THE LONG ROAD BACK
A Complete Audio-Visual Album Experience
with a Music Video for Every Track
In The Long Road Back, Paul Casey has created a truly audio-visual album experience, by filming and directing a music video for every single track on the album.
Back in 2020, Paul set the stage for his music videos – and staked his claim as an exciting new music video producer – when he directed his take on Van Morrison’s In The Days Before Rock ‘N’ Roll for Hot Press’ Rave On, Van Morrison! initiative.
Paul chose the song as a nod to the power of radio, and the video features the legendary Terri Hooley and a host of friends. It was this video experience that inspired a series of songwriting, recording and filming, the results of which we see and hear in The Long Road Back.
With Paul on guitar and vocal duties, the album features an all-star cast of leading musicians, including his regular band: the incomparable Liam Bradley on drums & percussion and the renowned John McCullough on piano, Hammond, synths & Fender Rhodes.
A series of equally seasoned musicians appear throughout the album, including Damien McGeehan on fiddle, Lauren Doherty on backing vocals, Marty Coyle on bouzouki, Paul Cutliffe on whistle & pipes and Alexander Korukovetz on accordion.
The Long Road Back was written, recorded, produced & mixed by Paul in his own Cable Junction Studio in Derry. It is available on all digital streaming platforms.
Released December 2023
01. St. Jeannet
The Royal Albert Hall Performance, The Heart Surgeon & The Village: Some years ago, as special guest of Chris Rea, Paul brought the Royal Albert Hall to its feet with a spectacular performance. Celebrated French heart surgeon and musician Claude Mariottini was there. He reached out to Paul for help with ‘20,000 Lives’, the charity he had co-founded.
In the ensuing years, Paul played to huge crowds across France, as they raised money to buy cardiac defibrillators. Before long, memories of summers in the coastal village of Saint-Jeannet – close to Claude’s house – inspired this song, which Paul wrote and recorded in lockdown. The video features Saint-Jeannet holiday footage and sold-out auditorium shows across France. After releasing the single, the Mayor of Saint-Jeannet extended an official invitation to Paul to play a special concert in the village.
02. Peace Bridge
Chris Rea has written some of the most celebrated songs in modern music. He recently penned another classic, and this time, with Paul in mind. “This came about when Chris sent me the demo”, says Paul. “He said he wrote it with me in mind and that I should record it. It’s a song about hope, and I loved it instantly.”
The lyrics are beautifully direct, metaphorically beautiful and perhaps, unmistakably Derry. It’s a song about two guys from different sides meeting on a bridge. They share a cigarette. They “try to remember what they tried to forget”. And on the snow-swept bridge, “both sides disappear”...
The music video was filmed by Casey against the backdrop of the walled city’s Peace Bridge, the same bridge referenced by Rea in the song.
03. Because I Love You
Paul’s polished guitar chops take centre stage as ever in the retro ballad Because I Love You. “A friend who collects vintage guitars lent me a Novo Guitar, a legendary brand designed and built by a small team in Nashville. As soon as I started playing, it took me to that 50’s twang!”, he says. By the end of the day, he had written and recorded the 50s inspired guitar-fuelled love song at his own Cable Junction Studio.
Paul, who films and directs all his own music videos, envisioned a Stephen King-esque 50s movie set as the accompanying visual backdrop. Exactly on cue, a funfair arrived in Derry for St. Patrick’s Week… The resulting music video – which he shot with his film enthusiast son Dylan – at times feels like a carnival that’s just rolled into a Midwestern US town 70-odd years ago.
04. In The Arms Of My Love
‘In The Arms Of My Love' is a song gently punctuated by beautiful if unexpected vocal harmonies. According to Paul, “It’s obviously a love song. During these different times over the last few years, you realise who are the people closest to your heart. It’s a song to remind myself of that – and to celebrate it”.
