Customer Reviews

Shots

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Damien Dempsey is one of the most underrated artists in the music scene today. This album is extremely catchy and instantly stays with you. A must for your acoustic/folk cd collection.

i bought this CD because i heard "hold me" on satellite radio and it turns out that just about every song on here is great.. after the 3rd listen, you'll like each song.. it good music, some of it touching, meaningful, never cheesy or fake sounding.. just real good stuff and Damien's voice is unique.. can't go wrong with this CD so grab it.. Colony, St. Patricks Day, track1, hold me, (i forget all the track names) but they're all 9's and 10's with the exception of maybe one or two that are a hair below the other ones..

Damien Dempsey is an Irish Singer-Songwriter with a difference. He is indeed an angry young man and the rawness of his voice and delivery are both fresh and real. Armed with an acoustic guitar he sings of real issues with a passion that you don't find in most songwriter's these days. This is not your average acoustic album and draws on a miriad of styles from folk to pop to even some hints of reggae. You may get distracted by the rawness of the voice but the melodies and lyrics will blow you away. Highlights include 'Sing All Your Cares Away', 'Hold Me' and the wonderful 'Patience'. It is only a matter if time before the world sits up and notices.

How can you expect an artist to put out three studio CDs and a live CD since 2000 and have every single song be as good as Damien Dempsey's are? The bigger question remains how can he be this good and be so relatively unknown?
You owe it to yourself, and all good musicians in the world, to buy his CDs and see what everyone else is missing. You won't regret it. This guy is a superior artist who will live in your head and heart long after the last song.

Sometimes it takes a few listens to appreciate a new sound. Not so here. The sheer power of the vocals, the acoustic guitar and the arrangements make this an instant foot-tapping, thought-provoking
delight.

The only artist I've ever heard ANYTHING like this is Alan Price, who may be from the same Irish neighborhood. I've never seen a glossary come with an album before...and it's a good thing because you get sucked into the anguish and history lessons and NEED to know what we're talking about.

I got this CD right after visiting Ireland... and I was so thrilled to listen to something that captured Ireland better than just the Irish Pub songs... Not that I do not like them, but this is just another WONDERFUL take on Ireland, not as hard as the punk sound, but definitely more in the rock area than the pub songs...

With his strong, clear, controlled voice and his updates of traditional Irish themes of insurgency and romance, Dempsey places himself at the forefront of Irish pop music. Switches gears easily between wistful and militant. "Colony" and "Patience" are highlights for me, but there are so many good ones that anyone can find their own new favorites. Good ear filling.

Imagine Richard Thompson (English folk veteran) went on tour in Ireland. It's prior to the recent death of John Martyn (the English jazz-soul-folk-phenomenon) and so Thompson drops in at Martyn's Irish country retreat. The two end up going into town for the night. Down a spray-canned back street decorated with old fridges, sofas and cars on bricks they find the `Crazy Horse' bar. It's name and décor make allusions to an affinity between Ireland's pre-Christian culture and that of Native America. The visitors are immensely pleased to find that the Pogues will make an impromptu performance at the bar tonight, but apart from these artists there are few other punters. The artists all get into intoxicating rounds of cheap English cider, which they try -in vain- to balance with intakes of Moroccan hashish. They chat and laugh about their families, history, poverty and manhood. But later, when the Pogues finally take the stage and are in full swing, so that Martyn and Thompson end up on the stage too, a bomb goes off reducing all to chaos. A few days later a hospital in Dublin makes an announcement to the media: We are sorry to announce that we have been unable to rescue any single victim of the Crazy Horse bar blast, however, using cutting-edge medical technology and a few ideas from an old book by Mary Shelley we have managed to put the best pieces together, and the result is Damien Dempsey and his album `SHOTS' enjoy!


Paul O'Kane

Damien Dempsey's album is a collection of pain, politics and hope. His voice is so soothing and calm. "Patience" is by far my favorite song because it's got such a catchy chorus, but "Spraypaint Backalley" and Choctaw Nation are great as well. Damien's music is very honest, and his accent is fun to listen to as well! I think everyone who enjoys folk or acoustic music should pick up this CD.