Ronnie D'Addario: "Written By" (2025) CD Review

Ronnie D'Addario is a songwriter and musician who is known for his solo work (he started recording in the 1970s) and also for his work with Tommy Makem. It's on the Tommy Makem albums that I first heard his playing when I was a teenager getting into the folk scene. At this point, Ronnie is also known because of the work of his sons, Brian and Michael, better known as The Lemon Twigs. The new album, Written By, features The Lemon Twigs (they also produced the album). It was put out on vinyl as a limited release on Black Friday (as part of Black Friday Record Store Day), and will receive a CD release in early December. In addition to The Lemon Twigs, this album features some special guest artists, including Todd Rundgren and Sean Ono Lennon. As the album's title promises, all the songs were written by Ronnie D'Addario. Some of the songs are ones that Ronnie had recorded and released on earlier discs and is now revisiting, while other songs had never been recorded before. By the way, Ronnie D'Addario also has a song on the new two-disc Raspberries tribute, Play On.

The album opens with "Intromental," and as its title suggests, this track is an instrumental intro, featuring some sweet guitar work by both Ronnie D'Addario and Brian D'Addario. Brian also plays both bass and mandolin, and Michael is on drums. There is a pleasant, uplifting folk vibe to this piece. Michael D'Addario then sings lead on "A Very Short Dream." Ronnie and Brian provide backing vocals, and the harmonies are a big part of the track's appeal. Also, Kaitlin Wolfberg plays violin on this track, adding to the song's beauty. "Some days you feel as though/You've been 'round forever/Other times it seems/Like a very short dream." Oh yes, and sometimes it somehow feels like both simultaneously, though mostly it is like a very short dream, much too short. Why do we waste so much of our little time? These lines, in particular, stand out: "One day you're mapping out/Big plans for the future/Next you're thinking about/Dreams that didn't work out." This song, by the way, was the title track to an earlier Ronnie D'Addario album, released in 2015.

Darian Sahanaja (of the Wondermints and Brian Wilson's band) sings lead on "Be Like Him," while Ronnie provides backing vocal work. Brian plays several instruments on this track, including electric piano, organ, marimba, bass, guitar, chimes and drums. Probyn Gregory plays trumpet. This is a totally catchy song. "If you want to help somebody else/Don't forget to first work on yourself." That's followed by "Not Today." There is a certain Beatles influence heard on this track. Michael sings lead on this one, and plays drums. I especially like the drumming on this one. Brian is on piano, guitar, bass and synthesizer. No one other than the brothers performs on this track. "I gave it everything I had/You let it end/Now you feel bad."

Special guest Todd Rundgren sings lead on "I See The Patterns," with Ronnie on backing vocals and organ. Kaitlin Wolfberg joins again on violin, and Cameron Carrella plays trumpet. The track begins with some nice work by Brian on piano. It's a song about a problematic relationship, which the guy is now bringing to a close. "One defining day/You're gonna say to yourself/Why am I alone/Without the only good thing that I had/Why? Where was I when it went bad?" And it's about hoping that she'll one day understand just what her behavior has cost her. I suppose everyone is in that position at some point, though I wonder if any of us actually learns if that moment arrives for the other person. This song was on Ronnie's A Very Short Dream album. That's followed by "5th Of July." Like "Not Today," this track is all Lemon Twigs. No one other than brothers Brian and Michael performs on this one. And it is another strangely catchy song. "No light in the sky/I sit and cry/5th of July." This track features some nice moments on guitar. And that "sha la-la la-la" vocal part at the end is wonderful.

Mac DeMarco joins The Lemon Twigs on lead vocals for "Love's Won Me Over," a thoughtful, slower number. Ah, may love win everyone over before too long. "I'm at a loss in this world alone/I'm at a loss goin' it on my own/So at a loss - that was me before/Felt like a loser, but not anymore." This track contains some soothing harmonies. Then Matt Jardine joins Ronnie on vocals on "Don't Wait For Yesterday," a song that was the lead track on Ronnie's Time Will Tell On You. "Don't hold out hope that/He'll return/Don't you ever learn/He took all you had to give/Forget him. Start to live." And the song's narrator offers his own love. This is a sweet, gentle pop song (it feels like something The Beach Boys could have recorded). Ronnie delivers some nice work on organ. And actually he plays all the instruments on this track.

Brian sings lead on "My Old Self Again," a song I'm guessing a lot of folks will be able to relate to, especially in this time of anxiety and depression. It's about looking at yourself and suddenly not recognizing yourself, and wondering just how the darkness took over. "Who is this dark stranger/Consumed with gloom and anger." There is also the question of how related a certain amount of madness can be to one's creativity. "Who is that old tired/Lost soul once so inspired/It might have been there lurking/Inside my head just waiting/When something bad set it off." This is a fascinating and fantastic song, one of my personal favorites. Ronnie had included it on A Very Short Dream. Kaitlin Wolfberg is on violin on this track, and Cameron Carrella is on trumpet. Then special guest Sean Ono Lennon sings lead on "So That's How It Is." He is a perfect choice of vocalists, for there is something of a Beatles vibe to this song. Ronnie is on backing vocals, and also plays guitar, bass and organ. "So that's how it is/I can't believe it's come to this/You're not saying, 'Stay. Don't go'/Nothing so/That's how it is." Both Kaitlin Wolfberg and Cameron Carrella play on this track too. And, yes, it is another of the disc's highlights. I love that guitar work at the end.

Ronnie is on lead vocals for "Tree Stumps," and also plays guitar and bass. The song begins with some really nice work by Brian on piano. This track also features guest Katie Sheele on oboe, that instrument giving this song a delightful, timeless sound and helping to make this track yet another highlight. "Tree stumps lined along the ground/Look like tombstones all around." That's followed by "Heavenly Night." This track is all Lemon Twigs, all the instruments played by Brian and Michael. It kind of eases in, and then picks up a wonderful energy on the chorus. "Got a heavenly night/It's a night to be shared/And the setting is right/Love's in the air." It all comes down to love, doesn't it? Why else are we here? That chorus makes me happy. The album wraps up with a good, delicious rock song, "If I Were You," with Ronnie on lead vocals. Both Ronnie and Brian play guitar on this one, and there is some excellent guitar work here. I'm digging Brian's work on bass too. "Man, if you're asking me to tell you true/I'd keep her away from me if I were you/But since you asked what I would do/That's what I would do." A fun way to end the album.

CD Track List

1. Intromental
2. A Very Short Dream
3. Be Like Him
4. Not Today
5. I See The Patterns
6. 5th Of July
7. Love's Won Me Over
8. Don't Wait For Yesterday
9. My Old Self Again
10. So That's How It Is
11. Tree Stumps
12. Heavenly Night
13. If I Were You

Written By was released on vinyl on November 28, 2025, and is scheduled to be released on CD on December 5, 2025 through Omnivore Recordings.