A good collection of 20 songs from the 40 years, Good drinking tunes
Disadvantages:
Nowhere near a big enough compilation of their best songs .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Well as I mentioned in my 100th op I was going to do some different style music ops. Well the first on my list is the Dubliners. Now many of you will know I'm a London Irish fan and I like a pint of Guinness as much (maybe more depending who it is) as the next person. What you probably don't know is that in our house not a day has gone past that an Irish song hasn't rung out around the living room.
The Dubliners are probably one of the favourites in our house and having been going for almost 41 years the band are still playing together and still sound as good as the day they started. Since 1962 there have been 10 members of the band at various part but in the main the band have kept as much of the original line up as they could. When they did make a chance it was normally some one established in their own right to come in and help out.
The ten members have been:
Ronnie Drew: Vocals, Guitar "Banjo" Barney McKenna: Vocals, Banjo, Mandolin Luke Kelly: Vocals G-Banjo Ciaran Bourke: Vocals, Guitar, Whistle, Harmonica John Sheahan: Fiddle, Mandolin, Whistle, Backing Vocals Bob Lynch: Vocals, Guitar Jim McCann: Vocals, Guitar Sean Cannon: Vocals, Guitar Eamonn Campbell: Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals Paddy Reilly: Vocals, Guitar
The album includes a number of original Dubliners recordings and also a number of songs by other people. The album consists of 20 tracks and to be honest I'm not going to do every track but instead just the stand out ones. Of course If You haven't guessed yet the band are from Dublin. So on with the album.
The album starts with “Don’t Give Up 'Til It’s Over” a song that really sets the tone for the whole album. It starts with a guitar before the vocals come in quite loud in your typical Irish pub singer style but in a much more harmonical fashion. The song is quite sombre and drifts along with you whistling along. It’s quite a long song but like most Irish songs it’s easy to listen to.
The next track is one I’m sure a lot of people already know, mainly because Michael Flatfeet starred in the musical by the same name. No not River Dance but “Lord of The Dance”, at least I think Ol’ Flat Feet was in it. I’m sure a lot of people have heard this song and know what to expect and to be honest it is almost the same as every other version I have heard.
I’m going to skip forward a number of tracks now to track 8 and a song called Grace. This isn’t actually a Dubliners track but a solo effort by Jim McCann. This is regarded in Irish music circles as one of the best songs that has come out of the scene. It has a very mellow and eerie sound o it but it very relaxing and his voice sounds superb.
The next song I move onto is probably my favourite Irish song well joint favourite with one I’m going to get too shortly. The first song is “Seven Drunken Nights” a Dubliners original this song just has great lyrics and the music sounds superb as well. The song is lead by the guitars and is basically about a guy who gets drunk every night and comes hone and sees things he doesn’t recognize, because it belongs to his wife’s bit on the side, and basically its him asking and her coming up with some excuse for it. It really has to be heard to believe but its a good song and a true classic as far as the band goes.
The next track is three from the end and is called “All For Me Grog”. it’s got a fast beat carried along superbly and again is another drinking song about a guy trying to get money for alcohol and tobacco. It’s another song with comedic elements but not quite as good as the last track. The Irish bands like the Dubliners excel them self not only in Drinking songs but that is where most of the inspiration points towards.
The last song I am going to comment on is “The Irish Rover”, which was probably their biggest hit back in 1987 when they teamed up with the Pogues. This is my other favourite song by the Dubliners. Upbeat again it has a good tempo and is superb for singing along to. The vocals mix well between the Dubliners and Shane McGowan from the Pogues. The song is used for many London Irish occasions as they have added another verse on the end. The tempo is kept up throughout the song and is a great tune for keeping the spirits up and probably flowing.
So there are the stand out tracks on the album, mixed in amongst those are medley’s with Banjo Barney going mad and more of the same kind of songs. The album represents a large selection of the Dubliners music over the 40 years but with a career spanning that long there are so many equally as good tracks missing from the album.
Track List:
1) Don’t Give Up 'Til It’s Over 2) Lord Of The Dance 3) Dancing At Whitsun 4) When The Boys Come Rolling Home 5) Raglan Road 6) a) Rocky Road to Dublin b) Within A Mile Of Dublin 7) The Last Thing On My Mind 8) Grace 9) Perab San Ol 10) a) Plains of Boyle b) Sheaf Of Wheat 11) Seven Drunken Nights 12) The Kerry Recruit 13) The Town I Loved So Well 14) a) Gerry Cronin’s Reel b) Denis Langton’s Reel 15) Carrickfergus 16) Viva La Quinta Brigada 17) All For Me Grog 18) Marino Casino 19) Scorn Not His Simplicity 20) The Irish Rover (ft. The Pogues).
The cheapest I have seen the CD available on the net is from www.celtic-collections.com for almost 20 Euros.
Cheers Andy
More details
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Good
How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Cover / Inlay Design and Content
Outstanding
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