Customer Reviews

New York Town

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read several reviews before posting mine and have to agree with bits and pieces from several. I love Black 47, especially live, but always found them to be hit and miss. Not one CD, except maybe Fire of Freedom, has been consistently excellent, but when they're good they're great, so I've gladly taken the misses with the hits. NY Town is similar in my opinion. Mychal, Fiona's Song (I bought the CD at a show during the set after hearing it), and Fatima are among their best songs ever. However, it seems the up tempo tunes have lost their edge. I haven't heard anything like Funky Ceili, The Big Fellah, or Losin' It in a long time. Perhaps as Larry has mellowed with age, the ballads get stronger while the angry and fun up tempo tunes aren't his forte anymore. Regardless, if you're a fan, you'll want NY Town. Mychal is amazing and can bring a tear to your eye. All of the sadness of 9/11 comes rushing back when you here it. Very powerful.

I lost interest in Black 47 a few albums ago. They were just getting too hit or miss for my tastes, especially when their first few albums held up so well. Just when I'd nearly stopped caring about them, along comes their best effort since "Fire of Freedom." It's about time!

Since nearly everything they've ever recorded was unavoidably connected to New York in one way or another, of course 9/11 was bound to hang heavy in the air. And it does, even on some of the songs that are about other matters entirely. So it's just as well that Larry and the boys didn't shy away from addressing it head on in "New York Town," "Orphan of the Storm" and "Mychal" (a tribute to Father Mychal Judge, set rather loosely to the tune of "Lord Franklin"). All three are unique and well-expressed, something hardly any other song about 9/11 can claim. "Orphan" is as definitive of the Black 47 sound as anything else I've heard, and one of their best ever.

Elsewhere, well, there's lots more on the same subjects you've heard them rant and rave about before, but the formula still works. "San Patricio Brigade," about Irish-American soldiers who turned their coats in the Mexican War, is the requisite chip-on-the-shoulder political song, and it's catchier than many of their others in that category. "Fiona's Song," featuring delightful guest vocals from Rosanne Cash, is basically "Sleep Tight in New York City" with the next chapter filled in at last. If you liked it then, you'll like it now. "Blood Wedding" is yet another tale of the seedy New York underworld, but it's as darkly beautiful as any of the others.

The most obvious sequel of all is "Livin' In America - 11 Years On" - same tune, same characters, but the innocence is gone to put it mildly! I didn't like this one too much at first - such a bitter ending to what was a sweet story - but it's grown on me since then. Both songs, by the way, are apparently based on a real couple who met at an early Black 47 show. Which explains a lot!

Definitely a worthy addition to their collection and yours.

BLACK 47 - "New York Town" CD '04 (Gadfly, US) - When people use the word "diverse" to describe a band's music, I don't think they've even heard a BLACK 47 album. Reason is, the word "diverse" doesn't even begin to do this group the slightest bit of justice. When spinning albums like B47's "Fire Of Freedom," "Home Of The Brave" or "Trouble In The Land," the words screaming out of my brain are more like "sweeping," "panoramic" and...well, yeah, there's the expression "rockin' up a storm," too. Thing is, BLACK 47 is not heavy metal, they're not especially hard rock, but they encompass a level of energy that often eclipses the best of both of those genres in it's pure rock & roll fury and then lifts a healthy pint to things like: Celtic, ska, Latin, urban street stuff like hip-hop, folk and well...get my point? Having heard this band for the first time on their last studio effort, 2000's "Trouble...," I was so impressed that I back-tracked to all their other stuff, drove 55 miles to buy main man Larry Kirwan's solo CD "Kilroy Was Here" the day it came out and have seen 'em live 4 times since. Now, as we begin a new year we see the release of "New York Town," and I am a contented man. From a musical standpoint, I loved "Trouble In The Land." It was interesting for me to go back & hear B47's earlier works, however, as in them I felt even more of a raw, street vibe. I feel that again on "New York Town," and I think it's a nice return. It's not that their wonderful blend of such unique musical cultures has changed. It's just that, even more akin to the "On Fire" live CD, this disc sports a really vibrant kick-in-the-ass sound that I absolutely love. When Jeffrey Blythe's sax's come punching through, I mean they punch...HARD! And, it's wonderful to hear new piper Joseph Mulvanerty given this kind of production to strut his stuff, not only on the ulleanns but on flute & tin/low whistles as well. In truth, the entire band sports a dynamic on this record that, like I said, has only been reached on their live work so far but the trick is...and they've accomplished it here, with the studio prowess of Larry K & Stewart Lerman...they've kept it clean, sharp & listenable at the same time. And, now let's talk about Larry & his songwriting. Larry Kirwan is, to me, the best songwriter in rock music. He can take a lyric and wrap it around a piece of music with such deftness that it literally brings a tear to my eye. Larry is the kind of guy that Bruce Springsteen was in the early days, only it goes beyond that...way beyond. Larry is a story teller but much more so, he never let's down the fact that he's a man...a very real human being who feels very real feelings and breathes them into the tales he tells in such a way that the listener can experience them in 3-D. If I told you about a coin laying on the ground on a street in Greenwich Village, you'd know about...a coin laying on the ground on a street in Greenwich Village. If Larry told you about it, you'd smell the glistening fruit on the stand at the corner, feel the pain in the man's voice who bent to pick the coin as he reminisced about his past in Ireland and the love he'd left behind, become riled at the political sentiments of the kid getting off his beat-up bike at the newsstand next door. And, with his ability to paint the real, the visceral and mix with it the full range of human emotion, Larry has this time wed to BLACK 47's vital music a stirring and volatile look at New York City. It is a sometimes stark, sometimes warmly embracing and yet a bravely unblinking look at this tremendous city, it's 5 boroughs all, and the course of human life that has run through it pre/during/post 9/11. Rather than all the pseudo-political hand-wringing pablum that other artists have used as their take on a city and an event that none of us could ever hope to solve, Larry has watched a city race toward a point in time and then branch out from it on the other side, reflecting on it's metamorphosis, a lot of which, as he says had begun long before those tragic events in September '01. As a capstone to the majesty of this release, the inclusion of some wonderful guest artists only serves to deepen it's effect. Listen to the beauty of Eileen Ivers fiddle work on the irresistable rhythm of "San Patricio Brigade." Marvel at the lovely vocal work by Suzzy Roche on the poignant "Brooklyn, Goodbye" or Rozz Moorehead's in-your-face street smarts in "Black Rose." And how can you not get up and swing your ass off when David Johansen comes barrelling into "Staten Island Baby." Magical stuff, indeed, but even with those, the main thing here is still BLACK 47. It's Larry and his band as a unit, moving seemlessly through New York, kicking up the dust, laying down the vibe and communicating tales that touch us to our souls.

