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Thursday, December 29, 2011

REVIEW - THE FIGHTING JAMESONS "S/t" (2011)


The Fighting Jamesons "s/t" self-released
Release date: November 10th, 2011
Running time: 29: 25, 8 tracks

The Fighting Jamesons are a band from Norfolk, Virginia. I guess that most of the Celtic punk fans didn’t know this band whose 8 track self-titled debut album was released in November. However, the album has topped no.5 at Paddyrock’s “Best of Celtic Rock & Punk for 2011” and everybody is asking now “who the hell are these guys

Eight tracks, less than 30 minutes and three standards. The second question is “Is the album really so good?”. Fans won’t need to give several spins to the CD to have an answer. A tight band featuring a competent rhythm section and a brilliant fiddler (a guy, not a girl). Good self-penned songs and awesome arrangements. If you have read previous reviews on this e-zine, you will know that normally I’m sick and tired of standards songs. This is not the case, The Fighting Jamesons know how to arrange these songs with gusto and give them a new life.

Ghost Ship Baltimore” is a rocking song in the Flogging Molly tradition featuring banjo and fiddle. The band sounds as if they were a racing car, full of energy and speed.

The second track is “Tell Me Ma”. The energy on this track is the same that you can found on a British festival band like The Tofu love Frogs.

One More Drink” is another own song. The sound is more American and I could file it together with the Brick Top Blaggers’ stuff.

Another self-penned song is “Uncle Michael”, calm at the beginning, fast-paced later and excellent guitar and fiddle work. Some reminiscences of The Tossers too.

As I have told previously, the band has really worked hard on the standards arrangements. Drummer, bassist and fiddler shine on this rendition of “Drunken Sailor”. Maybe Mike Powers vocals are at his highest peak on this track.

One of my faves is track no. 7 “Sink”. I feel that it must be one of the hottest moments on stage

"The Irish Rover" has been covered by almost every single band in the Celtic punk scene, but fiddle, drums and vocals make this version quiet enjoyable.

The last number turns to another end, the polka-gypsy-eastern Europe sound.

Taking into account that this CD is too short, I guess that The Fighting Jamesons will be able to release another album next year. I am aware that the music market is in a hard situation, but albums by bands such as The Fighting Jamesons (one of the newcomers of 2011) should be released every year.


Tracklist:

01 - Ghost Ship Baltimore 3:54
02 - Tell Me Ma' 2:29
03 - One More Drink 2:38
04 - Uncle Michael 3:49
05 - Drunken Sailor 3:10
06 - Sink 3:37
07 - The Irish Rover 4:20
08 - Johnny on the Island 5:28

http://www.thefightingjamesons.com
http://www.facebook.com/TheFightingJamesons
http://www.reverbnation.com/thefightingjamesons
https://twitter.com/FightinJamesons

Click to buy

http://thefightingjamesons.webstorepowered.com/

http://www.amazon.com/The-Fighting-Jamesons/dp/B0064Z6WES/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322064492&sr=8-1&fb_source=message

Review by Kinksmarkham


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