Customer Reviews

Do Or Die

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Dropkick Murphys are one of my favorite bands and DO OR DIE is one of my favorite CDs. The band is in top form here, delivering song after song of pounding punk energy in the oi / streetpunk vein. They also have a great Irish feel, which makes them really stand out.

The CD is filled with classic songs - "Get Up" is a punk anthem with sing-along vocals ("why don't you get up and get out! "), as are all of DKM's songs, it seems. "Never Alone" is easily one of the album's best songs, a proud anthem to the misunderstood skinhead filled with great lyrics that may open some people's eyes ("You're a hard-workin' man who's payed his dues / but they still call you racist on the evenin' news").

"Road of the Righteous" is my favorite song on the CD and one of my favorite songs. Everything comes together on it and Mike McColgan is in top form. "Far Away Coast" is beautiful, and "Fightstarter Karaoke" and "Barroom Hero" are classics. The album closes with several less-punk, more sing-along anthems like the old "Finnegan's Wake", "Boys on the Docks", and the cover (sort of) "Skinhead of the MTBA."

DO OR DIE is a great album and the title says it all - you have to get it. Also, people criticize Al Barr a lot because he's not Mike, but he is great and The Gang's All Here is a great album. He is amazing live as well. If you get a chance to see a DKM show, don't miss it because they are one of the best live punk bands there is. If you want more songs from the McColgan era, be sure to check out THE EARLY YEARS.

I just listened to this album for the first time today, and I was blown away. The Dropkick Murphys bring an energy and passion that is just amazingly infectious. Head-bobbing, anthemic songs predominate on this album; highlights include "Never Alone" and "Barroom Hero." The speed of the music and Mike McColgan's leather-lunged vocals give this music a pace and power that is hard to equal. A must-have for punk fans and probably even for metalheads. If you like your music fast and furious, this album is definitely for you.

This should be an "essential recording." The Dropkick Murphys are one of the most ambitious and talented musical groups still releasing albums. The fact that most radio stations (Or at least the ones in my area) don't play them is a testament to the shear ignorance of the mass of listeners (I nver listen to the radio.) Whatever is popular plays, even if the bands have little talent or integrity.
The Dropkick murphys, with their seamless infusion of aggressive rock and tradtional irish music, are one of the premier rock bacnd out there today. Their music and their lyrics are both entertaing and insightful. The unbelievable talent they exude is absolutely unparalleled. They take rock from the music videos and arena to the level of the working man, where the real music fans are.
Highly recommend! Top Ten band.

This album was my first taste of this delicious Boston treat, and from the first strains of "Cadence to Arms" I was hooked. By the time "Barroom Hero" came marching in, I was ready to down my Guinness, throw the glass at my buddy, and charge though the pub smashing stuff and raising hell! And the best track, for those with Irish tastes, has got to be the long overdue punk treatment of "Finnegan's Wake". As a fan of true, old school punk, and an eternal slave to the Irish drinking song, I have found Heaven! Be they led by Mike McColgan or by Al Barr, I say "Long live the Dropckick Murphys!"

This is, without a doubt, the better of the two Dropkick Murphys cds. The lead vocals are better, and the songs have more heart behind them. Not to badmouth The Gang's All Here (I love that one too), but Do or Die is better. For anyone who is reading this, and thinks that Al Barr has a better voice on The Gang's All Here, I have to disagree. Mike McColgin was the original, and is still the best.

if only all their albums were this good! dont get me wrong the rest of their cds are great but they just dont match this record by a long shot. it is the hardest album by them to date and the most energetic. when dropkick tries to play any songs off this now it isnt the same because al doesnt have half the voice mike had.
the album starts with cadence to arms which is the coolest intro on any dropkick album. the next 3 songs are all great fast punk songs. caught in a jar is an amazing song to sing along to. memories remain is a classic and road of the righteous is one of the best dropkick songs ever. Far away coast is simply spectacular with ken's voice coming in at the chorus. fightstarter karaoke brings the pace up again fast and then there is the dropkick anthem barroom hero... that pretty much speaks for itself. the next 2 songs are pretty good but finnegan's wake is my favorite dropkick song ever!! noble is an o.k. song but the last 2 are phenomenal. boys on the docks is a song that will never get old no matter how many times you play it... it is one of the best songs ever written and skinhead is a song you can sing your heart out to and is also amazing live
stop debating what dropkick album to buy and get this it is by far the best

I bought this CD two years ago just as an impulse. I must say that I've never regretted buying this album. I now own every DKM CD and I have to tell you in all honesty that this is definitely their best effort. Not to say that their other albums are sub-par, but this album is absolutely phenomenal. I highly recommend picking up this CD if you've got the time.

