Punk bands
aren’t known for longevity. After all, punk rock is more Sid Vicious than John
Lydon. From time to time, though, a punk outfit stays together long enough to
warrant a “Best Of” CD. In the case of Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys, originally formed in 1996, fans now
have not one but two, live Best of CDs that bookend the band’s career so far.
Where 2002’s Live on St. Patrick’s Day was a raw and raucous love letter to Dropkick Murphys’ early
fans, their latest, Live
on Lansdowne, catalogs the
band’s more recent work. It’s kind of amazing, in a way, just how demarked the
two CDs are. You could literally ask a Murphys fan which of the two live albums
they prefer and know instantly based on their answer whether they’ve been a fan
from back when the Murphys were a punk band with a Celtic influence or
discovered them later as the Celtic-infused rock band they’ve become. Live on Lansdowne is aimed squarely at fans who first heard of Dropkick
Murphys when “I’m Shipping Up To Boston” came roaring off the screen in The Departed a few years ago.
For Dropkick
Murphys completists or for fans of recent vintage, Live on Lansdowne is a must own. Though it’s stocked
heavily with tunes from the band’s last two CD’s, it features a few choice
tracks from their earlier, grittier work, and just like Live on St. Pat’s, it shows the band for what they truly
are, a bunch of working class guys who love their city, their families and
their fans.
