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Saturday, February 1, 2014

REVIEW - THE MOORINGS "La Cigale Unplugged" (2013)


The Moorings "La Cigale Unplugged" BIP02013
Release date: 9 November 2013
Running time: 29:06, 8 tracks


It’s difficult to understand why a band that has only released one EP and one album decides to issue an unplugged album. Normally, live albums are delivered after having released several studio records. However, the answer becomes obvious when one takes into account that The Moorings were offered to open for The Dubliners at their 50th anniversary concert at La Cigale in Paris.

La Cigale Unplugged” features everything one can expect from a Celtic (punk)-rock live album: a set of tunes, the band’s greatest hits and some standards. The weakest points, IMHO, are the running time (less than 30 minutes) and the feeling that some songs have been performed at a slower tempo than studio takes. I admit that it’s an unplugged album and The Moorings were opening for a non-electric band, then I guess that it’s the approach that was needed for that evening.

Four out of eight songs were previously recorded on “Pints & Glory” (“Away from Home”, “The Nightingale”, “The Wild Rover” and “Friendship”) an the other half are never previously released numbers (“Nicky’s Kick/The Lads of Clifden/Draughty Petticoats”, “Broken Hearted Man”, “A Posy of Lily” and “The Mariner I Used to Be”). BTW, all of the new tracks are self-penned songs. Regarding the line-up, The Moorings have evolved from a seven piece band to a quintet . Besides, guitarist Nicky has shifted from guitar to banjo, at least for this album. Although there is no permanent whistler on the band, a tin whistle can be heard on one of the songs. I guess that Anne-Sophie  switched from fiddle to tin whistle, since nothing is mentioned on the credits.

The digipack packaging is amazing and the album cover reminds me of Flogging Molly’s debut album.

My picks: the excellent set of tunes “Nicky’s Kick/The Lads of Clifden/Draughty Petticoats”, The Pogues infused song “The Mariner I Used to Be”, their kick ass rendition of “The Wild Rover” and their well-known anthem “Friendship”, which is really played at a fast pace.

For those who love vinyls, the album is available both in CD and vinyl.

 
Tracklist:

1 - Nicky's Kick / the Lads of Clifden / Draughty Petticoats 3:37
2 - Broken Hearted Man 4:31
3 - Away from Home 3:02
4 - A Posy of Lily 3:43
5 - The Mariner I Used to Be 3:46
6 - The Nightingale 3:45
7 - The Wild Rover 2:58
8 - Friendship 3:42

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Review by Kinksmarkham

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