First off, how ’bout those Warpipes, and thundering drums, on that last track “Taylor Made”? It’s a perfect example of a theory of mine… (and I’m sure about a million others before me, agree!) The theory is that the drums represent the heartbeat, and the bagpipes represent the soul, and when it’s done right, it’s simply an overwhelming feeling that hits you deep in the gut. You know you’re truly alive when you feel it. If you’ve ever witnessed up close a huge crowd of marching bagpipes and drums then you should know what I’m talking about. In my personal opinion, the last track, “Taylor Made” gave me that exact same feeling.That song could have lasted 10 – 15 minutes, and i’d still be happy with it. I ask all you reading this review to get the album “Oot & Aboot”, go home and turn up the volume to 50 and start with track 13. If you don’t get that feeling I’m talking about, then go far, far, away & shoot yourself, or better yet, lay down on some railroad tracks.

Sorry about that, got a wee bit carried away…On with the album review, if I had one word to describe the new album it would be, catchy. I mean that in a good way, mind you. I’m seriously impressed with the vocal melodies scattered throughout this new album. I’m also impressed with the overall sound on “Oot & Aboot” The dual guitars are clean, Paul McKenzie’s vocals are solid, and the bagpipes are interwoven perfectly, not to mention the bass and drums hold everything down like they should. You can tell they had some professionals in the studio with them this time, unlike some previous efforts in the past. Have I mentioned catchy yet?

“Oot & Aboot” starts out with a damn fine pirate number “‘Cross The Ocean” and in my book, every good Real McKenzies album MUST have at least one pirate tune on it.

“Droppin’ Like Flys” is more or less an ode to all the punk bands of the past. Speaking about the unfortunate and untimely deaths of Joey & Dee Dee Ramone (among others.)

“Ye Banks And Braes (O’ Bonnie Doon)” is one of the two traditional tracks on the album originally written by the master Scottish poet, Robbie Burns, it good to see another one of auld Rabbie’s poem’s alive and kicking again.

“Get Lost” is one of those catchy tracks on the album i’ve been talking about. It’s also one of the songs the lads played during the Fat Wreck Chords tour earlier this year.

“Lest We Forget” is a good follow up to “Get Lost” it’s like a one-two punch of how good the vocal melodys have become. If I heard everything right, I think it’s about women!

“Heather Bells” is another traditional ditty, it’s also one of the stronger tracks on the album, is more or less an ode to the Scottish homeland, an ode to a land that we long to be! I’m sure anyone displaced or homesick can relate to this track no matter where the homeland may be! Ahh! I need a vacation!

“Dance Around The Whisky” is the most folky tune on this album. Centered around an acoustic guitar, It’s a drunken sing-a-long about Scotch whisky. Complete with the background pub atmosphere. One of my favorites. It almost reminds me of earlier folky stuff off of “Clash Of The Tartans”

“Oot & Aboot” I hate to break it to all the Canucks reading this, but, YES! You do have an accent when you say Oot & Aboot!! Can I have some Canadian bacon and maple syrup now?

“Shit Outta Luck” The melody reminds me of “King O’ Glasgow” It also reminds me of alot about my luck lately! Is it unlucky to accidentally break a mirror on Friday the 13th? What the fuck? I’m shit outta luck!

“Jennifer Que” Hell yeah! the fastest, hardest-hitting track on the entire album. For the idiots that think the Real McKenzies have gotten soft. Take a listen to this one. This is how some of the older stuff would have sounded like if it was produced a little cleaner.

“Drink The Way I Do” (The same song that’s one the ecard that I emailed everybody with!) What happens when you drink the way I do? Simply put, a hangover, that’s what will happen.

“The Night The Lights Went Out In Scotland” April 16th, 1745. The Battle Of Culloden. The Scottish Jacobites were slaughtered by the English. The Jacobite rebellion was more or less brought to it’s knees, yet it’s still not forgotten. Fuck no, never forgotten! After the battle of Culloden, The Highlanders were eventually kicked off their lands, and forced to leave the only way of life they have ever known. At this moment, I raise my glass to those displaced Highlanders.