In the video, Paul made the most of the social distance restrictions in place at the time, in a smart treatment of footage throughout. It also takes inspiration from his In The Days Before Rock ‘N’ Roll video, highlighting the musicianship of his band, with the footage shot across Northern Ireland and internationally. Along with his band, the video also features Alexander Korukovetz on accordion.
05. Green Arrows
Paul pulled Green Arrows from his extensive song archive: “It was always a song where the lyrics never left my head, it’s a song about hope and daring to dream. I wrote it twenty years ago and it’s funny that I’m still the same, still dreaming! The advice I was giving my 20-something-year-old self is the advice I’m now giving my teenage sons. The lyrics make more sense to me now than they did when I wrote them all that time ago."
06. The Long Road Back
The music video for The Long Road Back was shot in an AirBnB in Kilkenny, where Paul was with his wife and kids for their first getaway in a couple of years. It's a sunny video that looks like it could be shot in the south of France!
The song is about longing for the pre-pandemic days when you could just take off to a new world in the sun with the ones you love. And at that time the whole world was Ireland – which wasn’t bad at all given the weather seen in the video!
07. Who We Are
Paul talks of what inspired him to write Who We Are: “Watching the news these days I keep asking myself ‘What have we become?’ There doesn’t seem to be a middle ground anymore, just extremes. It’s saddening”.
The music video for Who We Are is a no-nonsense performance video; with electric guitar in hand, Casey stands on the cliffs of Malin Head against a stunning Donegal sunset.
08. Wide Open Road
Wide Open Road is the Back To The Future-inspired contemporary throwback to the 80’s! With songwriting sounding straight out of 1985, along with pristine production from Cable Junction Studio.
Cast Encounter: In 2005, Casey supported Huey Lewis and The News, whose songs famously appeared in Back To The Future. Paul has always been grateful to Huey (who also had a cameo in the movie) for the interest he showed: “After my set, Huey came looking for me and we chatted for ages. He was very generous with his time and advice. I tend to see the world through an 80’s film lens, so it meant a lot. And it blew my mind that he wanted to buy my album afterwards!”
The Making of Wide Open Road
DeLorean in Donegal: Crowds gathered on a country road in Donegal’s Mamore Gap on a summer’s day, as Paul – complete with DMC DeLorean! – filmed and directed the Wide Open Road music video.
The video is a plutonium-packed homage to the classic movie, with Paul recreating the film's opening scene, Derry-style, nailing the 80’s detail, and bringing a measure of fun to proceedings.
The music video for Wide Open Road was released on July 3 – the same day as the cinema release in 1985 of the iconic Back To The Future.
09. How Come?
Paul wrote and recorded Home Come? the day the news broke of the shooting in Uvalde, Texas. It's his most honest and heartfelt song in years. “It’s a poem, a stream of consciousness, I’m just asking 'how is this possible?' The world is definitely a different place, I feel like there’s no middle ground anymore. As a father it’s a constant worry."
In this song, Paul found a new voice, and took a change in direction; while he's known for his blues guitar riff-driven songs, this track is more stripped-back, with a spoken word delivery echoing the late recordings of Leonard Cohen. A strong cinematic soundscape has always been a mainstay of Paul's production. How Come? flirts between Springsteen’s ‘Streets of Philadelphia’ and the synth-laden 80’s soundtracks of Netflix series Stranger Things.
10. It's Gonna Be OK
In Paul’s words: “Sometimes I just like to write a happy song. I sat down one evening, and had a nice sound from the guitar – the song kind of wrote itself from there.”
11. The Long Nights Of Summer
Paul says: “I love big cinematic moments. For me, the summer conjures up all the elements of cinema….. the memories, the moments, the magic. I’m always struck by the amber light, the sea, nature, laughter – all that. The things that bring you to another place... that’s what I hope this song does.”
12. St. Jeannet (Reprise)
His last words on the album: “I wanted to finish this album in the place where it all started. This reprise is a more melancholic version of the original. Again cinematic, I hope I’ve written a piece of music that makes you feel a certain emotion.”
