promotion EP with four tracks announced as taken from their forthcoming album at the time, the 1992 compilation Ghosts & Heroes, although they were not issued on this release. They were re-published on the 2001 retrospective album Eyelids Into Snow - A Collection. The EP was produced by Dónal Lunny.
The Dark Dance is the fourth album by Irish band Tír na nÓg. It is their first new album of original material in 42 years following the release of Strong in the Sun in 1973. The album was released on May 24, 2015 on the band's own label. An LP version is planned to be released during Summer 2017 on Mega Dodo Records.