This is truly a remarkable recording, and gets better and better with each listening. It captures all the flavor of New York City, with attention not only given to Manhattan, but to the outer boroughs as well. Black 47 is the most original of bands in terms of mixing intelligent commentary, musicianship, passion and fun. It's been nearly 5 years since Black 47's last studio recording. This record is worthy of standing side by side with some of their previous masterpieces like "Fire of Freedom" and "Home of the Brave." Notable guest performers include Roseanne Cash and Eileen Ivers on haunting, impassioned "Fiona's Song," and David Johannsen on "Staten Island Baby." Each track has it's own unique flavor and in true Black 47 fashion, tells a really interesting story

I'm listening to their latest CD, New York Town. It's tearing at my heart strings. I don't know whether I should smile and rock on with Black 47's amazing style of Celtic Rock that fuses traditional Irish instrumentation with horns and the hipper sounds of rock music, or should cry from the troubles endured by Irish immigrants to the United States.

I am doing both, because New York Town might not sound like trad Irish music with a drum set and horns, but it captures the Irish American mentality better than 90% of the contemporary Celtic albums I've heard.

The album begins with probably the most poignant song about Irish immigration, "San Patricio Brigade." In 1846, thousands of Irish immigrants joined the US Army to invade Mexico. The Anglo-Protestant officers treated them horribly. Add to this their doubts about fighting a Catholic country, hundreds of Irish desserted and signed on with the Mexican army. They were led by John Riley who formed the St Patrick's Batallion, also known as the San Patricio Brigade. And it takes someone like Larry Kirwan, Black 47's masterful Irish singer-songwriter, to really point out the tragedies endured.

And that's just the beginning of the CD. Every song is emotionally packed full of Irish stories that will really make you think. Larry Kirwan is not afraid to write and sing about the social issues endured by the Irish and of people in general, like New York Town which confronts 9/11 with visual acuity.

Black 47 also shows a reprise of a song from their first album, "Livin' In America - 11 Years On". I'll tell ye, I kinda glossed over it the first time I heard it on their self-titled CD, Black 47. I just can't do it here. It's probably one of my favorite songs, and it makes me want to weep. It could've been written a hundred years ago, and the story would still the same. Just as powerful and in some cases, it's even more touching.

New York Town also hosts a number of guest singers from Eileen Ivers on "San Patrico Brigade" to Christine Ohlman on "Blood Wedding". Mary Courtney does a a brilliant job of becoming a part of the story on "Livin' In America - 11 Years On". Roseanne Cash join Larry on "Fiona's Song" which is a another gripping story of lovers parted.

New York Town is the story of the Irish American immigrant, filled with all the gorgeous melancholy that haunts the passionate and makes you want to sing, dance, and cry over a pint of the human experience.

