Bloggerhythms

I'm not the least bit Irish, but I've been a fan of Celtic-rock for quite a long time now. So, to celebrate St. Patrick's Day today I'm rerunning one of my very early posts. It was originally published here on September 10, 2005. Keith Roberts and Young Dubliners offer a slick, polished, and commercial Irish-rock sound that befits their home base of Los Angeles. Their style is a complete contrast to bands such as Black 47 who flaunt their grittier New York City street image. While Larry Kirwan's band, along with The Saw Doctors, U2, and The Pogues, wear their shamrocks on their sleeves the Dubliners devotion to their roots is a little more subdued. The fact that The Dubliners are more mainstream than any of the bands mentioned above is given away by the arena rock sound of the title track as well as "Touch The Sky," and "Say It's So." There are no politics on this album, no songs ab...

It's St. Patrick's Day and time for this American of Italian heritage to celebrate his love of Celtic-rock. I don't mean U-2. I'm talking about bands that actually sound like they came from the Emerald Isle. While Bono and his friends embraced their roots lyrically and politically, there are many other bands playing today who sound way more Irish than they do. Among them are The Pogues, The Saw Doctors, The Corrs, and the late great Black 47. Irish musicians love to embrace their roots. In 2007,  The Young Dubliners  - a Los Angeles based rock quintet - recorded an entire album of fired up arrangements of thirteen traditional Irish folk songs and cover versions of more modern fare. Among The Young Dubliners excellent choices for  With All Due Respect, The Irish Sessions  are a hard rocking take on The Pogues' "If I Should Fall From Grace With God" plus a second Shane McGowan composed song, "Pair of Brown Eyes." The folk songs include ...