"This record slams home the point that Mike McColgan was a way better singer than Al Barr.McColgan was way more versatile with his singing.A prime example of this is if you take the gritty rough and tumble barroom hero song and the smooth powerful punk song front seat and listen to the both of them you will hear McColgan's amazing vocal versatility.He has some pipes with authority and smoothness.Some say why belabor the point of McColgan v. Barr and I say no way , McColgan was and is the better singer! They probably put this record out to capitalize on McColgan's superiority in the first place! The songs from the only era that counts are tough,true and working class.The band has not been the same since McColgan's departure......"
This is a must have for drinkers! Oi Oi Oi!
Marcell Holmes | Pennsylvania | 06/03/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a terrific CD, and the live tracks on it (especially Skinhead on MBTA) are awesome. The only way this CD could be better if they would have included "Caps and Bottles - Live" from the Early Years, but oh well. Anway, this CD, just like "Do or Die" is full of great drinking music with Mike McColgan singing. The previous reviewer dissed Al Barr. I have no problem with Al Barr, if you go to a concert and see them live, Al Barr sings the old songs just as well and alot faster than Mike did. Also, if you pick up their new spit with the Business "Mob Mentality", you can hear Al singing "Boys on the Dock", and Al does and excellent job."
Oi! Oi! Oi!
David L. Hawkins | Woodbridge, VA United States | 07/24/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This was a great idea. What a better way to get a hold of all of the Murphys' 7 inches? This has a ton of songs on it, incluidng about 10 live ones. The live songs are great too.This is with their old singer, Mike, who I think was better. His voice could do much more the Al's(although he too, is amazing). This is a great listen and is bascially Do or Die and Boys on the Docks wrapped up into one great CD."
Possibly the BEST CD I own!
LoraxMan | 11/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is excellent from top to bottom. Lots of live tunes make thisbetter than DKM's studio efforts IMHO. This may be sacrilege in some circles, but I think the DKMs play Clash tunes better than the Clash! Their rendition of "The Guns of Brixton" nearly caused me to stomp a hole in the floorboard of my car. "Barroom Heroes", "Do or Die", "Career Opportunities" are all great tunes. This CD goes in my player in the car on Monday and doesn't get a relief pitcher until Thursday. If you like your music fast and loud, this CD is for you."
This is really cool.
Steve Yanke | Forest Lake, Minnesota United States | 06/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Even though I've heard most of these songs before this, it's cool to hear these alternate versions, plus there are some songs that were on lps and now I have them on a cd, which is cool. The Clash songs were a surprise, I liked the way they did The Guns of Brixton but I can't say it's better then the Clash's. The live perfomances could have sounded better but that's not much at all to complain about, besides it was great to get a live show on a cd, and I loved the Skinhead/TNT song split, that really works. This cd is worth getting if you like the Dropkick Murphys older stuff a lot."