English

8 out of 10  An album of magic moments. 

This album is one of the reasons why I love reviewing. I'd never heard of The Racketeers before Exit Hellsville dropped through the letterbox. However after a couple of listens it is, as they say in a certain magazine, receiving heavy rotation in the Mee household. The reason is very simple, there are moments on this album, quite a few actually, that capture perfectly the magic that can be conjured up by combining country and rock 'n' roll in just the right proportions. The Racketeers was formed in 1997 and consists of Eamonn Dowd, Brian O'Toole and Chris Teusner. The band released its first CD by Hook Or By Crook the same year (the second Long Time Gone came out in '99). Exit Hellsville has been described as more 'countrified' than their previous releases. Although I haven't heard either of the two earlier albums, on this evidence it was a sound decision to change direction, hopefully it will also prove a profitable one. Exit Hellsville was produced by Paul Thomas who has also worked with Thin Lizzy and early (i.e. good) U2. I only mention that fact because neither of those two bands are brought to mind when listening to the The Racketeers . A band that does spring to mind is The Pogues, or more particulary Shane McGowan, Damage Done and Down Into Hell have the same naked honest aggression of McGowan at his belligerent best. However instead of mayhem The Racketeers employ melody, Exit Hellsville is positively bursting with it. Although acting as the exception that proves the rule Never Is A Long Time is a song that is barely under control from start to finish. But the real strength and joy of the album is that this is surely a band playing in the studio pretty much as they would live. There is also a real find in the guise of writer and singer Eamonn Dowd and, because studio technology has such a minimal effect on the album, the rough and ready rockabilly of Nowhere Fast, the untamed wildness of Feel It In My Bones and the tenderness of Slip Away and Don't Believe What They're Saying are all given full expression. Nothing on Exit Hellsville sounds staged or contrived. The lifeblood of the album is undoubtedly its energy, even the 'ballad' Come On Little Baby drives along rather than just drifts and, like the majority of the rest of the album, it contains more hooks than a convention of pirates. Even from the comfort of your own armchair, Trouble Round The Bend, for one, is a toe-tapping crowd pleaser. And it won't take you long to figure out where the inspiration for the guitar riff came from. But you could spend a lifetime looking for influences. Far better to spend the time listening to country rock at its very best. As the band put it so eloquently There's No Point In Worrying. I have only two requests of The Racketeers. That they continue down this countrified, rocky road because they are surely on the path to success and secondly, on no account should Eamonn Dowd be allowed to clear his throat. His throaty, raspy vocals roughen up the album's edges and give it some

AMERICANA UK (UK) 
 by Michael Mee  



A damn fine example of gravel-voiced country rock.....these songs are full of unaffected, unrefined humanity, a kind of world-weary, warts 'n' all honesty that's getting rarer in music....there is something raw and real about The Racketeers that's easy to love.

 John Walshe 
Hot Press  Ireland. Feb 2004
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ville

 A powerful and rootsy sound that brings fiddle, mandolin, lap steel and banjo up front and center next to the electric guitar, bass and drum foundation. This is roots rock as strong as a lot of the Stateside bands claiming a similar pedigree. Listen to 'Never Did, Never Will' with Bill Whelan's banjo adding a spikey texture to the mix or the harmonica led 'Come On Little Baby' to see what I mean.
Steve Averill
Lonesome Highway Vol 2 # 3
April 2004

 

German

REVIEW OF GIG IN GREIZ, GERMANY JUNE 2 2006 BY KARSTEN SCHAARSCHMIDT

Greiz (Schaarschmidt). Dass bei den Iren ein spezielles Musik-Gen existieren muss, ist keine neue Erkenntnis. Bei manch Iren aber besitzt es eine besondere Dominanz, was wiederum schon seltener ist. Der Ire Eamonn Dowd, in Dublin lebender Gitarrist und Sänger, gehört zu letzteren. Seine charismatischen und charaktervollen Titel, die er mit rauer, spröder Stimme raspelt, sind Kino für den Kopf und vor allem eigenständig im großen Soßentopf des Irish-Folk. Nach seinem Vogtland-Debüt im vorigen Jahr gastierte Dowd am Donnerstag in der „Neu Schenke“ bei Wildetaube und am Freitag im Greizer „Peanuts“ und schenkte seinen Zuhörern Hörgenuss pur.

