Yes it's time for another overly positive review. Sorry but how can you say a bad word about the Whisky Priests, veterans of over 1,000 gigs? I mean they are so good, even the Germans appreciate them. In fact they may be unique in being popular in Germany, and not even having to be David Hasselhoff to achieve it. Because believe me having to be David Hasselhoff to gain fame is a hell of a price to pay.
The Whisky Priests are a folk rock band, but one that can kick ass. Comprising of five members who share ten instruments between them, they have been touring Europe for over fourteen years, and they can put on a live show that does justice to that massive amount of experience. 'Here come the Ranting Lads - Live' was planned as a double CD, but horrendous recording problems eventually lead to a huge delay, and a single CD instead. For those who enjoy a good horror story check out the diary of the whole process on their excellent website.
After reading that story one has to be even more amazed at the quality of the product on display here, truly this is how a live album should sound, raw, emotional and evocative. From the acapella opener 'Ranting Lads' through to the end track, number sixteen, 'Car Boot Sale' with its crowd sing along, you get seventy minutes of blood, sweat and drunken tears. It takes some readjustment to most music fans to believe a band that proudly sport accordions, flutes and mandolins can rock this hard, but check it out if you don't believe me.
In terms of putting The Whisky Priests into an easy pigeonhole, that is tough. Anyone familiar with The Pogues at the height of their brilliance will have a very good idea of what sound we are talking about. In a way though lack of commercial success seems to have helped keep The Whisky Priests on the musical straight and narrow unlike The Pogues. Maybe most telling is that a band releasing a live CD after nearly fifteen years of gigging can sound this fresh and energetic.
With over a dozen different releases to draw material from, there is no shortage of very good songs. The crowd reacts to each track with familiarity, a hint at how having played the same venues over and over they have a rabid live following in many, many countries around Europe. The recording took place on one night in Hamburg Germany in October 1998; it was recorded for VHS release as well. They were even kind enough to send me a copy, unfortunately a European video will not play on an American system, so I can't give you any feedback on that. If anyone out there wants to help out with converting it then drop me a line.
Meanwhile back to the actual music review, which is why you are reading this right? Well lets start with what you don't get, no guitar solos, no 'Is everyone ready to rock', in fact no posturing or posing of any sort. Musically they present tunes that predate popular entertainment. Music, and often lyrics, that stretch back to the mining history of Northern England. Songs like 'The Oakley Strike Evictions', 'Blackleg Mining Man' and 'Grandfatha's Fatha' deal with an age and time gone but certainly not forgotten in the psyche of areas built and ruined on the worlds thirst for, and eventual rejection of, black gold. I was born and raised in the valleys of South Wales, and witnessed the last great strike of the 1980's that sounded the death knell for an industry, a tradition and countless lives, so I can feel a real connection with the history lesson being imparted by The Whisky Priests.
Important as this side is to The Whisky Priests, it is not the only one, tracks such as 'Alice in Wonderland' and the superb duo of 'Song for Ewan' and 'A Better Man than you' are modern folk tales of life and living, of love and people, of relationships, with oneself, with a child or with the heroes we all cling to. Songs that touch on deep issues in simple but effective ways. Music to drink to, music to think to.
When you realize that they originally recorded thirty-one tracks it is impossible not to imagine exactly how good an album we could have had but for recording problems. It says something about how enjoyable this damn album is that the seventy minutes on display here leave you dreaming of more. So all of you out there who have been burned by the latest 'alternative' CD that everyone was raving about try something really different, visit The Whisky Priest website, buy the album and taste something older and newer than anything else in your collection.
Oh and tell them Limeygit sent you, they do a nice line in wooly hats, and it's getting damn cold around here, maybe if I send enough people their way they will send me one.

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