Release Date: March 16
Length: 1:26:19
Genre: Celtic Punk
Let's see........I openly started listening to music maybe........five years ago. That's about right. There are a few bands I remember being a part of that: Fall Out Boy (urgh), Sean Paul (ehhhhhh), Live, and Dropkick Murphys. Of these bands, Dropkick Murphys is the only one I have managed to still enjoy. The style of punk being fused with Celtic stylings has (for whatever reason) stayed appealing to me, in particular the song Sunshine Highway. A Massachusetts band formed in 1996, Dropkick Murphy's have been one of the more well known punk bands to hit the scene over the last decade, and since then, they have constantly been refining their style to be appealing to every demographic they have the potential of appealing to. The refinement can be seen throughout they're discography, especially once you listen to their first EP Boys on the Docks, and immediately follow up with their most recent album, The Meanest of Times. It's almost mind blowing.
Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is their most recent release, and this album is (as you've probably inferred from the cover) a live one. Seeing as this is a live album, it would be rather unfair if I try complaining about the flow, so I'll find other stuff to talk about.
The setlist is actually very impressive, containing mostly songs out of Dropkicks most recent two albums, with a few exceptions tossed in. The most notable songs on here (not counting the singles and songs that get played at every single show) include Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (If you like punk chantey's, this is for you!), Sunshine Highway, Flannigans Ball, Caught in a Jar, and one of my favorites by the band, The Dirty Glass (featuring Stephanie Dougherty on awesome backing vocals). And of course, there is going to be a very cool rendition of Shipping Up to Boston at the end, and in fact, it features some very special guests from another band with an album I [LINK] reviewed.
As far as how well those songs were played, I'm a bit mixed. On one hand, the songs are altered in some very cool ways. Many of the songs have altered instrumental arrangements, and of course, we all know how much cooler songs sound when recorded live. However, I also have a problem with how the tracks were mastered. The audiences cheering is used at the beginning and end of the tracks, but everywhere inbetween is cleaned up so well that it sounds more like re-recorded tracks than a live performance. Also, the aforementioned Shipping Up to Boston didn't have quite as much collaboration as I would have liked, but it was still very enjoyable.
Live on Lansdowne is one of the better live albums I have heard. Although there are a few things I would have liked to be changed, I am more than happy at what I was given.
Let's see........I openly started listening to music maybe........five years ago. That's about right. There are a few bands I remember being a part of that: Fall Out Boy (urgh), Sean Paul (ehhhhhh), Live, and Dropkick Murphys. Of these bands, Dropkick Murphys is the only one I have managed to still enjoy. The style of punk being fused with Celtic stylings has (for whatever reason) stayed appealing to me, in particular the song Sunshine Highway. A Massachusetts band formed in 1996, Dropkick Murphy's have been one of the more well known punk bands to hit the scene over the last decade, and since then, they have constantly been refining their style to be appealing to every demographic they have the potential of appealing to. The refinement can be seen throughout they're discography, especially once you listen to their first EP Boys on the Docks, and immediately follow up with their most recent album, The Meanest of Times. It's almost mind blowing.
Live on Lansdowne, Boston MA is their most recent release, and this album is (as you've probably inferred from the cover) a live one. Seeing as this is a live album, it would be rather unfair if I try complaining about the flow, so I'll find other stuff to talk about.
The setlist is actually very impressive, containing mostly songs out of Dropkicks most recent two albums, with a few exceptions tossed in. The most notable songs on here (not counting the singles and songs that get played at every single show) include Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya (If you like punk chantey's, this is for you!), Sunshine Highway,Flannigan's Ball, Caught in a Jar, and one of my favorites by the band, The Dirty Glass (featuring Stephanie Dougherty on awesome backing vocals). And of course, there is going to be a very cool rendition of Shipping Up to Boston at the end, and in fact, it features some very special guests from another band with an album I reviewed.
As far as how well those songs were played, I'm a bit mixed. On one hand, the songs are altered in some very cool ways. Many of the songs have altered instrumental arrangements, and of course, we all know how much cooler songs sound when recorded live. However, I also have a problem with how the tracks were mastered. The audiences cheering is used at the beginning and end of the tracks, but everywhere inbetween is cleaned up so well that it sounds more like re-recorded tracks than a live performance. Also, the aforementioned Shipping Up to Bostondidn't have quite as much collaboration between the two bands as I would have liked, but it was still very enjoyable.
Live on Lansdowne is one of the better live albums I have heard. Although there are a few things I would have liked to be changed, I am more than happy at what I was given.
Grade: B+
Notable Tracks: Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya, Sunshine Highway, Flannigan's Ball, Caught in a Jar, The Dirty Glass, Shipping Up to Boston, The State of Massachusetts.
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