Irish band 'The Racketeers' are a lightweight, on-the-fringe rock band. Instinctively you know exactly what they are going to sound like by looking at the album cover -- nothing wrong with that, you know what you are getting! The band is good and plays well, although they do sound like hundreds of other bands doing the same thing, the usual Gibson or Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall amplifier, with distortion, greets you on the first track. One redeeming quality the band has, however, is in band member Eamonn Dowd who writes all the songs on this album.
The band members are Klark E.Clark (drums), Eamonn Dowd (vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin and synthesiser), Alan Madigan (electric guitar and backing vocals), Veronika Megyeri (backing vocals) Bobby McDonnell (bass), Vincent O'Connor (keyboards) and Sheila Sullivan (violin). When you learn that the album was recorded and mixed by Alan Madigan, it explains why the lead guitar is so full on at times and just a little too loud in the mix, making it very hard to hear the words. For me it spoilt the song 'Hard Times'.
One of the best songs on the album is 'Million Miles Away'. At track 3 it sets the album off, and from here it flows quite well. Long Time Gone has slow moody songs were they are needed and then lifts you up again and gets the feet tapping. Fans of Bob Dylan and the Pogues you will love this album. It is easy to see where Eamonn Dowd get some of his song writing influence, and in my book there is nothing wrong with that!
In summing up, this is a good album. It's easy on the ears for a fringe rock band. I would have liked to have seen more use of the violin, and a stronger bass line in the mix but that's purely a personal thing. About the only thing I don't like is the name 'The Racketeers' as it does the band no credit, and may hold them back. I would change it! This band is a band to watch, because they are bound to get better and better as they mature.
The Racketeers have a Web site!
