Reviewed by Trevor Kirk The rise to stardom of the lass from Derry, Rosemary Brown, was truly an overnight thing: her life changed forever one April night in 1970 when she performed an inconsequential frothy scrap of a song called "All Kinds Of Everything" and won the Eurovision Song Contest. Since then, she has had her fair share of ups and downs: hit records, hugely popular TV shows, pantomime and night club stardom, as well as career-threatening (and almost life-threatening) growths on her vocal chords which caused violent throat haemorrhages, and most recently her much publicised and somewhat controversial candidature for the presidency of Eire. This is a timely repackaging of much of her "80s back catalogue (especially for fans whose vinyl copies of these songs are way past their best) and reminds us of (he clarity and purity of her voice. In her earliest gospel recordings, Dana covered some Joni songs ("Portrait Of Jesus", "Run The Race", both included here) and even had Kurt Kaiser, who'd produced the originals for Joni, doing the same for her! Lately, she and her husband Damien Scallon have collaborated on such songs as "Totus Tuus", celebrating Pope John Paul's visit to Ireland, and which made number one in the Irish pop charts. A value for money album of gentle music - say what you like about the style, there's no doubting the strength of the faith that underpins it.
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