Review

Amadan: Sons Of Liberty

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Amadan, is Irish Gaelic for “Madness” or “The Fool”. So if you didn’t know what that meant before, you do now. This six-piece band Amadan, certainly has a plate of madness to bring to the dinner table. The lads hail from Corvallis, Oregon (A college town with a bad basketball team! just kidding!) One listen to the album, you can hear many different musical influences blended together and served up perfect. As the Amadan recipe explains: add a pint of guitar/vocals, 1.5 oz of didgeridoo, bodhran, 1 wee cup o’ dhoumbec, congas, 2 tbs of some bad ass bass, a “sprig” of rippin’ fast fiddle, heat, then add some spoons, more congas, penny whistle, mouth, and snare drum. Shake, stir, and serve to a rowdy crowd…Fists in the air and backs against the wall!

Most noticeable throughout the album to me is the Didgeridoo, which adds a whole new angle. On the track “Tell Me Ma” we have some smooth conga-bass-pennywhistle solos. “The Republic” simply starts with some acoustic guitar, the didgeridoo, fiddle, & congas, and then a solid groove picks up the tempo, as Eric’s vocals pick up the pace. The message in this song is quite clear, and a good example of what message the band is trying to get across. I really, really like this version of “Back Home In Derry.” And don’t forget “The Leaving of Liverpool”. A great debut album that should be added to CD collections worldwide!

April 2002

Review by Brian Gillespie

Review

McGnarley’s: Rant Fisherman’s Pride

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If you ask me, the name McGnarly’s Rant perfectly fits the style of this music like a glove. Let’s just say with all the influences they have, you can tell this band is from the Pacific Northwest. (Victoria, B.C. Canada) The music is like celtic-polka-punk with groovy jazz feel that growls at you like a wounded wild animal from time to time. Or ‘Circus Punk’. A lot of chaos is going on within the tracks of this debut album. From the ska beat of “Fisherman’s Pride” to the gypsy groove of “The Circus”. Or the country-punk of “Malcom’s Mourn”. The fiddle is very solid throughout the entire album and the drums and bass provide a nice backbone, that can change from mild to aggressive at any moment. The mandolin and guitar compliment the possessed vocals to form a very original sounding band.

Put together the evil gypsy clown sounds of The Dolomites, with the acoustic-punk of The Filthy Thieving Bastards, to a wee bit of ska and jazz, and it might explain the sound of McGnarley’s Rant. Or maybe you could get the album yerself and see what the fuss is about. You can order the CD through Paypal at their very cool website or better yet, see them live and get it directly from the band, and ask them why the hell all those t-shirts only come in L, and not XL!

April 2002

By Brian Gillespie

Review

The Steam Pig: Deep Fried Obedience

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Finally we have an Irish band playing punk as opposed to the usual punk band playing Irish we normally deal with here. More correctly the Steam Pig are a Dublin band playing punk (none of that Cultchie shite here).

I don’t know a hell of a lot about this CD actually. It seems to be a recent recording of older tracks from 97/98 including a few written by Godsy the bands late vocalist who died under tragic circumstances a couple of years ago. I’m not sure if these tracks have previously seen the light of day elsewhere or not.

Musically the Stream Pig are a solid blast of fast street punk with touches of hardcore, oi and Motorhead along with some Thin Lizzy style guitar harmonies (about as traditional Irish as it gets). Lyrically the Steam Pig are three or four steps above the average punk band with a combination of brilliant Dublin wit and observations and some real insightful lyric’s into Irish life (“A Barefoot Walk on Dollymount Strand”) and it’s relationship with the Catholic church. Also check out the lyrics to the un-P.C. but catchy as hell “Stoneybatter Me” guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

Will probably be my favorite punk CD of the year at years end.

April 2002

Review

The Pogues: Streams of Whiskey (or GWF’s Loboville)

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The Pogues have NOTHING to do with this live album! You should have NOTHING to do with this live album! I should have NOTHING to do with this live album! (whoops! Too late for me!) This so-called “Live” album is just a bootleg that somebody put together just in time to compete with Shane’s solo live album. The cover is a Jamison’s Irish Whiskey label with The Pogues written over it. There is also a small photo of Shane on the bottom. Next to that it says “Shane McGowan & Co.” instead of “Shane MacGowan & Co.” Personally, I hate it when that happens! That alone should show you what you’re getting into with this album. A pretty good Bio of the band is in the liner sleeve. (I will get the producers decent credit for that!) It seems like this album is intended for the casual Pogues fan, who is unaware of the quality of the album.

