The Woods Band picks up where the Pogues Left Off
Derek | Boston, MA | 12/29/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you miss the Pogues and love that style of Irish and rock music read on.This CD arrived in the mail about a week ago and it's been keeping the neighbors awake ever since. What a fantastic CD. Simply put it is the most promising blend of traditional Irish and original tunes, Irish instruments and rock instruments I've heard since the Pogues called it a day. Some of the newer bands that try to cover the territory explored by the Pogues, that is a wonderful blend of traditional Irish music and spirit with rock music, don't always reach their full potential. In my opinion bands like Dropkick Murphy's, Flogging Molly etc. are great bands but sometimes the Irish music gets drowned out by the guitars.The Woods Band seems to have found the perfect combination. You could always tell Terry Woods was one of the professional musicians in the Pogues and it's quite obvious he's surrounded himself with other professionals in this band. The song selection for Music From the Four Corners of Hell is right on, the mix of traditional vs. rock instruments is perfect and the quality of the sound is vibrant. They nailed the mix. The CD has an energy about it that will make you want to play it loud.The Pogues were exceptional at bottling the energy of the accordion, banjo and mandolin and mixing it with a rock attitude. So is The Woods Band. The band gets it's sound from Woods himself playing a variety of Irish instruments and from Paul Harrigan and his accordion, whistle and uillean pipes. When the rest of the band kicks in with the electric guitars they take the music up a notch without drowning out the Irishness of it. There are some fine traditional tunes: As I Roved Out, Spanish Lady and The Travellin' People all measure up. And the originals are top notch as well - in fact Love on Tillery, DeValera's Green Isle and The Grosse Isle Lament standouts in my opinion and they would be on any Pogues album even at the top of their popularity. If Kilmainham's Glen is an original add that to the list as well.One comment on the vocals. Shane Martin is the singer and he was smart enough not to fall into the trap that some of the younger bands have fallen into. Rather than try and snarl the lyrics in a style that the one and only Shane MacGowan was best at Martin takes a more polished approach. Martin's vocals are strong and on key - perfectly appropriate for the band he's fronting. You'll still want to hoist a few pints with Martin and the Woods Band. You just may not wind up in jail at the end of the night.Buy this CD!!!"
Bit of a disappointment
Chester | Wollongong, Australia | 01/19/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"When I listen to many other groups playing this style of music, one of the beauties is that all the musicians seem to be playing their own music, but it usually all blends into a fine rollicking collection. On this album, they all play the same tune. There seems to be little of the intricacies Terry Woods has demonstrated on the Pogues, the first Woods Band album or many of the other derivatives of Sweeney's Men or Planxty. I also find the vocals fairly bland, nice but very forgetable. All-in-all a pleasant electric Irish trad album, but on othere CDs of this genre, you don't use words like nice and pleasant.
Having said this, the album starts to redeem itself towards the end. Terry's musicianship begins to weave some of its potential magic and the vocal come on stronger. Terry takes lead vocals on track 9 and shows what the album could have been."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1