Dropkick Murphys - TheMeanest Of Times

Mon 11th Feb, 2008 in Music Reviews

If you’ve never heard of the Dropkick Murphys before, they’re best described as celtic punk rockers who hail from Boston.

The band name was originally taken from a man in Massachusetts who used to run a rehab center for drunks and bums. He was similar to the boogey man since parents used to tell their kids that if you were too drunk to get home he would lock them up in the rehab center until they were sober again. I don’t know if it’s true or not but I think it’s a damn good story to name your band around. The Meanest Of Times is the Dropkick’s sixth studio album and follows on from their 2005 release The Warriors Code. Their biggest single from the album was called I’m Shipping off to Boston and was featured in Martin Scorsese’s film The Departed.

Newcomers to the Dropkick Murphys’ material should be forewarned that the lead vocalist Al Barr is not the finest singer in the world. His vocals are best described as gritty and his style is more shouting than actual singing. However this totally fits the loud and heavy punk melodies of most of the songs and the fact is that there are few people out there who can match the passion and energy that Al brings to their songs.

I’ve previously heard people listen to them and say that their energetic music is likely to make people smash things and start riots, bar fights, and other acts of violence. However the presence of bagpipes, mandolin and accordion in all their music also makes people want to spontaneously break out into a jig so this music is definitely a lot of fun to listen to.

The Meanest Of Times mixes up this fun aspect with a lot more serious tunes. The name of the album is derived from the hard lives that a lot of the band members lived through as children. Therefore there seems to be a central family theme running through a lot of the songs. I would highly recommend reading over the lyrics so you can appreciate some of the albums interesting and rather poignant tales.

Track Descriptions:

Famous for nothing: A great start track with lots of backing vocals and bagpipes and is fast and frantic. Very good song for those new to the Dropkick Murphys as it sums up their music style well. 8/10

God Willing: Dedicated to friends they have lost over the years. Alright track but the music doesn’t have enough depth to match the meaningful lyrics. Rather repetitive but the chorus is rousing and fun to sing along to. 6/10

State of Massachusetts: A Banjo solo kicks of this song which is the first to tug at the heart strings as it’s about an abused mother’s children being taken away from her. The banjo is the real highlight of this track and really makes you want to dance a happy jig, despite the sadness. 9/10

Tomorrow’s Industry: A nonstop rocking track that kicks off with an awesome count in. A rousing indictment on greedy America companies and how they cause family’s to suffer by working them harder and paying them less. A great drum beat drives the frustration and anger home. 8/10

Echoes on – œA’ street: The first relatively slow track (well as slow as dropkicks get), doesn’t really do it for me. As far as I can tell it’s about a dedicated woman (Shannon) waiting for her master to come home. Actually maybe it’s about a dog and her master. 6/10

Vices and virtues: A sad song that belies its meaning behind a rowdy rocking beat. The sing along chorus “Whisky, war, suicide and guns” sums up the songs story. One son hung himself, another froze to death in an alley drinking gin, one got shot over drugs and another by a snipers gun during the war. 7/10

Surrender: A great paced track which has really grown on me. Well timed vocals and a great guitar riff work well for this song about a son who couldn’t live up to his fathers wishes. 8/10

Flannigans Ball: The first track that I heard from this album is a surefire single. Has guest vocals from Irish legends Spider Spacey The Pogues and Ronnie Drew The Dubliners. The bagpipes are a real highlight on this track and the chorus absolutely rocks. I just wish this Flannigan’s ball shindig was real as it had free beer on tap, the boys were hammered and the girls were hearty. A fight then breaks out and someone tears a leg of a table and smashes dishes, someone gets kicked in the spleen and the piper nearly gets strangled. The girls in the middle nearly get trampled and that put an end to Flannigans ball. 9/10

I’ll Begin Again: Another song with a shout along chorus but it does get a bit repetitive. Basically about a guy recently out of jail for a crime he didn’t commit. Has a short guitar solo to finish off the song but apart from that nothing stands out on this track. 6/10

Fairmont Hill: A slow song based on an Irish barroom ballad. The banjo and drum beat work well but unfortunately Al Bar’s out of tune voice stands out like a sore thumb. It’s still a good song if you can forgive the vocals. 7/10

Loyal to No One: A banjo breakdown and an angry chorus shouting “Loyal to no one!” are the highlights on this track. I think there’s even a slight hint of accordion in the back of this one, but I could be wrong and maybe it’s just the bagpipes or mandolin. 7/10

Shattered: A nice bass line kicks this track one off which then drives into over gear as one of the fastest punk sounding tracks off the album. Since they’re ranting their anger on a wide range of things this track has to be fast to fit it all in. Steroid abusing ball players, anorexic role models, child molesting priests, cops stalking girls, the crooked FBI and gay cheating husbands are all covering in the space of 2 min 48 sec. 8/10

Rude Awakenings: The slow banjo starts this song and blends in well with the vocals. This song really hits its stride midway as after a 1,2,3,4 count in the bagpipes change the tempo. The song is best summarised by the lines “I buried my loneliness with her for the night then I left with new symptoms no antidepressant could cure”. Let the lyrics “With the night still fresh on my breath I awoke to the grime face of death” be a warning not to sleep with strangers who won’t remember who you are the next morning. By the end you’ll probably singing along “Hey, what she take ya for” 8/10

Johhny I Hardly Knew Ya: This is based around an American civil war classic When Johnny comes marching home and when you hear this song you’ll probably say you’ve heard it before. An absolutely fantastic track and definitely the most fun and exciting one on the album. The mandolin plays a major part in this song along with the rousing chorus “We had guns and drums and guns and drums. Hurroo Hurroo” It even has a break down near the end with a kicking drum beat. I can’t get enough of this track. 10/10

Never Forgot: The final track of the album begins with bag pipping goodness and ends on a positive note. Compared to previous songs this one has a very uplifting message that basically says that even though things can be hard “May good fortune turn your way and to everyone whose had someone remember them today”. The chorus will have you singing “When you got love and we got family”. 7/10

Jailbreak (Bonus Track): This is a cover of a song released in 1976 by the Irish band Thin Lizzy. Due to the bagpipes throughout it sounds different to the original but is still rather catchy. Would have preferred them to cover their other hit The boys are back in town, but I suppose Everclear have already done that. 7/10

In conclusion,The Meanest Of Times is an excellent album that showcases the Dropkick Murphys’ rough and ready punk rock style. While getting used to the raw vocals takes a while it’s hard to beat the amount of passion and energy these guys put into their music. If you’re a longtime fan like me then this album is sure to please. Personally this album isn’t as good as the The Warriors Code or Blackout as these releases had a greater diversity of energetic Irish songs. This newest release is missing this Celtic flavour due to the bagpipes being less pronounced throughout. However as there’s a number of meaningful stories to hear on this album you- œll get more from it if you thoroughly read and listen to the lyrics.