The Giant Panther

Today I am knifing through my collection to find one of the best obscure tracks I can think of. Oh, I've got about twenty written down somewhere to bring you as the days roll on, but this one is one of my favorites. I used to work at a hardware company called Cambridge Digital which had an affiliation with a software company called Unisource back around 1984. The hardware company had the geeks and the software company had the chicks. If memory serves a friend of mine named Marty got me a job in the mail room because we were both working the door at the now world famous Bull & Finch Pub, which you may know as Cheers. I was working three jobs; one at WBCN as an intern, one at the bar and the other one to make whatever pennies I needed to get by on. It was my first non restaurant job post college. I didn't take it very seriously (after all, anyone could stamp the mail and take it to the mailbox) and there were some like minded characters working there that egged me on. The reason I tell this story is because one of the guys that was working there at the same time was a bass player named Ira Nulton. I figure everyone has worked with a future rock star at some point no?

Ira was an unassuming nice guy who did whatever they did at Cambridge Digital and we used to run into each other often though he'd probably never remember me today. It was only 25 years ago, but it seems a lot less than that to me some how. Ira was in a band and, as such, was dating an extremely attractive blonde, though I could never remember her name even if tonight's Mega Millions winning numbers depended on it. I worked in the mail room so I ran into just about everyone myself. I was miraculously dating an out of my league girl from the software company myself so, aside from the fact that my career was headed nowhere at the time, life was good. Ira's band used to play around town from time to time, but it just seemed like it was never convenient for me. I didn't even own a car back then because I was living downtown. I can't say for sure if they were even called Cliffs of Dooneen when I knew Ira, but that is what they eventually became. I was out of that company by 1986 or so, but the last thing I remember about Ira is that he was in some kind of motorcycle accident so I didn't see him very much after we stopped working together. I always followed the music scene though and The Cliffs of Dooneen released a CD called The Dog Went East, and God Went West in 1991 on Critique Records out of Woburn, MA.

The band consisted of Eric Sean Murphy on lead vocals, Martin Crotty on lead guitar, Ira Nulton on bass and Lex Lianos on drums. I'm sure all of you have records or CDs that you just know are out of print and that nobody else you know has and this is one of mine. I can't say for sure, but I think I finally saw Cliffs of Dooneen at a now defunct club called The Irish Embassy in Boston's North Station area. I don't have my usual ticket stub to document this fact, but I'm pretty sure this concert would have taken place in the 1991-1992 area. This is why you save your ticket stubs kids! You just can't say you were there. I was watching a fantastic VH1 Classic Rocumentary about the James Brown concert in 1968 at Boston Garden that apparently saved the city from major damage in the wake of the murder of Dr Martin Luther King just a day or two earlier. The Mayor of Boston at the time, Kevin White, arranged to have PBS broadcast the concert in the event that it might convince some folks to stay home that night. He forgot to tell James Brown until after the fact, but as a result many of the would be patrons simply returned their tickets for a refund and watched it on TV. Brown demanded the $60K in lost revenue and threatened not to perform. In the end he went on, the mayor went back on his word and stiffed him (according to his manager) and Brown ended up doing the concert for a mere $10K. I wonder how many people will tell you today that they were there? It was voted the top concert of all time in Boston in a Boston Phoenix poll a few years ago. Anyway, save your ticket stubs...just shove 'em in the back of your jewel boxes for safe keeping...I guess now you have to tape 'em to your computer since we are going digital huh?

Anyway, all tangents aside, The Cliffs of Dooneen were a lot better than they were ever given credit for. I don't say this just because I happened to know, in passing, someone who was in the band. If you ever get a hold of The Dog Went East, and God Went West check it out. I'm posting Through An Open Window because it still sounds great to this day. Congratulations Ira and the gang, wherever you are, for a job well done. The music business swallows up many a great talent and spits it back out and just because this record didn't go platinum doesn't mean it wasn't any good. I loved it. And this single? Julie Kramer should be playing it on WFNX's Leftover Lunch once a month to this day. Too many of those so called leftovers are main courses. You have to dig deep to find chestnuts like Through An Open Window. It's a Hidden Gem at the very least Julie. This baby will probably get downloaded only 25 times out of curiosity, but I don't care...it's a great tune. Mix it up out there people! Seriously I hope you agree with me. Talk to you all soon.

Cliffs of Dooneen - Through An Open Window.mp3

Cliffs of Dooneen - Through An Open Window.mp3 YSI