Paul Brady – Can’t Stop Wanting You

If Paul Brady’s name doesn’t ring out like Dylan’s or Springsteen’s, that might just be because he was too versatile for his own good. In the music industry, which prefers its musicians to pick a lane and stick to it, Brady chose the scenic route, wandering from Irish traditional ballads to blue-eyed soul, from Dylan-esque singer-songwriter fare to ‘80s radio pop.

Brady was born in Strabane, a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1947. He was raised in a musical household (his mother taught piano), Brady was classically trained early on but gravitated toward American rock and blues as a teenager, playing in local showbands before finding his way into the 1960s Dublin folk scene.

This song is on his album Trick or Treat, released in 1991. Paul was a busy man on this album. He is listed doing vocals, mandolin, piano, keyboards, tin whistle, percussion, drum programming, acoustic, and electric guitar. Some of Toto helped him out in the studio for this one. One of them was Toto drummer Jeff Porcaro in one of the last projects before his death. This song sounds like it should have been blaring out on the radio in the summer of 1991. The album did peak at #1 on the Irish Charts.

I want to add one more song from his second album, Hard Station, to give you another example of him. Hard Station was released a decade earlier than Trick or Treat in 1981. This man is worth checking out!

On Crazy Dreams, that opening guitar riff is tight and dry, like a fuse just waiting to burn down. Then Brady’s voice comes in, urgent, soulful, every syllable laced with exasperation and hope. It’s very smooth without being too smooth. 

Can’t Stop Wanting You

Hot words on a summer night
You ‘n’ me having a fight
One drink and it all come out
Before I knew what we were fightin’ about

Hurt come from a midnight place
Dressed in a web of lace
Brainstorm blowin’ up inside
I can’t stop wanting you
I can’t stop wanting you

Now I know it’s a modern world
And baby you’re a modern girl
And I try to be tops at school
Pickin’ up on these modern rules
Teacher come and teacher go
Teacher know when a boy is slow
This boy got a lot to learn
I can’t stop wanting you
I can’t stop wanting you

It’s a new kind of world
For a boy and a girl
And my mind’s in a whirl
I can’t stop wanting you
I can’t stop wanting you

Hot words on a summer night
You ‘n’ me having a fight
One drink and it all come out
Before I knew what we were fightin’ about
I tried but the truth is out
I can’t stop wanting you
I can’t stop wanting you

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

34 thoughts on “Paul Brady – Can’t Stop Wanting You”

    1. Yea, he was reccomended to me and I love what I’ve heard so far. A really good songwriter. I just have posted some of his folk stuff as well.

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  2. Paul Brady is an artist I mostly know by name. Coincidentally, I recently mentioned him on my blog in connection with Willie Nile’s new album “The Great Yellow Light” where Brady is sharing vocals on one of Nile’s songs (“An Irish Goodbye”).

    I didn’t know “Crazy Dreams” but the chorus of “Can’t Stop Wanting You” vaguely sounded familiar. In any case, I like both of your picks. Since Brady’s name immediately rang a bell, I’m pretty sure there’s at least one song by him I know. I also bet it’s from the ’80s. 🙂

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    1. Yea it could have been on his second album released in 1981. I was really impressed with what I heard by him.
      He has played with a lot of musicians so that doesn’t surprise me on the Nile recording.

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  3. Pingback: Paul Brady – Can’t Stop Wanting You – MobsterTiger

  4. Been a long time fan of his. He has made some wonderful records: a favourite song for me is The World Is What You Make It.

    Sadly I’ve only ever seen him once in concert, early 70s when he was in The Johnstons. They were the support for Steeleye Span.

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    1. That is great Clive. I just recently got introduced to him. He is not as known over here but I love what I’ve been hearing. He can change gears easily.
      I’ll have to check the Johnstons out.

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      1. You have a lot of catching up to do, but it will be very enjoyable. The Johnstons did a mixture of traditional Irish stuff and their own songs – I had one of their albums, which I played a lot.

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  5. Became aware of him when I was listening to NPR folk music shows a lot. “The Island” is the song of his I know the best. Both of these are great. Will have to look him up again.

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    1. More people are knowing him than I thought would…I feel like I am in the minority. I love what I’ve heard and he is so versatile.

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  7. I enjoyed ‘Crazy Dreams’ a lot. I once wrote about Paul Brady’s version of the traditional 19th Century Irish ballad ‘Arthur McBride’ which Dylan covered on ‘Good As I Been to You’. Brady’s version is pretty good.
    Brady sounds like a bit a jack of all music trades. Impressive.

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  8. Don’t think I’ve heard of him before. ‘Crazy Dreams’ is sounding good. Maybe the timing was wrong …it sounds very 1979-81 to me. A good period in music but maybe not one that sold a decade later.

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    1. I was totally impressed CB. Creative Impulses is a great way of putting it. Everything I heard was good but also different…that takes a lot of talent… oh yea…summer is here!

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  12. Another new one. Again, lately I’m seeing so many good lines from the bloggers I’m following. ‘Teacher come and go/Teacher know when a boy is slow/This boy got a lot to learn.’ Jeez, sounds exactly like I was transported back to Hagley High getting chewed out by Mister F- Filer in front of Maths class again.

    Happy times.☹️

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      1. Hah. Well, we all try to smile through the tears, And if there was one lasting lesson Mister F really impressed on me it was ‘Boy, when you try and fail it only makes you wronger.’ Miserable ol’ bastard.

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    1. Thank you dude…and I don’t know why! I stopped blogging everyday and I get more people now…hope you are doing well! I’ll be by on Friday dude!

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