Sing Loud, Sing Proud was the first Dropkick Murphys album I bought. After my first listen, I ran out and picked this up. These guys are the musical equivelant to crack. Once you get a little, you want more. Do or Die is more straight-out punk and less folk than Sing Loud, but it's STILL fifty times better than ANYTHING on the radio today. If all was right in the world, these guys would be bigger than the horrid White Stripes *shudder* or the talentless Strokes *double shudder.* This is punk in its purest form; loud, hard, and no song is over four minutes long.

The Songs:
Cadence to Arms - Best punk cover ever.
Do or Die - A solid punk song. Makes you want to go on strike.
Get Up - Not their best, but still VERY good.
Never Alone - My favorite DKM song. About brotherhood and sticking up for your friends.
Caught in a Jar - Didn't much like it at first. Then I stopped skipping it three seconds in. AWESOME song. Very bouncy.
Memories Remain - Very sing-along punk. It hooks you from the first note.
Road of the Righteous- I like this song so much, I got sick of it.
Far Away Coast - NICE ballad. And I hate ballads.
Firestarter Karaoke - Another song that had to grow on me. Loved it by the third listen.
Barroom Hero - Quintessential DKM song. This demonstrates what these guys do best.
3rd Man In - The only song on the CD I don't like. Maybe I should listen to it more.
Tenant Enemy #1 - Another stick it to the man song from the guys who do it best.
Finnegan's Wake - Like Cadence to Arms, this is classic folk covered right.
Noble - GREAT song.
Boys on the Docks (Pub Version)- I like the original more, but this is still a great version.
Skinhead on the MBTA - Funny song with a great meaning.

If you're tired of the same crap over and over, pick these guys up. If you're not, pick these guys up. Best band ever.

Straight up, this album isn't for sit around-waste-your-life-cry-about-everything-punks. This is for individuals who actually get punk rock and use it as a source of motivation to improve their lives. Don't lift weights? You will, after hearing this.

The intro, Cadence to Arms is a perfect teasor of what's to come: Do or Die, Get Up and Never Alone will pump you up and get the adrenaline flowing.

The Irish folk tracks like Caught in A Jar, Far Away Coast, and Boys on the Docks (Pub version) work well, especially as setups for the trax that follow.

I don't know who else could write Fightstarter Karaoke ("Gonna start a fight but with who I don't [censored] know?"). Barrom Hero is a legendary track and will always get you going.

Noble is such a good track, and really cannot draw a parallel to any other song.

Normally bands end albums with B-side material, but not the Dropkicks. The closing anthem is Skinhead on the MBTA, which is the best cover song ever. I haven't heard the original song, and never want to, because nothing can touch this version with a ten foot pole.

With 16 trax, and at least 7 legendary songs, this'll make you get up and get out.

As a UK child of the 70s, punk was truly "my music", and I have always been well pleased to see punk enjoyed, albeit discreetly, by many American audiophiles. However, American bands struggle to stay true to the form and, at the risk of offending, I must say that I don't believe there are more than 3-4 genuinely good genuinely punk rock bands in the USA (and I'll shorten the list for you - the Ramones were never punks).

All that being said, the Dropkicks fall into the category of true punk bands, and while I didn't even run across this band until the late 90s, I can't get enough of their stuff, no matter who the lead singer is. As other reviewers here point out, they are anti-establishment without being nihilistic, they're blue collar, they write great anthems, and they are fast and raucous and pure fun! This album, while very early in their discography, is a definite high-water mark for the band, in my opinion, with almost every track a hit. Later albums have lots of great songs on them, but "Do or Die" will always be, for me, the definitive DKM album you share with UK critics of US punk, to showcase the very best of what American punks can do.