With All Due Respect: The Irish Sessions

Personnel: Bob Boulding (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Keith Roberts (vocals, acoustic guitar); Brendan Holmes (vocals, bass guitar); Dave Ingraham (vocals, drums, percussion); Eric Rigler (whistling, Uilleann pipe).
Audio Mixer: Ken Sluiter.
Recording information: Echo Park Music & Sound; Kingsize; Sweetspot.
Filled to the to the top of the pint glass with spirited and rousing versions of classic Irish tunes both traditional and contemporary, the Young Dubliners' With All Due Respect feels like a raucous night out with friends. Hastily but immaculately recorded, each cut has an energy that transcends the overall sameness of the production. Like Flogging Molly without the distortion, the Young Dubliners tear through two Pogues tunes ("If I Should Fall from Grace with God" and "Pair of Brown Eyes") and a flurry of pub classics -- including "Foggy Dew" and "Rocky Road to Dublin" -- that are as earthy as they are electrifying. It's a move that should please longtime fans and connoisseurs of Celtic folk-rock alike. ~ James Christopher Monger