As far as the music on the album itself, the recording is average for a bootleg, but awful for a “Official” Live album. The squeezebox is too loud, and the drums are bouncing off the walls. Shane actually sounds pretty good for his standards. The overall sound is bland and dull. I have bootlegs that sound more crisp and clear than this shit! Track 14) “Yeah,Yeah,Yeah,Yeah,Yeah” sounds better than normal, and is probably the best track on the album.(Hard to believe!) An album from The Pogues Reunion concert in Brixton last December is going to be released later this year. Hold your cash for that, Because this one Sucks!

-OR-

Get your hands on a copy of Greenland Whalefishers “Loboville”! This album deserves much more recognition than it has gotten. Trust me, “Loboville” is worth it! It’s also the first album in Shite’n’Onions history to be reviewed twice! That should tell you something! You might think that because they are from Bergen, Norway, that they can’t be very good. Quite the opposite! Let’s not forget where the folks who founded Dublin are from! Besides a very slight accent, lead singer Arvid Grov sounds better than the man himself, Shane MacGowan does nowadays! In case you’re wondering, this album sounds nothing like alot of those mainland European “Poguesy” albums. Out of the 11 tracks, I really enjoyed “Loboville”, “Johnny Lee Roth”, and “The Thirsty Cave”. But “Hole in Our Hearts” is the greatest track on the record. From the bagpipes to the choir singing, this song did the job for me, and will for you too. Instead of buying the “Streams of Whiskey” live album, buy the Greenland Whalefishers “Loboville” instead! You can even order it through the Shite’n’Onions store.

April 2002

Review boldly written by Brian Gillespie

Review

The Electrics: Reel, Folk’n’Rock’n”Roll

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“Reel, Folk’n’Rock’n”Roll” is the cleverly titled 2001 release from Glasgow’s own the Electrics. The music is no bullshit REAL (fast) rock’n’roll infused with a wide range of electric folk music from the Irish and Scottish folk tradition to the American Country and Bluegrass sound to Motorhead. Check out the cover of the Violent Femmes “Rejoice and be Happy” with it’s “Ace of Spades” introduction.

This is folk rock whose pure intensity will scare the hell out of the folkies but will certainly please the rockers. Definitely more for the leather jacket crowd then the wooly jumper set.

April 2002

Review

Flogging Molly: Drunken Lullabies (Review 2)

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(As purveyors of the Modern Irish Music Scene, we here at Shite N’ Onions felt this release important enough to review twice. By the way, if you’re not a Star Wars fan, you may want to skip this and go directly to Brian Gillespie’s review ASAP)

As a life-long Star Wars fan, (not nerd, but fan, mind you) I’d liken the build-up to this release to the anticipation I felt upon hearing about “The Phantom Menace” for the first time. Pumped to say the least. The teasers came swiftly. The live staple “Rebels of the Sacred Heart” promised excitement upon first listen. News of the new album in progress spread across the ‘net. The Flogging Molly Club on Yahoo drummed up excitement for what seemed like years. And then – a release date, and no bonus points for originality here: St. Patrick’s Day.

Coming home with the album was like the lights dimming and preparing to watch Luacsfilms fuck with all that was sacred. This was Flogging Molly after all. “Swagger” was one of the reasons directly responsible for this site being created. So, did this album screw with past memories of glory like the putrid awfulness that was “The Phantom Menace?” Did this album contain a Jar-Jar Binks? I’m happy and relieved to respond with an earth-shattering “Feck No!”

In many ways for me, this release is “Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back” to “Swagger”s “Episode IV: Star Wars.” To sum up, a darker, more mature effort that I prefer to the original. You heard it. I think this album is better than “Swagger.” It’s not heresy or sacrilege. I just like the overall mood and atmosphere FM have created with this one. The band have all upped the ante, and they all sound top-notch. From Matt Hensley’s prominent accordion to Bridget Regan’s whistle/fiddle, they never sounded better. Dennis Casey, Nathan Maxwell and George Schwindt provide a helluva raucous noise any band would be proud of, and I’m very impressed with Robert Schmidt’s mandolin/bazouki/banjo playing as well. And then we have the vocal stylings and lyrical musings of Mr. King. To sum up his contributions, we turn to a line Dave himself once sang: I am the King and Long Shall I Reign! Well-said and damn right.

