One Eyed Reilly "Barstools & Gravestones"
Release date: 14 February 2015
Running time: 55:00, 13 tracks
Following this write-up, there were no Celtic rock bands in Sacramento before 2008. Fortunately, the situation is quite different in 2015 and there is a burgeoning scene in Northern California. BlackEyed Dempseys debut album was reviewed here and The Pikeys were featured on one of our samplers. But there are other interesting bands, for instance Whiskey and Stitches and One Eyed Reilly.
One Eyed Reilly is Rick Meagher (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), St. John Fraser (fiddle, background and harmony vocals), Adrian Baxmeyer (bass, background and harmony vocals), Aaron Hendel (electric guitar) and Nick Carvajal (drums, percussion and harmony vocals). Their 12 track debut album “Hoist Your Glass” was released in 2013 and their second album titled “Barstools & Gravestones” has been released last month.
“Barstools & Gravestones” consists of 9 tracks written by Rick and arranged by the band and 4 covers: The Keltic Cowboys classic song “Kiss My Irish Ass”, The Dreadnoughts “Victoria Square”, The Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the traditional ballad “Black Velvet Band”.
The title is really good, since most of the songs can be divided into “barstools” (“Beer in My Hand/Woman on My Mind”, “Trad Music Nightly") and “gravestones" (“Building a Tombstone”, “More than Six Feet”, “He Ended His Prayers with Amen”, “Celtic Cross” and “Nothing Left”). The lyrics are really top-notch and there are a lot of Irish themed numbers. But One Eyed Reilly are not a straightforward Celtic rock band, since there are a lot of American influences on their music. In fact they blend Irish and American music with an amazing fiddling and a great drummer
The songs that I’d pick up are “Beer in my Hand/Woman on my Mind” (an American flavoured number with a r’n’r twist in The Wages of Sin vein. Guest Hunter Merritt plays on banjo on this track), “More Than Six Feet” (a country song with superb lyrics featuring Pete Grant on pedal steel ), “Higher Hands” (the fast-paced number on the album) and their kick-ass rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, on which St. John Fraser plays fiddle and sings.
Other remarkable songs would be “He Ended His Prayers with Amen” (a song with a sound reminiscent of British folk rock band Steeleye Span), “The Ballad of Thomas Alan” (a number to be filed together with Shane MacGowan and The Popes “Mexican Funeral in Paris". Brian Manchen plays accordion, Pete Grant pedal steel and Hunter Merritt banjo), “Trad Music Nightly” (a number about a pub crawl in Dingle featuring the tune “Farewell to Ireland") and the cover of “Kiss My Irish Ass” (guest Pete Grant plays Celtic banjo on this track. Some lyrics have been changed).
Release date: 14 February 2015
Running time: 55:00, 13 tracks
Following this write-up, there were no Celtic rock bands in Sacramento before 2008. Fortunately, the situation is quite different in 2015 and there is a burgeoning scene in Northern California. BlackEyed Dempseys debut album was reviewed here and The Pikeys were featured on one of our samplers. But there are other interesting bands, for instance Whiskey and Stitches and One Eyed Reilly.
One Eyed Reilly is Rick Meagher (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), St. John Fraser (fiddle, background and harmony vocals), Adrian Baxmeyer (bass, background and harmony vocals), Aaron Hendel (electric guitar) and Nick Carvajal (drums, percussion and harmony vocals). Their 12 track debut album “Hoist Your Glass” was released in 2013 and their second album titled “Barstools & Gravestones” has been released last month.
“Barstools & Gravestones” consists of 9 tracks written by Rick and arranged by the band and 4 covers: The Keltic Cowboys classic song “Kiss My Irish Ass”, The Dreadnoughts “Victoria Square”, The Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and the traditional ballad “Black Velvet Band”.
The title is really good, since most of the songs can be divided into “barstools” (“Beer in My Hand/Woman on My Mind”, “Trad Music Nightly") and “gravestones" (“Building a Tombstone”, “More than Six Feet”, “He Ended His Prayers with Amen”, “Celtic Cross” and “Nothing Left”). The lyrics are really top-notch and there are a lot of Irish themed numbers. But One Eyed Reilly are not a straightforward Celtic rock band, since there are a lot of American influences on their music. In fact they blend Irish and American music with an amazing fiddling and a great drummer
The songs that I’d pick up are “Beer in my Hand/Woman on my Mind” (an American flavoured number with a r’n’r twist in The Wages of Sin vein. Guest Hunter Merritt plays on banjo on this track), “More Than Six Feet” (a country song with superb lyrics featuring Pete Grant on pedal steel ), “Higher Hands” (the fast-paced number on the album) and their kick-ass rendition of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, on which St. John Fraser plays fiddle and sings.
Other remarkable songs would be “He Ended His Prayers with Amen” (a song with a sound reminiscent of British folk rock band Steeleye Span), “The Ballad of Thomas Alan” (a number to be filed together with Shane MacGowan and The Popes “Mexican Funeral in Paris". Brian Manchen plays accordion, Pete Grant pedal steel and Hunter Merritt banjo), “Trad Music Nightly” (a number about a pub crawl in Dingle featuring the tune “Farewell to Ireland") and the cover of “Kiss My Irish Ass” (guest Pete Grant plays Celtic banjo on this track. Some lyrics have been changed).
Regarding the packaging, "Barstool & Gravestones" is delivered in an eight panel digipack. The lyrics to all the self-penned songs are included, together with the line-up, the guests and the credits.
One Eyed Reilly “Barstools & Gravestones” is a solid album with a well-balanced track list and an attractive approach that usually cannot be found in the Celtic rock scene. Great CD.
Tracklist:
01 - Beer in My Hand / Woman On My Mind3:04
02 - Building a Tombstone 4:12
03 - More Than Six Feet 4:53
04 - He Ended His Prayers With Amen 3:31
05 - The Ballad of Thomas Alan 5:53
06 - Higher Hand 3:25
07 - Trad Music Nightly 4:43
08 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia 3:08
09 - Kiss My Irish Ass 3:55
10 - Celtic Cross 6:03
11 - Victory Square 3:28
12 - Black Velvet Band 3:41
13 - Nothin' Left 4:58
Website
Facebook
Reverbnation
Click to buy:
CDbaby (Physical CD and digital)
iTunesOne Eyed Reilly “Barstools & Gravestones” is a solid album with a well-balanced track list and an attractive approach that usually cannot be found in the Celtic rock scene. Great CD.
Tracklist:
01 - Beer in My Hand / Woman On My Mind3:04
02 - Building a Tombstone 4:12
03 - More Than Six Feet 4:53
04 - He Ended His Prayers With Amen 3:31
05 - The Ballad of Thomas Alan 5:53
06 - Higher Hand 3:25
07 - Trad Music Nightly 4:43
08 - The Devil Went Down to Georgia 3:08
09 - Kiss My Irish Ass 3:55
10 - Celtic Cross 6:03
11 - Victory Square 3:28
12 - Black Velvet Band 3:41
13 - Nothin' Left 4:58
Website
Reverbnation
Click to buy:
CDbaby (Physical CD and digital)
Amazon
Review by Kinksmarkham
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