Dropkick Murphys - The Meanest of Times

[Tony Pascarella]

Dropkick Murphys – The Meanest of Times
Release Date: September 18, 2007
Record Label: Born and Bred Records

Living legends in their hometown of Boston, heavily lauded by award-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and some of the hardest-working musicians in the business, if Dropkick Murphys decided to cut down on their events calendar, most critics and fans wouldn't flinch. Instead, the band did as they've always done and kicked it up a notch. They've released six studio albums, a live album (recorded on St. Patrick's Day, no less), and a few EPs in the last 11 years without missing a bagpipe-laden beat. The Meanest of Times is the band's first album since (gasp!) 2005, and we get a healthy dose of the Murphys' finest Irish whiskey, although there are a few moments where it feels as though it might have aged just a bit too long.

Fittingly, the band launched “The State of Massachusetts” as their first single from The Meanest of Times. The track is a mandolin-tinged Celtic romp that tugs at your heartstrings as the traded vocal lines, specifically incorporating the trademark Murphys shouted chorus, offer a unique structure to the song. It's by no means a happy song, but it comes across as very real, something the band has always done well—bringing the music home to the listeners. The first half of the album is laced with sing-along punk rockers that spit a lot more fire than you'll realize upon first listen.

“Tomorrow's Industry” and “Vices and Virtues” prove eerily reminiscent of the aggressive yet cleaned-up punk tracks from Blackout, their fourth studio album, where “Surrender” seems to be a bit more full-bodied and wouldn't be out of place on their fifth, The Warrior's Code. That's not to say every song on The Meanest of Times can be pegged as at home on a previous Murphys album. “God Willing” is a hopeful, albeit somewhat chilling song that fuses the band's frenetic dual-guitar attack and Scruffy Wallace's bagpipes into what may prove to be one of the most entertaining songs in their entire discography.

So what else can we learn from The Meanest of Times besides that Dropkick Murphys are becoming more and more popular as their career charges on (the newest effort charted at #20 on the Billboard 200, by far their best position ever)? The album is well above-average but not nearly the best they've ever done. If you enjoyed The Warrior's Code, the new one shines similarly but delivers a heavier kick in the ass that just might catch you off-balance. Crank the volume and raise a glass to the Murphys, who show no signs of slowing down.

Buy Dropkick Murphys' The Meanest of Times on iTunes (http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=PjIvm57kicI&offerid=78941&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fphobos. apple.com%252FWebObjects%252FMZStor e.woa%252Fwa%252FviewAlbum%253Fi%25 3D263517307%2526id%253D263516956%25 26s%253D143441%2526partnerId%253D30 )

01. Famous for Nothing
02. God Willing
03. The State of Massachusetts
04. Tomorrow's Industry
05. Echoes on “A” Street
06. Vices and Virtues
07. Surrender
08. Flannigan's Ball
09. I'll Begin Again
10. Fairmount Hill
11. Loyal to No One
12. Shattered
13. Rude Awakenings
14. Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye
15. Never Forget
16. Jailbreak (Bonus Track)Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/dropkickmurphys) | Official Site (http://www.dropkickmurphys.com)

[handlikesecret]

amen to that.
fantastic review.
long live the Murphys!!

[ilovesofie]

much better record than the warrior's code!

[whyte39]

favourite band of all time. Own every record/EP, and this one certainly holds its own.

[whyte39]

and it translates amazing live

[Gin]

Can anyone tell me which DM Album is the best?
I´m going to get one but I´m not sure which one(would be my first ;))

[Short-Lived]

Great review. I agree, not their best but still a damn good album.

[CellarGhosts]

great review, I love DKM, and was not at all disappointed by this album.

[Bongi5788]

i like sing loud, sing proud but Blackout! is damn good too

[Mase714]

This was a far better album than Blackout, and thats saying a lot. I'd prob rate this in the low to mid 80%, but otherwise, great review.

[ACA]

Good review man.

[Rest_Easy]

Good review.
I'm a little surprised to hear no mention of Flannigan's Ball in the review. I think that may be the best track on the cd.

Love dropkick, if you ever get the chance see them live. I caught several boston shows when I lived there (st. pats weekend) and they are incredible.

[thebarrelboy]

I would give the "originality" bracket a 0, but still give the album a 9.

[zooyorker182]

Flannagan's Ball is an amazing track

[Steffan]

Good review, this CD may be a little less accessible to the average fan than the warriors code, but still a great CD. More like old school dropkick.

[HoldenCfld]

This sentence grammatically confuses me.

So what else can we learn from The Meanest of Times besides that Dropkick Murphys are becoming more and more popular as their career charges on (the newest effort charted at #20 on the Billboard 200, by far their best position ever)?

If you take out the parenthesis portion (which you should be able to do), it leaves the sentence as a question, which doesn't quite make sense. It only makes sense with the included parenthesis portion, which is incorrect is it not?


As for the album, I love it. I love the first half more than the second, but there's definitely keepers all over.