From the opening tunes of “Drunken Lullabies” it’s clear we’re back in familiar territory. “Ah, but maybe it’s the way we were taught/Or maybe it’s the way we fought/But a smile never grins without tears to begin/For each kiss is a cry we lost” laments vocalist Dave King. King sounds better on this release than he did on the last, more full of rage and pissed off. The lyrics and intonations seem angrier as well.

Highlights of the first, faster half of the album are many: “May the Living Be Dead (In Our Wake)”sets the plate but my fave of the opening side alternates between the aforementioned live staple “Rebels of the Sacred Heart” and the rollicking “The Kilburn High Road.”

The second half kicks off with the familiar oldie “Swagger” to get the pint a shakin.’ Side Two includes bass player Nathan Maxwell’s pinned sea-tale “Cruel Mistress” on which he also sings. To me, it sounds like the Pogues “Hell’s Ditch” era. Very impressive debut, sir. But, of course, it’s King whose lyrical mastery I marvel at, and cuts 9-12 are my favorite 4 straight on any album in sometime.

“Death Valley Queen” may well be my favorite cut on the record. Gotta dig the line: “So I found me a whore/With a face just like yours/After several gallons of porter.” And then to hear everything slow down as, after chastising for most of the song, King admits: “I have always loved you” is great, great stuff. “Another Bag of Bricks” treads musically along the same lines as the Pogues “Turkish Song of the Damned” and turns out excellent. The band flex their musical chops on this one. Different from anything I’ve heard out of FM. The old Irish traditional “Dublin in the Rare Ould Times” follows. It was originally written by Pete St. John has always been a favorite of mine, particularly the Dubliners version. FM start things out trad enough, with the slow intro, but this soon segues into a version three times as fast as I’ve heard. It, too, is untouchable.

The album ends on an acoustic (and I would guess autobiographical) note “The Sun Never Shines (On Closed Doors)” which seems to serve as a warning. It seems to say to the darkness of the record: don’t get caught up in it. You need light, hope and love in your life to survive. King gives us that ray of hope with the last tune.

So, in retrospect, the song gives us hope, as did the final scene in “Empire Strikes Back.” After all the darkness, after Solo had been kidnapped by Boba Fett and Darth Vader, after Luke gets his hand whacked off and Vader proclaims himself his father, we still have hope. We stills see Luke, Lando, Chewie and Leia getting ready to go after Solo and the Empire, and we knew all would be well. So, be well until FM’s “Return of the Jedi” my friends. But know this – this may be their greatest hour.

April 2002

By Sean “The Wookie” Holland

Review

Flogging Molly: Drunken Lullabies (Review 1)

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The Pogues may be untouchable, but Flogging Molly is pretty damn close! As far as I am concerned, Flogging Molly is the BEST Celtic-Punk band out there right now. No Question! With “Drunken Lullabies” we get an album just as strong, and just as excellent as “Swagger.” The only thing missing with this one is the “Holy Shit!! Who are these guys!!” that we all said when we heard “Swagger” for the first time. Trust me, I still said “holy shit!!” when I put “Drunken Lullabies” on a couple of days ago! It has everything you would expect from a Flogging Molly album! From the thundering drums, to the tin whistle, from the spoons to the Uilleann pipes, it is ALL there.

Those of you who have the live album will be glad to know that “If I Ever Leave This World Alive” finally made it on this one. So did “Rebels Of The Sacred Heart,” a song the band has teased us with at the live shows last year. “Cruel Mistress” may be my favorite tracks on the album, but, I can’t justify picking and choosing, because every song on the album has me bouncing off the walls, spilling my Guinness everywhere.(at 7 am before work!) I am at a loss of words with this album, because it is so brilliant! Matt Hensley’s squeezebox skills even inspired me to jump on my old skateboard and try to relive old glory days…I fell on my arse and realized I can’t skate like Mr. Hensley, (the professional) does!!

The year is young, but, I think I already have my pick for album of the year in the imaginary celtic-folk-punk award show that takes place in my head each year. (I would be sitting next to the lovely Bridget, the fiddle player, of course!)

