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| The End of History | 
 enlarge | Artist: Fionn Regan
Label: Lost Highway
Category: Music
List Price: $13.98
Buy Used: $1.19
You Save: $12.79 (91%)
New (37) Used (25) from $1.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  14 reviews
Sales Rank: 17313
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 000913502
UPC: 602517356986
EAN: 0602517356986
ASIN: B000QFAG3K
Release Date: July 10, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Lincoln Store **
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| Tracks:
| • | Be Good or Be Gone | | • | The Underwood Typewriter | | • | Hunters Map | | • | Hey Rabbit | | • | Black Water Child | | • | Put a Penny in the Slot | | • | The Cowshed | | • | Snowy Atlas Mountains | | • | Noah (Ghost in a Sheet) | | • | The End of History | | • | Abacus | | • | Bunker or Basement |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Imagine a whimsical, sunnier Nick Drake. Or perhaps a young Donovan for the 21st century. With his lithe, limber, and conversational tenor complemented by the subtle virtuosity of his acoustic guitar, the Dublin troubadour sustains an engaging intimacy even when his material seems on the slight side (more precocious than profound). Though his childlike innocence extends to the hand-lettered lyrics in the CD booklet, he invokes the literary influence of Saul Bellow and Paul Auster on "Put a Penny in the Slot." Much of this self-produced release finds Regan playing solo (often with double-tracked harmonies), with the spare employment of strings, piano, and percussion making their use all the more striking. An unlisted bonus cut seems to channel the range of Jeff Buckley. --Don McLeese
From Amazon.co.uk
From the delicate and deceptively intricate "Be Good or Be Gone" that inaugurates Fionn Regan's debut album, The End of History, it's apparent that his is a talent not to be ignored. Recalling any number of folkish predecessors--Bob Dylan, Jose Gonzalez, Nick Drake--Regan's finger-picked guitar work and warm, Damien Rice-like vocals flow through this entire project like meandering, golden streams. Mixing winsome melodies with emotive chords and quasi-poetic lyricism, Regan straddles the classic folk sound of the '60s and the contemporary neo-folk scene with bristling aplomb. Unlike many so called "new folk" heroes, though, Regan keeps his approach simple, varying his songs not with electronic beats or acidic guitar squalls but light embellishments such as brooding strings (see the dark, Gonzalez-esque "Hunter's Map") and subtle backing vocals (see "Black Water Child"). Though skeletal, Regan's songs create a dreamy, nostalgic ambience that successfully eschew cliche. Intimate and contemporary, universal and classic, The End of History is a triumphant and highly accessible first outing. --Paul Sullivan
Album Description
The community of musicians can be divided into two categories -- those who want to create and those who do so because they have no other choice. As he proves on his dauntingly mature, intriguingly nuanced Lost Highway debut, The End of History, singer-songwriter Fionn Regan clearly falls into the decidedly rarefied latter category. The soft-spoken 26-year-old coaxes an intoxicating array of emotion and detail into his fragile-yet-gripping songs -- a body of work that's already elicited comparisons to forebears as varied as Nick Drake for his guitar playing and to Woody Guthrie for his wordplay. It's easy to understand why, given the filigreed acoustic finger-picking and raw lyrical stance of songs like the cinematic "Be Good or Be Gone" the menacing "Snowy Atlas Mountains" or the allegorical "Hey Rabbit" with its social conscience, songs that paint intensely vivid pictures -- so vivid, in fact, that Regan hesitates to elaborate as to their deeper origins. He keeps the frills to a minimum on the dozen-song collection, getting his point across with little more than voice, acoustic guitar and piano (most of The End of History's songs were captured in one or two takes) he never gives the idea that he's practicing minimalism for its own sake. That comes into particularly sharp focus when one hones in on his guitar playing, a beguiling brew of rhythmically sturdy finger-picking (the backbone of "Hunters Map") and (as on the twinkling "Abacus"), lissome passages in which every note resonates with crystalline clarity.
Album Details
The Beguiling Debut Album from this Extraordinarily Talented Young Artist, who is Perhaps Destined to Be Regarded as One of the Most Unique Voices of his Generation.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 9 more reviews...
 God Bless Computer Generated Recommendations!! July 18, 2007
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I was referred to Fionn Regan via similar artists recommendation (if you like ____, then you'll love _____) and am so thankful that I took a leap of faith on The End of History.
What I discovered was an alluring, delicate and emotional piece - an incredible journey that you will want to share after your first listen (hence this review). Like other sites that recommend similar artists, Fionn is often grouped with the legends (Dylan, Drake, Cohen) and today's singer-songwriters like Conor Oberst, Elliott Smith(rip) and Damien Rice... but Fionn also seems to be his own musician and while there might be some influence in his music, the album is totally unique.
