CD Review: Fiddler's Green - Winners and Boozers

Artist: Fiddler's Green
Album: Winners and Boozers
Genre: Folk Rock
Release Date: 26th July 2013
Label: Deaf Shepherd Recordings

Album Review

Hitch up your knickers, grab the goat’s horned head, sound the attack and off we go! It’s getting hot on the new FIDDLER’S GREEN album ‘Winners And Boozers’. The band catch and totally convince their fans also, no, even on their 12th album. For 20 years now, Erlangen based Irish Speedfolker are conquering the world and show many a time that they can also do it acoustically. But ‘Acoustic Pub Crawl’ is over, not it is time for ‘Winners And Boozers’! The new album is a colourful smorgasbord of various movements and trends, skilfully and seamlessly brought together. Just 100% FIDDLER’S GREEN. Since former front man Peter Pathos left the band seven years ago, the whole band currently writes the songs and so, the huge variety within the band is created.

The album is opened by classic FIDDLER’S sounds. ‘A Night in Dublin’ is overflowing with energy and a catching rhythm. This short intro leads over to ‘A Bottle a Day’. Here, the seven guys made something better and more useful out of the old wisdom “An apple a day keeps the Doctor away”. The battle lines are drawn and the first sweat was flowing. Now it is time for some melancholy. ‘No Lullaby’ pulls at your heartstrings and the sung protagonist just needs to be invited for a pint. But enough of sadness. Country feeling awaits you with ‘Old Dun Cow’, one of two Traditionals being contained on the record. With ‘We don’t Care’, the album moves on in a faster Punk manner. Sixth track ‘Raise Your Arms‘ slows things down. It gets nice and heroic now. So far, all songs are very varied and still anything sound like the inventors of Speedfolk.

‘The More the Merrier’ is a pure dance song and Paddy has the chance to call for his “Wall of Folk”. The video clip for this song was already out before and presented the band in black-an-white Western style. ‘Buccaneer’ is introduced by very old sounds, since some tunes were borrowed from ‘Amazing grace’. ‘Never hide’ is with its message an extension of the “Raise your Arms” topic. With good speed we move head first into the next song, ‘Song for the Living’. Reggae time follows with ‘No more Pawn’. From Caribbean shores to the Balkan. ‘Maria’ sounds like an old Gipsy tune with somewhat reduced lyrical range: “Hey Yah, Maria” and “Ha, ha, ha, ha”. ‘Blacksmith Reel’ comes in traditional outfit and takes you to a short but intense trip to the green island. ‘Don’t look back’ is sung by Paddy and is rather a Rock but a Folk song. The second Traditional on ‘Winners and Boozers’ is ‘Old Polina’. Heart-touching ballad ‘Into The Sunset Again’ finally closes the album and leaves a lump in your throat.

from the pushing beginning to the touching end, ‘Winners and Boozers’ is overall convincing and delighting. Once heard, you want to listen to it over and over again. Surely one of the best albums FIDDLER’S GREEN have ever released. The album is available as standard and as deluxe edition, both on CD as well as a digital release. The deluxe edition contains a second disk with five renowned and established songs plus one song from the new album in fantastic piano versions. I want to highlight here ‘The More the Merrier’ from the current album as well as ‘Victor And His Demons’, ‘Highland Road’ and the hymn of despair, ‘Apology’. For a little more money you just get another six pints, sorry… songs.


Tracklist (Deluxe Edition)

Line-up

Ralf "Albi" Albers - Vocals, acoustic guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, banjo
Pat Prziwara - Vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, banjo
Stefan Klug - Accordion, bodhran
Tobias Heindl - Violin, vocals
Frank Jooss - Drums, percussion
Rainer Schulz - Bass


Website

http://www.fiddlers.de / https://www.facebook.com/Speedfolk


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 10
Sound: 10
Total: 10 / 10