Don Baker - Duckin' N Divin'

Don Baker - Duckin' & Divin' (2003) Don Baker's latest album "Duckin' & Divin'" is a double album: the first CD featuring songs and the second CD featuring instrumentals. The album is 90% original material and also includes cover versions of some of Don's favourite songs. On this album he collaborates with one of the world's greatest Guitar players and Irish Jazz Legend, Louis Stewart. "Duckin' & Divin" is Don's eighth solo album and is the third of his albums to be released on his own record label, "Modal" which he set up in 2000. Touring for over 35 years, Don has criss-crossed every country in the world many times. To celebrate the release of "Duckin & Divin" Don embarks on a nationwide tour of Ireland during September and October. One of the best known blues harp players in the world, Don is also a well regarded actor. His acting career took off with his well-known part (Joe McAndrew head of the IRA) in Jim Sheridan's "In the Name of the Father" starring alongside Daniel Day Lewis. He has since traded his harmonica many times for film and TV roles (mainly as a hard man....which he enjoys playing) and has starred alongside Dan Ackryod, Robbie Coltrane and Claudia Cardinale. His most recent TV role was with Fair City (RTE's long running and popular soap) and his latest film "Mystics" is due out later this year (with Milo O'Shea & David Kelly, directed by BAFTA award winner David Blair). Don was one of the first people to speak about child abuse (with Gay Byrne on a landmark RTE Late Late Show) and subsequently spoke openly about the horrific abuse he suffered as a child at the hands of the Oblate's who ran the notorious Daingean institution in Offaly in RTE's "States of Fear" (the programme that forced the Irish Government to make an unprecedented public apology on behalf of the State to the victims of this savage system). One of the songs on the album, "The Holy Vow" deals with his feelings on this subject. "The answer's forgiveness" is the key phrase of this song and reflects Don's sentiments having spent much of his life trying to come to terms with the ordeals he has endured. Co-incidentally, Don's first self penned original song, "Dublin's Inner City, which went to number one in the charts, was commissioned by the Late Late Show specifically for a programme dealing with controversial plans to build a road through part of Dublin's inner city.

1) Sea of Heart Break
2) Duckin' ; Divin'
3) The Holy Vow
4) The Politician
5) Maria
6) Wouldn't Treat a Dog
7) Goodtime Woman
8) Cocaine Blues
9) Wake Up
10) Can't Take No More
11) You'll Never Know
12) Black Brown ; White Blues
13) Finnerty's Blues
14) Glory Train
15) Funky Duck
16) Jiggin' the Blues
17) Me ; Louis
18) Almost Illegal
19) Baker's Shaker
20) Jordanna
21) The Marriage
22) Amazing Grace
23) Don's Train
24) Waiting for Daylight