Dropkick Murphys
Going Out In Style
(Born and Bred Records)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Boston band Dropkick Murphys is inexorably associated with their hometown’s Irish community, notably for their support of the Red Sox and their version of “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” featured in The Departed. The band’s back again, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, with a strong, meaningful album in “Going Out In Style.”
A concept album following the fictional life of Irish immigrant Cornelius Larkin, the album doesn’t stray far from the band’s roots and style, although there’s a strong mix of loud pub anthems and more introspective songs. “Going Out In Style,” the title track, is Larkin’s first-person account of his own wake, which he sees as a party, while “1953” is a slower ode to his beloved wife.
The album closes strong with a cover of “Peg o’ My Heart,” featuring a surprisingly appropriate cameo by Bruce Springsteen, and a rendition of “The Irish Rover,” an Irish folk song. The Boss isn’t the only guest to get in on the action, either. NOFX vocalist Fat Mike and The Living End’s Chris Cheney come into play on “Going Out In Style.”
“Going Out In Style” doesn’t have any particularly weak or dull moments, and it shines as a stand-alone album. On St. Patrick’s Day, get your friends and family together, play this album, grab a pint of Guinness or Murphy’s, toast the people closest to you and embrace your inner Irishman.
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