Domestic Blues was the first solo album from Northern Ireland–based singer-songwriter, Bap Kennedy, and was released in 1998. The album was generally well-received, with allmusic calling it "an exceptionally intelligent recording" and Uncut saying that "[Domestic Blues is] a fine collection of songs" and reached number 8 in the billboard Americana chart
Recording The album was recorded in Nashville, TN. Kennedy had received a phone call from country music legend Steve Earle inviting him to come to Nashville and record an album, to be released on Earle's short-lived record label E-squared. The album was produced by Earle and Ray Kennedy, and featured several renowned session musicians, such as Peter Rowan and Jerry Douglas.
Track listing All tracks composed by Bap Kennedy; except where noted. "Long Time a Comin'" – 2:38 "The Way I Love Her" – 3:30 "Unforgiven" – 3:37 "Domestic Blues" – 2:57 "I've Fallen in Love" – 3:21 "Vampire" – 2:36 "Angel Is the Devil" (Steve Earle) – 2:50 "The Backroom" – 3:20 "Mostly Water" – 3:20 "The Ghosts of Belfast" – 2:51 "My Money" – 3:15 "The Shankill and the Falls" – 2:46
UK Special Edition version The album was re-released in a "special edition" form in the UK in 2000. The special edition had a different album cover, featuring a photograph of Kennedy's mother as a child, and contained two extra tracks, "Lowlife" and "Dream of You". The latter included Kennedy playing the Ewan MacColl song "Dirty Old Town" as a hidden track.
Personnel Musicians Bap Kennedy – acoustic guitar and vocals on all tracks Roy Huskey, Jr. – upright bass on all tracks Peter Rowan – mandolin on all tracks except 2, 4, 5 and 14 backing vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 10 and 11, mandola on track 2, classical guitar on tracks 3, 5 and 14 Jerry Douglas – dobro on all tracks except 4, 10 and 13, lap steel on tracks 4, 10, 12 and 13 Steve Earle – acoustic guitar on all tracks except 3, 8 and 10, High-string guitar on track 2, archtop guitar, on track 2, 12-string guitar on tracks 3, 8 and 10, backing vocals on tracks 4 and 6 Larry Atamanuik – drums and percussion on all tracks except 4, 8, 9 and 12, Hammond organ on track 9 Michael Smotherman – Hammond B-3 organ on track 3, drums on track 8 Nancy Blake – cello on tracks 5 and 12, fiddle on track 7 Ray Kennedy – backing vocals on track 5 Nanci Griffith – backing vocals on tracks 2 10 and 12 Keith Weir – piano on tracks 6, 7 and 11 Dan Gillis – tin whistle on track 10 Paul Guerin – lead guitar on tracks 13 and 14
Production Steve Earle – Music production and engineering Ray Kennedy – production, engineering and recording Patrick Earle – assistant engineering Hank Williams – mastering (Please note that this Hank Williams is of no relation to the singer-songwriter Hank Williams) Alan Messer – Photography
References