“Taylor Made” an instumental song using the instruments of war. – Hey Paul! Can you guys record a half-hour version of this track and send it to me? Hey Matt! Brad! Whaddya think??

September 2003

Review By Brian Gillespie

“Enjoy what’chas got, not what you have not ’tis a weak heart lamenting with sorrow…”

Damn straight…

Vancouver’s Real McKenzies serve notice on this that they are not to be trifled with! The title itself is worth something.

The McKenzies have a decidedly less “punk” slant to this offering, it’s still there and their Scottish heritage is on full display and they don’t make any apologies for it. They have great energy in their performance and shouldn’t be slighted in the least. The songs written by the band are for the most part the best tracks of this release but they do a good job with the others as well.

The pipe work on the McKenzie’s part is top notch, more adventurous and is added in good measure. There’s nothing groundbreaking here just good fun. They even poke fun at Monty Python FFS.

All that shite said, this offering from The Real McKenzies is a good listen and fans of the genre won’t be disappointed. Good tunes abound here. If you’re looking for something to listen to and have a good time, this is it.

2006

Review by The Black Stuff

Can anyone say Mall Rat??

I got this sampler at the Real McKenzies show, the sampler is a good idea, but 2 out of the 4 bands on the sampler just don’t really work for me. Tracks 1 and 2 are from the no-good, power-popping Mad Caddies. The only half-decent thing is the horns, and I’ll leave it at that. Tracks 3 and 4 are from Chicago’s Rise Against, which is pretty good for what it is – A melodic punk band who are always on tour. I’ve been told these guys are straight edge, so touring with the ever-so-drunk Real McKenzies must be a total blast for those guys!! Ha! Which brings me to the best band on the sampler by a fucking mile. The Real McKenzies have a new album coming out May 20th, it’s going to be called “Ooot & Aboot”. A great title that contains two choice words that every single American uses to make fun of that Canadian accent. One song from the new album is “Get Lost” and sounds like Fat Mike from NOFX may have been involved. In fact I know he was.(He is always saying The Real Mac’s are the best live band he has ever seen!) It’s fast, & catchy, and I like it, but where’s the bagpipes guys? Track 6 is “Lassie/Roamin’ in The Gloamin” from 2001’s “Loch’d & Loaded”. The last two tracks are from The Flipsides and pretty much sounds like Green Day. Not much more to comment on after a Green Day comparison. I’ve got a great idea for the next Fat Wreck Chords Sampler/Tour. Keep The Real McKenzies on the bill, give the Mad Caddies, & Flipsides, the boot. Add some Swingin’ Utters, maybe even some old Propagandi, or Sick Of It All.

May 2003

Review by Brian “anti-emo” Gillespie

Finally!!! Those kilted punk bastards from Vancouver got a live album out. And they sure as hell were in no hurry! What the hell am I saying, you may be asking? I’m saying the album was recorded three years ago up in Vancouver, B.C. January 25, 2000 otherwise known as Robbie Burns Day. I am very pleased these guys finally have something live recorded, considering they are one of the top live acts I’ve seen in the last few years! It gives those folks who have never seen a Real McKenzie show an idea of what they are missing. (And it reminds those of us who always show up drunk, a chance to hear it sober for a change!) There is also a DVD version of this concert that is a must have for any RM fan. The album has 16 tracks from everybody’s favorite chaotic kilted ceilidh band, The Real McKenzies.

