RADIO REBEL GAEL TOP TEN : BEST OF 2012
1.) Pol Mac Adaim "My
Name Is Troy Davis " CD
With best song of the album, in my opinion, "Butterflies"
(Although, lets face it, the whole CD is phenomenal, this
Belfast bred Rebel balladeer never fails to amaze us)
2.) Damien Dempsey "Almighty Love " CD
With best song on the album, "Fire In The
Glen", Dubliner and pugilist , Damo, releases another belter that stuns
audiences, delivering us another musical knock out.
3.) The Killigans
"Another Round for the Strong of Heart" CD
These Nebraska Celtic Punkers
have always thrilled me, and this 2012 release is no exception to their
tradition of giving us Proletarian Punk Rock rebellion with a heavy Celtic
influence. Very difficult for me to choose a best tune of this entire kick ass
album, but, I think, "Salt of the Earth" , is one of the finest.
4.) Colm O’Brien “Back To Work?” CD
This Boston based Dubliner, and former band member of NY’s
own, The Prodigals, really impressed me
with this mighty CD release. My personal top tune is “Ballad of Little John” .
5.) Screaming Orphans “The Jackets Green”
These Donegal sisters always
lift my spirits when I am feeling down, and this album is one of their best
examples of the musical heritage that lives on in the hills of Donegal.
Favorite on this album must be “The Lark in the Morning”.
6.) John Mccullagh “Working Class Lowlife” CD
This Yorkshire native, born of
Irish miner stock, and now based in Melbourne, never fails to deliver a
powerful musical message, speaking for the underclass and reminding us that we
are not alone in our daily trials and tribulations. My personal fave on this
incomparable album must be “The Ballad of the Belgrano”.
Although, technically, it was done
in 2011, it wasn’t released for public consumption until 2012, and the top
track on this amazing release by one of the best Dublin balladeers gigging
these days, must be “Sky Over Ireland”.
The banjo on this version really rocks.
8.) Damaris Woods “With A Banjo On My Knee” CD
Luton based banjo maestro,
Damaris Woods, known for her fine work with Derek Warfield’s , Young Wolfe
Tones, shines like the sunshine over Croagh Patrick, with this, her debut solo
release, that really captures the power and prowess of Damaris with a banjo,
like Muhammad Ali in the ring, she will not go down without a fight and her
banjo is a powerful weapon as mighty as the fists of the younger Ali, or the
RPGs of a South Armagh Active Service Unit.
My favorite on this sublime CD, must be “Jenny’s Welcome To Charlie”,
but it’s a close tie with “Lough Mountain”.
9.) The
Langers Ball “The Devil or The Barrel” CD
These twin cities mighty
Minnesotans have released probably the best drinkers album since The Dubliners,
or The Clancy Brothers, with this great demonstration of what this upstart band
have to offer. “Rye Whiskey” was my favorite on this disc, but it’s a close tie
with “Whiskey Chaser”. This CD will intoxicate you and you will wake up
wondering how you ended up in bed, far from home, with a splitting headache and
some strange woman smiling at you, between gaped teeth.
10.)The
Mickey Finns “ Prayers And Idle Chatter” CD
Last but never least, this band
made up of two former band members of New York’s , The Prodigals, released an
album that was more honky tonk than we expected, but nonetheless, one that will
be remembered as one of the best Irish Country albums, of all time. My favorite
on this album had to be, “The Ballad of Duffys Cut”, which is a hell of better
tribute to those 57 Irish workers who ended up in a mass grave in Pennsylvania,
than the tune by Wally Page, in my humble opinion, even if Christy Moore did a
fine version of it.
I also wanted to give some
honorable mention to those CDs that would have ended up on Radio Rebel Gael’s
2012’s Top Ten, had they not been released in 2011, 2010, etc, and those would
be :
Chicago Reel self titled CD.
Christy Moore “Folk Tale” CD
Dropkick Murphys “Going Out In
Style” CD
Longtime Courting “Alternate
Routes” CD
The Rumjacks “Gangs of New Holland” CD
The Currency – self titled CD.
Cruachan “Blood On the Black
Robe” CD
The Fighting Jamesons -self titled CD.
Roughneck Riot “Night Train
With The Reaper” CD
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