THE PORTERS "Rum, Bum and Violina" Cargo Records
Release date: 27 January 2012
Running time: 48:25, 13 tracks
“Rum, Bum and Violina” is the third album released by the German band The Porters in 10 years. Their previous albums were recorded in 2001 (“A Tribute to Arthur Guinness") and 2006 (“Anywhere But Home”). So, I’m not wrong when I say that it was a long awaited album.
In the last five years some changes have occurred at The Porters headquarters. First of all, the band has moved from Knock Out Records to Cargo Records. This is a minor change, since Cargo Records distributed the KOR albums. The most important thing is the line-up changes. Three out of five members are new. Only Volker Grüner (vocals, guitars, mandolin, banjo) and Gehrke (drums, percussion) remain.
Should the fans be worried? Not at all. “Rum, Bum and Violina” is the logical next step. The Porters shifted from a Celtic punk covers band to an impressive folk punk outfit when they released their master piece “Anywhere But Home”. At that moment it was clear that the band was shifting from the Celtic end to the American end. And “Rum, Bum and Violina” is more American Folk and less Celtic than their previous effort. So, it is not a big surprise.
Yes, it’s true that regarding the instrumentation there is more fiddle and the accordion place has been taken by the keyboards (piano and organ). However, I feel that the result is really good. Besides, the guests list includes Pierre Lavendel (Jamie Clarke’s Perfect) on banjo and Paul McKenzie (Real McKenzies) on vocals, backing vocals and harp. Maybe I’m wrong, but I find a 80’s feeling all along the album. The title track “Rum, Bum and Violina” seems to be a tribute to both The Pogues and Mano Negra, there are some echoes to Bruce Springsteen, some organ à la Dire Straits and I recall The Clash “The Sound of the Sinners” when I listen to the gospel on “Homeward Bound”
But you want to know which songs I like, don’t you? The opening track “Canción de la Muerte” (Ennio Morricone western soundtracks via The Pogues), “Harbour Pearls” (a song with a country sound because of the banjo, fiddle, harp and especially the great piano arrangements) “Son of this Town” (Flogging Molly meets The Men They Couldn’t Hang), “Nameless Grave” (the best track on the album IMHO) and “Homeward Bound”. Regarding the covers, my fave is the Queen '39.
As a whole, the album is an excellent addition to The Porters catalogue. Anyway, I have the feeling that I miss something, maybe a couple of numbers like “Too Many Pints of Guinness” and “Bantry Bay Boozers” with different vocalists instead of the new "Sam Hall" cover and the "Jesse James" extended version, to get a better balance. But, when the quality is so high, maybe it’s useless to discuss about this kind of small details. Come on, buy The Porters “Rum, Bum and Violina”!
Tracklist:
01. Canción de la muerte 1:54
02. Harbour Pearls 3:52
03. Love Train 3:42
04. Son of this Town 4:09
05. Shine On 4:36
06. Rum, Bum and Violina 4:26
07. Nameless Grave 4:24
08. Sam Hall 3:07
09. Jesse James 3:57
10. A cigarette and not half a Glass of Whiskey 4:39
11. Homeward Bound 3:50
12. '39 2:44
13. Jesse James (extended Version) 3:01
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Review by Kinksmarkham
Thanks for the review. Just ordered it. Can't wait.
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