Blackout

Dropkick Murphys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 10, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hellcat Records
• ASIN: B00009IB0X
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,046 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #97 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Hardcore

Track Listings

1. Walk Away

2. Worker's Song

3. The Outcast

4. Black Velvet Band

5. Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight

6. World Full of Hate

7. Burried Alive

8. The Dirty Glass

9. Fields of Athenry

10. Bastards on Parade

11. As One

12. This Is Your Life

13. Time to Go

14. Kiss Me I'm #!@*faced

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Al Barr - Lead Vocals Ken Casey - Lead Vocals, Bass Matt Kelly - Drums, Bodhran, Vocals James Lynch - Guitar, Vocals Marc Orrell - Guitar, Accordion, Vocals Ryan Foltz - Mandolin, Tin Whistle, Dulcimer Scruffy Wallace - Bagpipes

The Dropkick Murphys’ uncompromising spirit and matchless energy surge through Blackout, the Boston-based, Celtic punk outfit’s triumphant new album. From the urgent and irresistible opener "Walk Away" – which takes to task a father who abandons his family – to the superb, bagpipe-doused blue collar homage "Worker’s Song," DKM continues to build off of the musical blueprint it began with back in 1996.

Perhaps the hard charging, chant-along "Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight" best represents just how far the Dropkick Murphys have come. When approached a year ago by Woody Guthrie’s daughter Nora with the prospect of putting some of her legendary father’s unpublished lyrics to music, the net result was the fiery punk firecracker that became the title track to DKM’s fourth studio set.

Rooted in the sounds of The Clash, The Pogues, AC/DC and Stiff Little Fingers, the Murphys started with humble but enthusiastic means, self-releasing early recordings and touring to support them. Just two years later, the band's hard work aligned them with Hellcat Records, Tim Armstrong's new imprint for Brett Gurewitz’s Epitaph label. The resulting Do or Die, produced by Armstrong's Rancid-mate Lars Fredriksen, lit the musical fuse that would soon explode inside the punk community. Chronicling DKM's innovative fusion of blistering rock & roll, melodic Irish folk, and a deep loyalty to the working class, Do or Die rendered sales of 150,000 largely due to word of mouth in the underground and forged a path in punk rock that turned a whole new generation of kids onto Celtic & traditional folk music although in this case with a much bigger kick in the ass!

Introducing the vocal exchanges of Al Barr and Ken Casey 2001's ambitious Sing Loud Sing Proud incorporated more instrumentation than any previous effort. Defining the Murphys' position as leaders of a new sub-genre that could only be concocted in the heart of Boston, the disc's hometown anthems and whiskey-soaked melodies earned the group even wider acclaim. Continuously surprising industry pundits by outdrawing even high profile mainstream acts as headliners on major tours and festival participants on four continents, DKM landed high-profile slots on the Warped and Punk-O-Rama tours, plus achieving personal goals by performing at the Sex Pistol's infamous Silver Jubilee gig and on the Boston born Conan O'Brien Show in the wake of Sing Loud.

The Dropkick Murphys incendiary live performances were the subject of their next release, 2002’s Live On St. Patrick’s Day From Boston, MA. An exhibition of the group’s infamous, annual homecoming gigs, these events find ale swilling hooligans standing alongside punk rock supporters of all ages. The concerts have become so popular, in fact, that 2003 saw the Murphys move an unprecedented 8,000 tickets for four shows, shattering the venue sales record previously held by the legendary Ramones.

With Blackout, the Dropkick Murphys deliver their finest record to date. No mere "punk rock" album, its lack of pretension and honesty puts it much closer to the works of Bragg and even Springsteen. As impressively innovative and broad in musical scope as ever, Blackout finds DKM’s persevering spirit and heartfelt approach to music omni-potent.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great combination, June 18, 2003

By 

"zuljyn" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackout (Audio CD)

The Dropkick Murphys have the unique ability to blend musical styles together and create their own sound. Even on Do or Die, they showed they were more than aggressive punk rock. Though the band is a shadow of its original line up, they are making the best music yet. They have become the first band since the Pogues to fuse celtic sounds and punk and come up with their own sound. What began with Sing Loud, Sing Proud culiminates with Blackout. Opening up with Walk Away and Workers Song, the Dropkicks prove again that they can be as loud as they want to be. The Black Velvet Band is a brilliant rendition of an old song as is the Fields of Athenry( my personal favorite song on the album with the pipes and guitars on full blast and an irresistable chorus). They take Woody Guthrie's Gonna Be a Blackout Tonite and make it their own anthem to their town (think Never Alone off Do or Die). The most unique song on the album would have to be The Dirty Glass where Ken Casey and Al Barr square off against a female vocalist in a musical dialogue of a love story, it sounds surprisingly like Fairytale of New York by the Pogues. Bastards on Parade and Time to Go are raucous tunes that prove the bar is still alive and well in the Murphys. Kiss Me im S*i&faced is a fun tongue in cheek tune as well. Overall this album is a triumph all the tracks are strong, it is their best work and one of the best combinations of punk and celtic music since If I Should Fall From the Grace of God by the Pogues.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maybe not their best but good all the same, April 14, 2008

By 

Gogol (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackout (Audio CD)

Many people seem to slate this album because it is seen as a departure from Do or Die. While that album was by for a more raw Oi!punk sound this album does have its merits.

DM give us the same Oi! chants, Irish heritage and lyrics about drinking that have made them popular. Track that stands out for me is "Fields of Athenry" Great to hear it rendered into an Oi! track (Wonder if the DM know it is a popular terrace song of Liverpool fans (all be it with the lyrics changed to "Fields of Anfield Road"))

Outside the Shankly Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Shankly they have taken you away
But you left a great eleven
Before you went to heaven
Now it's glory round the Fields of Anfield Road.

All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

Outside the Paisley Gates
I heard a Kopite calling
Paisley they have taken you away
You led the great 11
Back in Rome in 77
And the Redmen they are still playing the same way
All round the Fields of Anfield Road
Where once we watched the King Kenny play (and he could play)
We had Heighway on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
Of the glory round the Fields of Anfield Road

The DM have often been compared to Cock Sparrar and Sham 69 and that would probably be a fair comparaison. Don't know why anyone would have a problem with the DM celebrating their Irish heritage this is a pretty good album.

Well worth a listen.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It has it's good and bad moments. At least it's energetic, December 28, 2004

By 

Brian Blueskye "dharmahooligan" (Desert Hot Springs, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackout (Audio CD)

The album isn't actually bad. It doesn't have the spirit as the previous albums but it's worthy. It has a couple of Irish traditionals done to punk rock along with the title track of "Blackout" which was written by the Gutherie clan and given to Dropkick Murphys.

It has some good moments and bad moments, but it's not a weak effort. It just may not have that same appeal as past albums to older fans. The tracks "The Dirty Glass", "The Workers Song", and "Fields Of Athenry" along with their cover of "Black Velvet Band" make it energetic.