Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 03/01/2005
Elvis Murphy's Green Suede Shoes is the audio companion to
Black 47 bandleader
Larry Kirwan's memoir,
Green Suede Shoes: An Irish-American Odyssey. The six brand-new tracks, as well as two re-recorded cuts from previously deleted albums and two songs culled the Wexford-born writer/musician/playwright's numerous side projects, tell the story of an Irish immigrant on the rocky road to America and his eventual slide into the welcoming arms of
rock & roll.
Black 47 are as New York City as
Lou Reed and as working class as
Bruce Springsteen, but despite their local iconic status, their bluesy brand of
Celtic rock never truly caught on with the general public.
Kirwan, who tells stories like
Bob Dylan and sings like an even more affected version of
Kevin Rowland from
Dexys Midnight Runners, is a relentlessly energetic soul, a tireless advocate for the blue-collar pub crawler, and a genuinely talented writer with a band -- whose members still play with the intensity of musicians half their age -- that instinctually follows his every step. It's a shame that so many people can't get past his manic delivery and familial earnestness, because songs like
"Far Side of the Wall," "Into the West," and the rousing
"Uncle Jim" are what the American experience is all about: love and suffering, drinking, forgiving and acceptance.
~James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
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