Simply put; GO GET THIS ALBUM, AND SEE THEM LIVE!

April 2002

By Brian Gillespie

Review

The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem: Irish Songs of Drinking and Rebellion

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It’s in no small part due to the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem that Irish folk music has risen to the level of popularity that it has today. Influential beyond words, the Clancy Brothers reside comfortably on most Irish bands “tops of the genre” list. Really, all that need be said about the Clancy Brothers can be summed up thusly: One of the most influential and popular groups of the genre, the Clancy Brothers works and their collaborations with Tommy Makem have become known as indispensable classics of the movement.

The brothers Clancy (Paddy, Tommy and Liam) hail from Carrick-on-sur, County Tipperary, Ireland (same county as Shane Mac, for those keeping score.) It was said that their mother loved a singsong, and the least excuse would do to burst into one. Their father was an opera singer, so the boys came by it honestly. After various musical endeavors (Paddy and Tom serving in the RAF and emigrating to Canada, then on to America as actors) Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem went to America. They joined Paddy and Tommy (who were running a theatre) there and to supplement the income, they started singing in a place called “The Filthy Pig” in Greenwich Village.

The shows they played were boisterous, playing old Irish traditionals with one mike between the four of them. They soon gained notoriety, with people like Bob Dylan showing up for gigs. Their Mother knitted them Aran sweaters, they appeared on Ed Sullivan and could see that big things lay on the horizon. And although the Irish in America were still hesitant and by no means full of today’s boisterous Irish pride, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem helped shatter that by performing for President Kennedy in the white House, complete with a sneeringly defiant “We Want No Irish Here.”

Over the years, the group used drama, humor, conflict, joy and pain to express their simple folk tunes and to bring Irish music to a new level. The collection I have chose to represent them is “Irish Songs of Drinking and Rebellion” but there are many, many others out there that would be just as good. On this appealing disc, it is amazing how much can be conveyed through the tunes, ranging from rebel anthems to drinking sing-a-longs. From the simple, plaintive whisperings of “The Patriot Game”, to how much emotion they can evoke in songs like “Kevin Barry” and how much raucous joy “A Jug Of Punch” or “Finnigan’s Wake ” might induce. True, this is a simple introduction to the group, but it shows just how much they are capable of. Just when you think you have pegged down the happy tippling tunes like “Whisky You’re the Devil”, they bring things down with the perennial funeral favorite “The Parting Glass” and you’ll thank God that you have heard it, and thank God the Clancy Brothers chose to share their immense talent with the folk world. We’re all better for it.

So, pick up this or any other such collection for you can rarely go wrong with the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. Treat yourself if you already haven’t.

February 2002

Review by Sean Holland

Review

Dropkick Murphys/Face to Face: Split CD

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Whoah. Piss in a pint and I’ll drink it down. Crikey. What can I say about the Dropkick Murphys new tune “The Dirty Glass (Darcy’s Revenge)?” It’s a masterpiece of the spit-their-face-and-tellemtofeckoff-lost-love song, Irish style. Ken and Co have combined their growing-by-the-tune talents with Boston’s own Kay Hanley (her of Letters to Cleo fame) for a Shane MacGowan/Kritsy MacColl-style revenge rant that is, dare I say it, the best of it’s kind since the dynamic duo did it years ago in the “beers drank and tears shed” past.

It opens with a beautiful accordion/acoustic melody with Kay as title character Darcy, lamenting for her lost Murphy, whom she has lost to “health and good cheer.” Ken, as Murphy, soon rages on about how he was “five years younger” and corrupted by the elder Darcy. They battle of wits is propelled along and interrupted by brother Al Barr, who joins in chastising Darcy for corrupting his younger, drunker boyo of a sibling (One can almost picture poor Kenny wallowing away in some cop-filled, dirty little Boston bar, crying in his dirty stout.) So back-and-forth they go, placing blame, taking piss-shots and having a helluva time doing so.

Hanley strikes hard with: “Listen to the big shot with his pager on-call/you spent most of those nights in my bathroom stall” and asks furthermore “How was I to know he was just a fiend and a no good cheat?” to which Ken scores the knockout “Well, that’s all in the past, bitch, cause now I got it beat.” He sounds as if he’s having as much fun giving the kiss-off as Shane did all those years ago. Wicked good job, boys, wicked good job. These are the tunes that are my absolute pleasure to review.

