| CD REVIEW Dropkick Murphy’s |
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Band : Dropkick Murphy’s If you’re in for a party you can always relay on Dropkick Murphy’s when they come around with an new record. They started out in the underground of the Boston hardcore scene and from day 1 they managed to get peoples attention because of the influences of their Irish root in the songs. A very nice move, look where it brought them after all those years. All around the world they’ve got fans shouting out their name. ‘going out in Style’ is already the 7th instalment and will surely contribute to their already very rich legacy. To put it simply: Dropkick Murphy’s are goddamn good. This time around they came up with a concept built up around the character of Cornelius Larkin, an Irish immigrant that really existed although not every story told on ‘Going Out With Style’ is true. A genius plan. The beauty of nit all is that is didn’t end with just the story they wrote while working on the lyrics. They got in touch with writer Michael Patrick MacDonald. He rote the liner notes and expanded the whole story of Cornelius. Musical wise you’ll find everything that made Dropkick Murphy’s as big and successful as they are now. First off, you’ve got fast and happy songs like the album opener ‘Hang ‘Em High’ and the title track on witch they got NOFX Fat Mike coming around lending them a hand. It reminds us of the very first time we heard ‘The Gang’s All Here’. Of course also more melo track pas by like ‘Memorial Day’, ‘Cruel’ and ‘1953 – Dropkick Murphy’s’’. With ‘Sunday Hardcore Matinee’ they take us back to the early days of hardcore history when every Sunday afternoon a big party was thrown in CBGB’S in the heart of New York City. The biggest chill down the band members spines probably came when they recorded the Irish traditional ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ on witch they got the one and only Bruce Springsteen swinging by to lent his voice. Some artists would give up an arm and a leg for that. When we first heard the album title we thought this would be a sort of goodbye. Now we know better. Dropkick Murphy’s are far from finished and we feel they got some great tunes up their sleeve. Let’s go Murphy’s. 89/100 Stef Maes. Band: Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys have been around for a long time, and nothing much has changed… They are still that blue collar working class heroes they were so many years ago. I used to be a big fan, but their previous record ‘The Meanest Of Times’ didn’t really appeal to me. I wasn’t really expecting ‘Going Out In Style’ to be any different. But hey, I certainly have to admit that the newest album from the Boston streetpunkers really stepped up from the level of its precedent! Of course it remains a typical Murphys-album. The Celtic folk-influences are all over the record and the distinctive color of Al Barr’s voice makes it impossible to not recognize ‘Going Out In Style’ as such. The album can be considered as a concept album, telling the life story of one Cornelius Larkin. “Sunday Hardcore Matinee” leaves the Larkin storyline. It might be seen as a tribute to the band's own adolescence and upbringing that name drops old school bands and the pits of the old hardcore matinees, as well as the band's desire to hold on to the feelings and friendships from way back when. Further, there are some pretty interesting guest vocals to be found on this album to say the least. What to think about the collaboration with NOFX’s Fat Mike, or Chris Cheney from The Living End on the title track “Going Out in Style” or an even a bigger surprise to hear the voice from the legendary Bruce Springsteen on their version of “Peg O’ My Heart”? An honest record that proves it’s not yet time for the Americans to be Going Out In Style… Magaly. |