The album opens up with the lads warming up with a drum/guitar/bagpipe combination designed to get all the lushes off the barstools and onto the dance floor. As soon as everybody has focused on the band, they break into “My Bonnie”, a traditional dandy every bastard should sing along to! On to the third song “Scots Wha’ Ha’e” we hear a Burns song that has been ‘updated’ by the band. Next up is “Tae The Battle”, followed by “Will Ye be Proud”, a song about being proud of your heritage, whatever that may be. Track 6 is one of my all time favorites, “King O’ Glasgow”, a song about a workin’ lad by the name of MacTavish, and about the trouble he can get in during a weekend drinkin’ bender in Glasgow. Track 7 is the “Sawney Beane Clan”, a true tale about a clan of cannibals up in the highlands years ago. “Bastards” is a song dedicated to friends, to each and everyone one! Up next is “Stone Of Kings” it’s a song about a big rock the English stole from the Scots years ago. Ancient kings of Scotland were crowned upon the Stone of Scone back in the day. (And for anyone keeping score, the rock has been returned!) The next song on the Real McKenzie menu is “Scottish & Proud” and I’m sure you get the idea what it’s about without even hearing it! Track 11 is “Haggises”, Track 12 is “Another Round”, Track 13 “Auld Mrs. Hunt”, and as Paul McKenzie points out, it’s an old Glaswegian limerick, about 85 seconds long, so you know it’s fucking good! Track 14 is “Thistle Boy”, a great live song, and fun is to slam to (either in the pit, at the bar, or in the taxi/bus, on your way home from a RM gig!!) On track 15, “Auld Lang Syne” (another Burns song) we finally hear a confession from the band…..They’re piss drunk!!! Did I mention piss drunk? The final track on the album is an old traditional titled “Loch Lommond”. You take the high road, and I’ll take the low road…………..

February 2003

Review and Scottish history lesson provided by Professor Brian Gillespie (S’n’O Lush Dept.)

Vancouver’s favorite pissy-drunk Scottish-Canadian sons are at it again with their third full-length LP “Loch’d and Loaded.” This marks the Real Macs debut in the spotlight, so to speak: on Honest Don’s Records, a subsidiary of Fat Wreck Chords. This is no surprise, as Fat Mike, the owner of both, once raved the Macs were “the best band I’ve ever seen.” For those of you unfamiliar with the Macs, I’d say that if, back in the 13th Century, William Wallace commissioned the Rezillos, the Skids or any other upstart, ’77-style Scottish punk band to march alongside his pipers into battle, this was what you would get: anthemic, melodious and fast-driven punk songs, propelled along by bagpipes, a healthy dose of Scottish pride, and fuelled by the water of life. Suffice to say, the troops would be pumped enough to fill Loch Ness with the bodies of invading Englishmen.

While their first two efforts were solid and, in several instances, brilliant, their third LP eclipses all expectations. The production is first rate and all the songs scream melody. Call-and-response vocals fill the songs and they stick to you like the spleen of the enemy you just hacked apart out on the Scottish glen. The musicianship has also vastly improved and the album rocks with a sense of Gaelic purpose on the verge of going AWOL. The Macs do the ’77-style so right, it’s scary and the pipe playing is top notch and utilized in nearly every track. Lyrically, the Macs deal with themes of rebellion, drinking and most other things Scottish and it works very well, in a more humorous and light-hearted tone than many other bands of the genre.

So, although the other two Macs releases seemed spotty, (and are harder to get anyway) this exceeded all my expectations. Favorite tracks include “Nessie,” “Pickled,” “Scots ‘Round the World” “Swords of a Thousand Men” and my favorite, “Wild Cattieyote.” Also included are the trads “Flower of Scotland,” “Bonnie Mary,” and the hilarious “Donald Where’s Yer Troosers?” (Once done to perfection by the Men They Couldn’t Hang.) Pick it up as soon as possible, by a bottle of Glen Fiddich or Glen Livet (any Glen will do) paint your face, put in “Braveheart” with volume down and throw this in and see if you have any furniture left in tact at the end of the night.

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September 2001

Review by Sean Holland

Two tracks of bagpipe driven 77’ style punk from your favorite SCOTTISH PUNK ROCK GODS! Its out through the Fat Chord Wreck’s single’s club on blue wax – get it if you can. See yee Jimmy, Och I!

July 2001