Natürlich ist es kein traditioneller Irish-Folk, den Dowd präsentiert, es ist auch kein Country, ebenso wenig lauterer Rock. Vielmehr nimmt er sich von all dem das Beste, um es zu einem ausdrucksstarken Sound zu verknüpfen, der das druckvoll Dynamische des Rock, das Melodiöse des Irish-Folk und die Erdverbundenheit des Country auf einen Nenner bringt. Dazu erzählt er seine Geschichten von Einsamkeit, tröstendem Rotwein, den Frauen und der Liebe. Es sind bildreiche, lyrische Texte, die wie die Melodien oft von einer gehörigen Portion Melancholie geprägt sind. Die Schwermut allerdings erdrückt die Songs nicht, sie ist stets die Vorstufe zur Hoffnung und dem Wissen, dass die Sonne am Morgen die regennassen nächtlichen Straßen trocknen wird. Dowds Titel sind wie Kurzfilme, für die Regisseure wie Aki Kaurismäki oder Jim Jarmusch wohl die besten Bilder finden würden. Seiner dezent elektronisch verstärken Akustikgitarre entlockt Dowd dank expressiver, an der Rockgitarre orientierten Spielweise ein Klangvolumen, das sowohl den balladesken als auch den aggressiveren und wilderen Songs Raum gibt. Der Begleitung dienende Akkorde wechseln sich dabei mit nachhaltigen Riffs ab. Zusammen mit seiner unnachahmlichen Stimme liegt der Vergleich zur Ausdruckskraft und dem Stil eines frühen Neil Young, Bob Dylan oder Van Morrison nahe. Ein Einfluss ist erkennbar, den räumt Dowd auch ein, nicht zuletzt mit einigen Young- und Dylan-Interpretationen. Aber: Es ist niemals ein Nachahmen, sondern viel eher das Unterstreichen der Eigenständigkeit.

Eamonn Dowd, der anders als in Irland und im Vereinigten Königreich hierzulande noch zu den Geheimtipps zählt, ist zugleich Frontmann und Mitgründer der Band „The Racketeers“. Drei CDs hat die Band bereits produziert, von denen besonders das jüngste Album mit dem Titel „Exit Hellsville“ in der und über die Szene hinaus viel Beachtung fand. Im Spätsommer soll nun ein weiteres Album aufgenommen werden. Und was erfreulich ist, nächstes Jahr wird es in Greiz auch Live gespielt, denn Eamonn Dowd und seine „Racketeers“ werden voraussichtlich beim Greizer Schlossfolk 2007 gastieren. Eine Aussicht, die alle Dowd-Fans freuen wird und allen anderen schon jetzt als dringende Empfehlung ans Herz gelegt werden muss.

