Big Bad Beautiful World, a CD of a dozen tracks, features songs in the main from the sole pen of Declan O'Rourke, with another co-written and the final piece a bonus track arranged by the performer.

An indication of the level of production may be gained by the inclusion of the RTE Concert Orchestra in the credits. The album is lush and lavish with the songs displaying a maturity in composition and production.

Being self-composed, there are no tracks that will be familiar to the listening public, and that means that you need to make a leap of faith in purchasing this collection. I doubt you will be disappointed in either the content or the performances.

The album defies genre in that there are Americana traces and high-end concert pieces mixed into songs with messages more reminiscent of the folk canon. This is a major strength of the offering in that everyone will find a favorite or more than one track that they will repeat over again.