t Bushmill’s Choir - s/t (Empty) This is some nice rousing Celtic folk/rock done by ex-members of The Gits, Subvert and The Pinkos. This is not too different in some ways from The Pogues (except there’s not a totally wasted guy on vocals here) and in some places The Replacements or even The Clash (not too much but the spirit of it is there). They’re not named after any actual saint...well, if you count Bushmills Beer as a “holy” then maybe. They even throw in bouzouki & banjo for some nice effect. These are some great traditional tunes & jigs on the same album with an acoustic cover of Poison Idea’s “Just To Get Away” (!!!).
((((1)))) Fast rollicking good time - with a historical touch. I dunno the original Dubliners version but this is great, fun stuff.
(((2))) Folk/indie rock mix. Something like the Replacements, Elvis Costello hangin’ out bashin’ fratguys over the heads with bottles of Beamish just outside Boston.
((((3)))) Great banjo, accordian & rockin’ guitars a very steady instrumental.
((((4)))) Slow, sad ballad with a wonderful, smoky voice and accordian playing. I’m always down with mellancholly epecially if it’s from one of “my peoples” like this is.
(((((5))))) The name says it all ‘cept ya might wanna do a slow jig mixed with a mosh since these dudes are from a punk background ‘ya know?
Fantastic traditional Irish music
((((6)))) OK, not as good as the Thin Lizzy version but a billion times better than the M*tallica version (well that sucks rotten corn beef but that goes without saying). The fastest version of this I’ve ever heard. Nice tin whistle breakdown, too.
(((((7))))) Excellent, slow folk ballad verion of a Poison Idea classic
(FCC “motherfuckin’ goddamn shit” 3:59-3:56)
((((8)))) Speedy folk-rock meets sea shantey with take an old traditional. This sticks to the original version not the Pogues version (lyrics, arrangement) yet the vocals sound a lot like Shane.
(((((9))))) These aren’t polkas like the Germanic/Polish variety, rather their somewhere closers to some crazed tempo from traditional Celtic, Scandinavian folk tunes. (If you played this on clarinet it would totally sound like klezmer, too). Anyway you look hear it, it still fun filled, roustabout folk stuff. Some slow, some midpaced and some rather fast.
((((10)))) A lot of people have done this one (include Dyland who rewrote the lyrics) a nice English-Irish tune about immigrating to America circa 1800-something.
((((11)))) Ye olde Irish Republican (aka: Pro-British) song and a traditional one at that. I suspect they did this to not take sides either songwise or politicswise with this one. Potential intentions aside, this is done really well.
((12)) Eh, this one rubs me the wrong way, sounds too “Springsteen”-ish to me. Oh, it’s by Black 47...well I don’t remember them being any good. They totally changed the lyrics, too.
(((13))) Uptempo, bluegrass/folk/Celtic mix. It’s an old Irish American tune tale put to song & first recorded by The Carter Family. It’s a tale about a gambler who killed a man over a 25¢ debt in the 1800’s
(((14))) Rollin’ number with very Shane MacGowan vocals and a lot of “hey, hey” shouted out.