[SuperJoe]

Can anyone tell me which DM Album is the best?
I´m going to get one but I´m not sure which one(would be my first ;))

depends on what you like. if you're a flogging molly/pogues fan, and appreciate the more "irish" side of things, go with "sing loud, sing proud". if you're more of a punk fan, that enjoys an irish twist, go with "do or die" and "the gangs all here". then if you like "do or die", become a fan of the street dogs because the lead singer left after that album and started that band a few years later. if you like "the gangs all here", then start picking up the rest of the DKM discography in this order: sing loud, live, the meanest of times, blackout, the warrior's code.

[HoldenCfld]

Celtic best infused with punk = Sing Loud, Sing Proud, Warriors Code Blackout, Meanest of Times
Punk best infused with celtic = Do or Die, Gangs All Here

Whichever category you think you'd lie more, any album will be great. However, my personal favorites are Do or Die, and Warrior's Code/Meanest of Times

[lbc182]

Good review, this CD may be a little less accessible to the average fan than the warriors code, but still a great CD. More like old school dropkick.

What do you mean by that? This album is everywhere.

[HoldenCfld]

What do you mean by that? This album is everywhere.
Not physically accessible...

[thesaturation]

I would give the "originality" bracket a 0, but still give the album a 9.


Oh yeah, I forgot - they're the unoriginal Celtic punk band from Massachusetts that sound way too much like those bands you hear on Billboard 100 Radio stations...:-|



And a question for Tony - how do you judge the "Vocals" category? (Great review by the way)

[thebarrelboy]

Oh yeah, I forgot - they're the unoriginal Celtic punk band from Massachusetts that sound way too much like those bands you hear on Billboard 100 Radio stations...:-|



And a question for Tony - how do you judge the "Vocals" category? (Great review by the way)

I don't listen to Billboard 100 Radio stations, but I listen to a lot of celtic and '77 punk bands. So there you have it.

[Steffan]

What do you mean by that? This album is everywhere.
I dont think the casual fan will like this CD as much as The Warriors Code.

[CellarGhosts]

I dunno about everyone else, but I think it'd be cool if DKM had Cait O'Riordan do guest vocals on a future song. they've had Shane and Spider do guest vocals, so why not? haha. I dunno, just a thought.

[lbc182]

Not physically accessible...

I feel you. Warriors code hit me right away. the new one, not so much.

[lbc182]

I dont think the casual fan will like this CD as much as The Warriors Code.

Yeah you are right.

[llmp]

Good review.
I'm a little surprised to hear no mention of Flannigan's Ball in the review. I think that may be the best track on the cd.


Easily. At least on initial listens.


So what else can we learn from The Meanest of Times besides that Dropkick Murphys are becoming more and more popular as their career charges on (the newest effort charted at #20 on the Billboard 200, by far their best position ever)?

If you take out the parenthesis portion (which you should be able to do), it leaves the sentence as a question, which doesn't quite make sense. It only makes sense with the included parenthesis portion, which is incorrect is it not?


I'm not sure why you're confused. The part without parentheses makes sense as a question when read alone. In fact, the part in parentheses is a statement and has nothing to do with the question posed.

[Tony Pascarella]

Oh yeah, I forgot - they're the unoriginal Celtic punk band from Massachusetts that sound way too much like those bands you hear on Billboard 100 Radio stations...:-|

And a question for Tony - how do you judge the "Vocals" category? (Great review by the way)Hahaha to your initial statement. Vocals are always tough, especially on a band that does so much vocally (besides range, which I admit they don't showcase a ton of). So they get dropped a bit for that (since I'd do it for any other CD), and then from there, I try to judge the album as a whole. It's too hard to judge in context of other music (the idea that you only give a few 10s each year or something) because then it comes off too much like those classes where a professor only gives X number of A's per exam.

Numbers are really subjective, and it's always the last thing I do because of that. I want my review to say far, far more than a bunch of numbers do.

I don't listen to Billboard 100 Radio stations, but I listen to a lot of celtic and '77 punk bands. So there you have it.You're also very much in the minority (although I do applaud your choice of music). Creativity is a score that I do have to compare to what's out lately. :shrug:

I dont think the casual fan will like this CD as much as The Warriors Code.TWC gets a lot of crap, but I really enjoyed that CD. "The Green Fields of France" still gives me chills every single time. This album gets a little more into the Celtic stylings than TWC did, and so yeah, I suppose the casual fan could be turned off by that. My hope is that the band has gotten more face time (through TWC) that more people might be inclined to give those less-accessible songs a shot, where they otherwise wouldn't have. If that makes sense?

[SwiftSilentDead]

Good call on this review. This is a good Dropkick Murphys record but it doesn't really stand out in thier discography like some of their other releases.

[itmakesyoufeel]

I really liked certain songs on this album, but I like The Warrior's Code and Blackout a lot more.
I'm seeing DKM in March. I am SO excited!

[CellarGhosts]

I really liked certain songs on this album, but I like The Warrior's Code and Blackout a lot more.
I'm seeing DKM in March. I am SO excited!
that show = best fucking thing I've ever been to.

even if today, two days later I'm still worn out and a bit sick from so much jumping/shouting/singing/fist-in-the-air-throwing, haha, it was all well worth it.

oh, and Big D and Everybody Out! were both pretty awesome as well.

[wheresmycookie]

It will be interesting to see what DKM can deliver in the future sans Orrell.

[salter2411]

Good. not great.