Celtophilia

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Artist: The Mighty Regis
CD: Another Nickel For The Pope

Bonnie Raves: I love the Mighty Regis. Okay, that’s not really descriptive of the depth of the feelings that I have for the Mighty Regis. I would cheerfully listen to this band until my ears fell off, while buying every last one of them all the Guinness they could drink. (Or all the Guinness they could drink until I ran out of money, which would undoubtedly happen long before they were topped off.) I am CONSUMED with bitterness because they are on the west coast and I’m stuck over here on what is obviously the WRONG coast. Their album Co. Sligo is amazing, and I’m tempted to say that their newest offering, Another Nickel For The Pope, is even better.

If you caught the Co. Sligo review I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that there are some naughty words in these songs, so be aware. If you were hoping that this crew had repented and mended their wicked ways, I’m thrilled to be able to disappoint you. The Mighty Regis is just as bad - and just as good as ever. They not only deliver, they practically gift wrap: superb guitar, rocking percussion, awe-inspiring vocals, and avant-garde song writing.

Conroy’s Pub is a strong instrumental to start out the CD with, and is a nice snapshot of the album as a whole. In less than two minutes it segues from lovely and mellow to fast and dirty. The accordion really shines here.

When I listened to Scotland You Owe Us for the first time my jaw hit the floor and I shook my head, wide eyed as I stared at the computer. Then I almost laughed myself to death. (Scotland - you’re not all that brave. Oh, wow.) Part of me is now obsessed with the idea of locking the Mighty Regis in a room with Albannach and seeing who comes out! The other part of me realizes that would be A Very Bad Idea. Bad Bonnie. Bad. Clever and hilarious lyrics combined with ridiculously great vocals make this song a must listen.

Get Drunk And Go Home is my favorite track from this CD. Ryan O’Neill really does have the voice of an angel, most likely because she ripped it out of the unsuspecting feathered being’s throat. Ryan strikes me as the kind of woman that will straight up kick your ass, and make you like it. Everything about this song is dead on - Ryan delivers the cheeky lyrics with perfect inflection and attitude. My f***ing heart’s been broken I can’t take it anymore … well, we’ve all been there, eh? Sometimes getting drunk and going home - alone, is the only thing in the world that makes sense.

Danny Boy, oh, hello to my new favorite version of this song. Freaking a, this is good stuff. It’s pretty, it’s punk, it’s pretty again. A little injection of Irish Lullaby, complete with too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ras, some fast paced mandolin, and punk guitars transform this tune from tired old classic to brand new knock out.

I had very high expectations Another Nickel For The Pope, and I am not feeling the slightest bit let down. I highly recommend this CD to anyone that loved Co. Sligo, and to anyone that is unfamiliar with the Mighty Regis, but has a spot in their heart reserved for Irish Punk.

Mike declares: Here at Celtophilia, there’s a particular love for The Mighty Regis. We reviewed their first CD, and did an interview with the guys earlier in the year, and we’re thrilled to have a shot at their newest offering, Another Nickel For The Pope. If you don’t know about this amazing west coast Celtic Punk band, do yourself a favor and check them out. Their Myspace page describes the band as sounding like “The fastest mandolin in the world stealing your girlfriend whilst kicking yer arse.” Who am I to disagree? It’s a fairly apt description for “Another Nickel,” as well.

This CD has enough drive and high-energy music to fill three or four discs, and I can honestly tell you there’s not a track on the entire thing that I skip when I listen through it. There’s a little bit of everything here, some straight punk tracks, some ballads, a drunk chick rambling about some guy, a song about a venue for downing a few tasty beverages, one about what happens the morning after said beverages, and even that most ubiquitous of pseudo-Irish songs, Danny Boy! Oh, and there’s also a little bit of inter-Celtic rivalry, in a hilarious track called “Scotland (You Owe Us).”

One thing I’ll note here, for all you out there with wee ones. There’s a bit of ugly language on this CD, but when I played it within earshot of my ten-year-old (yes, I know I’m a bad influence) his only response was “I have no idea what that guy’s saying.” So, while individual results may vary, you can probably get away with this one in the car if the kids are only halfway paying attention.

Scotland (You Owe Us) definitely takes the title of “Mike’s Favorite Track of All Time (So Far).” I think, and kind of hope, this song is intended as a little good-natured ribbing between brothers. The whole song is predicated on the idea that the character Steven (the insane Irishman) saving William Wallace’s life in the movie Braveheart is the only reason Scotland won their freedom. The lyrics are brilliant, and filled with little inside jokes, like “Scotland, you’re not all that brave.” Far and away my favorite one, though, is “Make it Ireland East.” This song just makes me smile, every single time, and I’ve listened to it quite a lot.

Legion Of The Rearguard is a traditional song that I have to admit I don’t really know, but am glad to find it included here. Apparently written in 1923 about DeValera and the IRA, it’s a fine tune after being given a good Mighty Regis kick in the arse.

Molly Malone’s is a great piece, which I assume goes over pretty well when the band plays their regular gig there. I love this kind of song, paying tribute a place the guys obviously adore, and giving little random bits about band members. The one thing about this song I don’t really get is the need to break into “Ring of Fire,” by Johnny Cash. It feels kind of like the band learned it, then realized they didn’t know what to do with it, so they decided to shove it into the middle of a different song. Even with that strange interlude in the middle, it’s a fine track.

Okay, lastly I’ll talk about Danny Boy. I know you’ve heard it at least a thousands times, by virtually every band with any kind of Irish tendency. I know it was written by an Englishman, and lots of people don’t like that it’s played by Irish bands at all because it has become a cliche for Irishness around the world. Get over it, and listen to it one more time. This is one of the better ones.

If you want to know more about these guys, and who doesn’t, check out their website at www.themightyregis.com, which will redirect you to their Myspace page, but I like sending people on random trips around the internet. If you want to listen to a little bit of the CD, check out the amazingly awesome Amazon samples widget below!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 at 8:08 pm and is filed under All Reviews, Celtic Rock Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.