Fionn's lyricism and blending of melodies stand out on several tracks. While "Be Good or Be Gone" seems to be the flagship song with an amazingly unique video (check it out), other tracks like "Hunter's Map," "Snowy Atlas Mountains," and "Abacus" are phenomenal songs that you will never tire of.
To wrap it up... The End of History is a versatile album you can play when alone on a cold, snowy day but also the perfect album to play when having friends over for dinner. You'll never have to get up to skip over a track... and at the end of the day, isn't that what we all want?
send out a battalion.... August 1, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
inches away from a live fionn regan, mop coiffed and cobbled in white patent leather, playing for about 100 people at schubas in chicago it dawned on me that i would never enjoy such a seat again...
if you like damien rice, blah blah blahhhhh...stop it. fionn regan is not damien rice. just in case that weren't clear, fionn has attached his initials in various species of tape to the wares he carries on stage, including three guitars, guitar case and hanky.
not that fionn doesn't beat his breast and tear his hair in his own irish way. he runs laps in the rainy day, sexually charged melancholia of mr. rice, but doesn't stay there for long. instead of a cynical and almost fatalistic anger, fionn emerges far more intact...he invites you into a bittersweet wanderlust and you want to join him ever so badly. in the end, this is the currency of young heartbreak--romantic or otherwise. he delivers, if not innovation, a stiff upper lipped laugh into the night that makes me want to laugh too, hardscrabble days be damned.
 Haunting and Sad August 31, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
When I heard "Be Good or be Gone" on a local college indie music radio station, I was transfixed. It reminded me of a younger Buckingham & Nicks sound. Simple and clean melodies and beautiful harmonies; acoustic guitar. I've also been reminded of a band called The Innocence Mission. Anyone out there other than me remember them? They never achieved a great level of fame but the indie/folk/alternative sound is the same. I can see this being a great "rainy day" kind of CD.
perfect September 19, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This album is so perfect that it's devastating. Every song is so emotionally affecting that it's like there's something primal about his songwriting that I can't even explain. I adore all of the songs but my favorite is Snowy Atlas Mountains. When I first listened to it, it reminded me of something that I couldn't even place. I played it for a friend and she had the same response, it's almost transportational. Really, I like this album and so should you.
brilliant, simple Folk August 29, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that no one has reviewed this brilliant Gem. Well, it may be due to the fact that you have to import. But it's WORTH it!
This album is filled to the brim with gorgeous -- yet simple-- guitar work, with the occasional drum/piano piece. It also helps that Fionn's vocals are beautiful yet somewhat exotic (he IS irish after all,) and pleasant to the ears.
The lyrics are relatively clever, and surprisngly deep in some parts.
now to review each track individually~
1) Be Good Or Be Gone - a great, acoustic piece. This may be my favorite track.
2) The Underwood Typewriter - Another great song. Somewhat light, which is a nice contrast against the next song,
3) Hunters Map - Somewhat dark. This is the first time you'll hear some drum (and it's placed in such a brilliant place, allowing a sort of musical breath inbetween lyrics.) Another great song.
4) Hey Rabbit- I didn't really like this song on first, but it grew on me. But after a few listens, I understood the lyrics. Clever!
5) Blackwater Child- This song is very catchy. His voice is accompanied by another (though, i can't place who it is,) but the slight backup sounds great.
6) Put A Penny In The Slot - This is the song that made me like Fionn Regan. The nice lyrics, with the simple, light guitar made me smile.
7) The Cowshed - starts off kind of dark and slow, with a base drum (i think) and slowly picks up speed. Slowly. It never goes past a certain speed, so this is a nice slower track.
8) Snowy Atlas Mountains - This song is about lonliness. This song has the most "effects" in my opinion, with various noises throughout the song.
9) Noah (Ghost In A Sheet) - This song is great! The whole sound is great, and his voice just sounds amazing. Which is a standard for this whole album
10) The End Of History - This is my least favorite song. Mainly because it just seems to DRAG on forever...when it really doesn't. That's reserved for the final track.
11) Abacus - This is another one of the songs that made me like Fionn Regan's work. I heard the EP version first, and this sounds relatively close to it.
12) This is the longest track. It's good, but it DOES NOT want to end. Not that it's bad. The song (singing) ends relatively early, but we're left with a piercing Piano with Fionn's guitarwork for about 6 minutes after.
This is an EXCELLENT album for any fan of Acoustic/Folk music in general. Import it!
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