Black 47 has returned after a four year studio hiatus with a remarkably mature record that is a Valentine to the City of New York which has embraced the members of this band along with countless immagrants from Ireland and all cultures. The album kicks off with the stirring "San Patricio Brigade" which like much of Larry Kirwan's songs will get you up and dancing while teaching you some important history of Irish-American immigrants. The title track offers a refreshing and unique perspective on the September 11 aftermath in New York along with some great lines ("Didn't conservation go out with Jimmy Carter?").

The guest vocalists add rather than detract from the songs and add a new and refreshing twist to Black '47's music. Roseanne Cash gives a tremendous and moving performance mixed in with Eileen Ivers' brilliant fiddle work on "Fiona's Song." David Johanssen brings energy and vibrancy to the raucous "Staten Island Baby." Lastly, Ashley Davis's vocals on "Fatima" are simply haunting.

Some Black 47 diehards may take some time getting used to the re-makes of Black 47 classics such as "Black Rose" and "Blood Wedding" but the re-makes work in the context of the album's theme. The epilogue "Livin' In America -- 11 Years On" will bring a smile to most veterans of this great band, especially the hilarious verbal sparring between Mary Courtney and Larry Kirwan at the end of the song.

This album will be greatly enjoyed by those who are already Black 47 fans, and a great introduction to this band for newcomers who will hopefully pine for more of the band's great recordings.

We waited a long time for the new release, and the wait was worth it. The new music is pure Black 47 energy. Some of the instrumentation sounds a bit less raw than recordings from the early days, but it still manages to thumb its nose at the world. In addition there are several new versions of Black 47 classics, with updated lyrics and guest performers. Livin' in America-11 Years Later and Black Rose are especially fun. Can't wait to see the band when they tour our area next month.

I've been a fan of BLACK 47 from their first release. And I'm just obsessive-compulsive enough to have all of their CDs. After listening to "New York Town", I must say that I've heard it all before. Does Mr. Kirwin EVER change his singing style? I found his voice modulation and practice of forcing way-too-many words into just about every song irritating. Before the first song was over this thought went through my mind: Could I be playing ANY of the other BLACK 47 CDs?
I've given considerable thought to this review. I've regarded the progression of other musical artists through their careers and how the evolutionary process either added to or detracted from their quality and attraction. In brief: change is good. BLACK 47 (aka Larry Kirwin) cannot or will not change. Therefore, my collection of BLACK 47 music must now, as of this latest offering, be considered complete.

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There is a bouncing back and forth between gentle songs and rocking beats that is a little jarring, but it seems somehow appropriate in this ode to Kirwan's New York; each song taking on a different aspect of the city, a city
It wouldn't be a Black 47 recording without a little history lesson. This one starts out with a remembrance of the "San Patricio Brigade," immigrant soldiers who joined the Mexican Army when they could no longer tolerate the abuse they suffered in the American army. Not one of the stronger historical reminiscences, this one's a bit of a throwaway. But things kick up into another gear as the title cut, with its commentary on 9/11 as "talking heads are chattering on television" and "the people want answers not patronizing." Leave you with the idea that there is no loss of edge here and with a funky beat to boot. The pain of that fateful day hits again as "Orphan of The Storm" takes another look at what is left behind when you leave the "Old Country," a theme that runs throughout Kirwan's work, this time with a little less longing until 9/11 hits. A number of duets highlight this CD. Roseanne Cash adds an emotional vocal to "Fiona's Song," and then in a shock to the system David Johansen vamps it up with Kirwan on the wonderfully silly "Staten Island Baby." Then in another stunning change of pace, Kirwan unleashes the heart of this piece, his remembrance of Father Mychal Judge, OFM; a song with some of Kirwan's most touching lyrics,
"We all have sorrow, our share of trials
We all are sinners in each other's eyes
Love alone can heal the pain
God bestows love in so many ways"
The rest of the CD works just as well with tales of "Livin' In America" ("Oh Mammy dear we're all mad over here.") and a rap about an uptown girl and a downtown boy that just makes you smile at Kirwan's sense of humor and Rozz Moorehead's saucy vocals.
The band holds things together throughout with occasional flights of fancy with Blythe and Parcells horns and once again you will experience a truly original band when you give this a listen.

After returning from the Ireland tour with the band I was awaiting a real tour de force with NY Town but this is not the subdued moving album I was expecting. Been a fan since the beginning but gotta be honest, 3 remakes and some old chord progressions through out makes this hard to grasp. Half their songs are about NY anyway, they could have remade them all and put them on here. The originals are all quite strong but there are quite a few moments lyricaly where a word will seem forced to finish the line. This album has grown on me after a few listens but Id be lying to say its up there witht he rest of their material.
note: FATIMA was originally on Larry's solo album and in all honesty should have been left there. It was perfect.