The boys continue on with two covers, the familiar live staple “Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, which is given the familiar Murphys bombast to grand effect. The real pleaser of the two is “21 Guitar Salute” by the often-overlooked Oi! band the Press. The tune itself is great, but it, too, is Murphy-ized, especially in the outro, and to grand effect, by Spicy’s bagpipes and Matt’s Celtic-style drums.

All in all, an appetite-whetting winner from the Dropkicks until their next effort. We can only imagine what that will be like.

Uh, as for the Face To Face contributions, I’ll just say that I’m not what one would call a fan of this type of band. They play California-style power-pop-punk that is fairly good for what it is, I guess. Much better than crap like Blink 182. Anyway, they start the thing out with “Fight or Flight” which is an OK original, and then cover “Road of the Righteous” by, of course, the Dropkicks and then “Wasted Life,” the classic by Stiff Little Fingers. Let’s just say that, in my opinion, these two covers are the best things this band has ever done and leave it at that.

So, go out and grab this for the DKM side, and long for their next release like the wino does for his next booze-induced euphoric ride.

February 2002

Review by Sean Holland

Review

River City Radicals: Everything You’re Afraid Of

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Long before there were other “River City” bands playing tired, Clash-like/Rancid-ish streetpunk out East, there was a little band of skinheads in Peoria, Illinois playing the tightest, cleanest Oi/streetpunk out there, if anyone cared to listen. Long before other such similarly titles bands got signed to major labels, the River City Radicals were putting out their own cassette-only releases that made 75% of what passed for Oi! back then look like drivel. But history is a dirty little whore of a mistress, and while the untalented are often rewarded, bands like the River City Radicals are overlooked. I am here to make sure they get noticed.

In all fairness, this release is quite old. The boys in the band are no longer the skinheads of old that recorded this album (although they still adhere to the same values and still cover such luminaries as Cock Sparrer, the Boys, the Clash, the Undertones, etc.) At the time of the recording, the band consisted of Frank Schapmire: guitar/vocals, Josh and Joe Schwindenhammer: guitar/vocals and bass/vocals, respectively and Tim Beck on drums and piano. Beck has since quit the band, and they are heading in a more rock-n-roll direction. Frank has, nowadays, much more of a Stones influence than the hooliganism of old. But things change, and often for the better. No matter, on to the album. The album opens with the anthemic rock-n-roller “Violence” which sets the bar for what’s to follow – clean guitars that rock (almost NOBODY is doing rock-n-roll guitar like these boys do) big choruses and multi-talented musicianship all around. Lyrically, it’s what you would expect from skinheads – working class odes to drinking, fighting, getting drunk and laid, but done so cleverly, with the nod of a cap and the wink of an eye. Just when you think you have them pegged, Frank and Josh always seem to have an ace up their sleeve.

My two favorite cuts occur early on into the album, cuts three and four, respectively, and are “Lady Luck” and “In Your Underpants” (love the chorus.) Both cuts utilize piano/organ, giving things a Mod/Power-Pop flavor, and a hammond-esqe elegance. This is an appropriate thing, considering it seems to be the direction the band is headed in at the present. (These days, they do a rocking live cover of “Makin’ Time” by the Creation.) Other top-notch cuts are “It’s All Over” a Cockney Rejects-style ’77 sing-along complete with Oi! Oi! Oi! background chants, “Hooligans Friend” which is straight-up backstreet Oi! and “Patriot” which explores similar territory. All in all, a great album that was overlooked by most labels, which was their loss, because this is one of the great skinhead rock-n-roll albums the Midwest has ever seen.

With this release being old, I wonder what the future releases will be like. Judging from the output of the past, the new stuff will be nothing less than grand. If you ever get a chance to see these guys live, do it, and do me a favor – request an old ditty called “Irish Spring” that Frank and company have since disowned, but trust me – it rocks…even if Frank thinks it’s crap. For info on how to obtain either of the first two River City Radicals releases, drop me an e-mail, you’ll thank yourself later.

February 2002

Review by Sean Holland

Potato-eating, Whiskey-drinking, Bog-trotting, CELTIC PUNK ROCK