11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory is the ninth studio release from east coast punk rockers, Dropkick Murphys. Released in January of 2017, under their own imprint label Born & Bred, it started big. Debuting at number eight on the Billboard Hot 200 chart. It has continued it’s success and helped the band reach over six million albums sold world wide.
This album is filled with good old Celtic punk that is expected from this Massachusetts born band. Boston has a huge Irish influence and the Dropkick Murphys channel that in their sound consistently on the album. No listener will be able to sit still while this is on. The happy, upbeat music induces the tapping of feet at the very least. Dancing round and round to this would be completely expected. The stories are told with full emotion.
Dropkick Murphys are:
Al Barr – lead vocals
Tim Brennan – guitar, accordion, mellotron, tin whistle and vocals
Ken Casey – lead vocals, bass guitar
Jeff DaRosa – banjo, bouzouki, mandolin, harmonica, acoustic guitar, vocals
Matt Kelly – drums, percussion, vocals
James Lynch – guitars, vocals
The influence behind this album came from a charity the band created in 2009, The Claddagh Fund. This charity’s main focus is supporting addiction recovery while also supporting organizations that help children and veterans. A few of the songs on this album are directly related to this. Track 10, “4-15-2013”, is based solely on the Boston Marathon Bombing. When music has a passion behind it, there is more than just sound being created. They are creating an emotional connection between the listener and the events or actions that inspired in the first place.
11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory
1: The Lonesome Boatman
2: Rebels With A Cause
3: Blood
4: Sandlot
5: First Class Loser
6: Paying My Way
7: I Had A Hat
8: Kicked To The Curb
9: You’ll Never Walk Alone
10: 4-15-2013
11: Until Next Time
A few of the stand out tracks this album include “Blood”, which was also the first single released. The bagpipes are beautiful in the song. “Rebels Without a Cause” was written about forgotten children with no direction of where to go, having being given up on by the system. The cover of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” has an emotional connection to Ken Casey as it correlates to his experience with loss due to the opioid epidemic. He lost many friends to the drug and also a cousin. The song was originally performed as a show tune in Carousel, a 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical.
A stand out album from these longtime professionals. Fans who are expecting fun stories will really love this album. Rated at a 4/5.