Karsten Schaarschmidt

Dutch

Waar denkt u aan bij Ierland? Aan de Keltische klanken van Clannad? Of aan de wilde folk van the Pogues? Ik in ieder geval niet aan americana of countryrock. Maar dat is veranderd sinds ik the Racketeers heb gehoord op hun nieuwe cd Exit Hellsville (eigen beheer). The Racketeers werden in 1997 opgericht en bestaan uit bassist Brian O’Toole, drummer Chris Teusner en songschrijver, zanger en multi-instrumentalist Eamonn Dowd. Op deze derde cd wordt door derden (of, in dit geval eigenlijk vierden) een accent aan het groepsgeluid toegevoegd door middel van lap steel, fiddle, mandoline, banjo en Hammond. We horen veel lekkere countryrock, zoals in het openingsnummer Don’t Know You Anymore, Never Is A Long Time en Damage Done. Verder is er rockabilly in Nowhere Fast, en een prachtige ballad (Don’t Believe What They’re Saying). Het nonchalant klinkende Down In Hell is een regelrechte murder ballad, waarin de verteller niet alleen zijn oom en buurman, maar ook nog zijn oudere broer vermoordt. Allicht dat je dan naar de hel gaat. Hoogtepunt is Never Did Never Will, waarin je de hoofdpersoon welgemoed door het leven ziet stappen onder het motto dat hij nooit iemand heeft vertrouwd en dat ook nooit zal gaan doen. Al met al een smakelijke plaat waaraan menig bandje uit de bakermat van de americana een puntje kan zuigen. (Hugo Vogel) The Racketeers treden op 2 december op in Mulligans in Amsterdan en op 5 december in café Jansen + Jansen in Enschede. Meer concerten worden waarschijnlijk nog toegevoegd; check hiervoor de website van the Racketeers.

 Alt.Country NL, The Netherlands, November 2004

Italian
Li avevamo conosciuti all’inizio del 2004 grazie al loro singolo I Don’t Know You Anymore (che ora apre il loro album di esordio intitolato Exit Hellsville) che era presente all’interno di una compilation della indie svedese Dusty Records ed ora abbiamo fra le mani un album vero e proprio, che andiamo a recensire con estremo piacere. I Racketeers sono Irlandesi, ma il loro sound è molto prossimo alle sonorità roots-rock statunitensi che da sempre ci appassionano. Eamon Dowd (voce solista e chitarra acustica), Brian O’Toole (voce corista e basso) e Chris Teusner (batteria e percussioni) sono ai loro esordi discografici, ma hanno accumulato una buona dose di esperienza nel corso dei loro anni di gavetta a suonare nei piccoli pubs, esperienza che hanno poi messo a frutto con questo progetto senza dubbio valido, pur in presenza di alti e bassi. La partenza con il brano già citato (uscito anche come singolo) è di ottimo auspicio: sonorità pulite, elettroacustiche, ricerca della melodia e voce roca e personale. Chi ben comincia… Feel It In My Bones è un classico esercizio rock elettrico, una ballata molto scolastica e – per certi versi – abbastanza prevedibile nella sua evoluzione. Migliore si rivela invece Never Did Never Will, con forti spunti della tradizione acustica del sud degli USA, Damage Done ha mutuato il jingle-jangle sound e le atmosfere semi-californiane dal sound dei 60’s americani, ma la voce resta molto personale. Non Vi inganni fatto di sapere che i Racketeers sono Irlandesi: il drive è quello di un grande pezzo rockabill e Nowhere Fast tale si rivela, con gradevoli e repentini cambi di ritmo, mentre con Come On Little Baby si ritorna ad atmosfere bucoliche – ed indubbiamente americane – per una song con notevolia ffinità interpretative con il Neil Young migliore, a cominciare dall’armonica che introduce il brano. Siamo solo alla metà dell’analisi del disco, ma non voglio andare oltre, tanto chi è già interessato all’ascolto dopo la prima metà del contenuto sappia che il resto viaggia sugli stessi livelli. Chi invece non si sente ancora attratto da quanto ha letto, può passare oltre, in quanto ciò che si potrebbe aggiungere non cambierebbe la situazione. Aggiungerò solo che ricompare il riferimento del Neil Young ‘acido’ in Trouble Around The Bend (vagamente reminiscente della melodia di Knocking On Heaven’s Door), la ballatona acustica di Down Into Hell, le acrobazie chitarristiche di Never Is A Long Time, i preziosismi mandolinistici ed elettroacustici di Slip Away, per concludere con Don’t Believe What They’re Saying, introspettiva elucubrazione intimista e vagamente noir. Eamon Dowd è un grande cantante ed i Racketeers meritano di essere conosciuti. Siete avvertiti! Per

Dino Della Cassa, Italy September 2004

French