ALBUM REVIEW: HUGH MORRISON- ‘The Other Side’ (2020)

Scottish-born Hugh Morrison has spent the couple of decades baking in Houston,Texas and playing and singing in a range of styles. As part of The Street Dogs and lead vocalist of Celtic-Rockers Murder The Stout he has toured the world and has released his second solo album of New Orleans influenced Folk-Rock.

After spending twelve years in the USA, the Scottish Highlands born Hugh Morrison returns to his homeland for inspiration on his latest project. His first solo album Robert Burns Rocks came out in 2010 taking his favorite Robert Burns’ work and adapting them for the present time. Burns work has been re-interpreted many times including by many Celtic-Punk bands and this album was designed to bring attention to Scotland’s Bard, opening up his material to a whole new and audience. Hugh Morrison has spent his time in the USA wisely fronting the popular Houston, Texas based Celtic-Punk band Murder The Stout and playing squeezebox in the sadly now no more Street Dogs. 

He released his second studio album in 2016 called Prison Ballads ten popular songs all with the theme of Prisons or going to jail! Songs from another age brought back to basics like ‘Banks O’ The Ohio’, ‘Down In The Valley’ and ‘The Auld Triangle’. His new album came out at the turn of the year and has been sitting in our to do list since being played sporadically but thoroughly enjoyed.

The album begins with ‘Passing Place’ and features only Louisiana musicians, mainly the Louisiana legend, Beth Patterson on backing vocals, bazouki and bass. With many friends and guests here its far from yer usual singer/songwriter type of thing. Hugh slightly ached vocals over a catchy acoustic guitar and female background vocals give it a feel of 1980’s UK indie bands. The albums title track is next and ‘The Other Side’ features some choice brass from the New Orleans Second Line Percussion. Be warned this isn’t the upbeat celtic-Rock of Murder The Stout and even with South Louisiana’s Cajun bursting through it’s a sad song about death and Hugh’s vocals and accordion works great here. In the article referenced at the bottom in The Ripple Hugh states that the two following songs are his most favourite ones he has ever written. On ‘Life Can Be Short’, a five minute epic with a definite Irish tinge to it, reminding us to enjoy every moment with the ones around us and ‘Old Scotland’, a ode to his faraway home.

The songs so far have a sadness attached to them that is specific to Celtic music. Death looms large here but without the sentimentalism even when on a song like ‘Old Scotland’ you can tell easily how much the words mean to him. The music is acoustic excepting the bass and while its possible to play really fecking loud with acoustic instruments here Hugh takes another approach with the music almost delicate but still coming out with plenty of fire and bite. ‘Sunshine’ is another folky indie number while ‘Ballad Of Thomas Higgins’ the air of which sounds remarkably like ‘The Patriot Game’ which in itself was stolen from ‘The Merry Month Of May’ and probably several songs pre that one too. Telling of whaling in New Bedford its a great track and shows pretty much all the albums guests in one place. ‘Dance Hall Girl’ is a gentle folky tale while ‘Ticket Out Of Here’ sees the drums pounding just that bit heavier than before with Hugh and Beth combining beautifully on a song whose subject is well known to many of us. I’m a big fan of the harmonica and it gets a good airing on ‘Not Hanging Here’, a catchy melancholic song while on ‘Edge Of The World’ the upbeat modernist Cajun / Country belies the songs serious side.

The albums penultimate song is ‘Kitty’ a sad traditional Irish love song about a Fenian saying goodbye to his sweetheart. Shane MacGowan said he recalled hearing his Mother singing it often which would explain its appearance on Rum, Sodomy & The Lash where The Pogues injected new life into the song. Here Hugh takes the gentle approach with Hugh’s Scots brogue floating over an arrangement similar to The Pogues. The album ends with the upbeat ‘Everything’s Gonna Be OK’ where we get as close to a full band as the album allows. Even the words here are upbeat as Hugh reassures us everything’s gonna be OK.

So a grand album and at this moment in time its the kind of singer/songwriter album with guests we are seeing a lot of but this came out before the ‘clampdown’ so the originality is all Hugh Morrison’s. He proves here what an excellent frontman he is and how adept he is at taking influences and welding them to traditional Scots Folk sentiments and emotions. It may not be in the same league as Murder The Stout but among its peers in Folk music yeah it’s pretty damn bloody good.

(you can stream The Other Side on the Bandcamp player below before you buy)

Buy The Other Side  FromHugh  CDbaby

Contact Hugh Morrison  YouTube  Twitter  YouTube  Instagram  Facebook

Keep an eye on these pages for a further Hugh project in Iron Roux. Scottish highlands meet Louisiana swamp as Hugh and Beth Patterson combine forces resulting in driving guitar, subversive bass solos, and tight vocal harmonies. We’re here for the ballads, but will stay for the accordion and bouzouki thrown into the mix too! A EP is slated for release very shortly…

Hugh had a very interesting interview The Ripple that is well worth a look.

ALBUM REVIEW: FM359- ‘Truth, Love And Liberty’ (2014)

The first album of 2014 hits my doorstep and have to say it is a corker! For a while there last year it looked like trouble was abrewing in Street Dog town and it seemed they may be splitting up. Looking back they like just needed a break from the constant touring and as a consequence they came up with this in their spare time.

Two members of the Street Dogs, Mike McColgan and Johnny Rioux, Murder The Stouts Hugh Morrison, original Dropkick Murphy guitarist Rick Barton and a few mates came up with this album of country, gospel inspired, mostly, acoustic punk rock. I suppose you could call this as a side-project but for Johnny Rioux he’s already got this here, Rick Barton has Continental, who only just toured the UK with their country tinged punk, and Hugh Morrison, who is also playing in loads of bands, so for some this is a side-side-side-project so gotta have your doubts we’ll see them in britland anytime soon!

They’ve described it themselves as having ‘a humanitarian (non-religious) GOSPEL Americana (punk) rock sound’ and that’s as good a description as anyone could make. Vocal duties are split around the various members with Johnny Rioux particularly impressing on ‘I Saw The Light’ the albums most country song.

“I travelled far from sea to sea, to see if I could find my heart of gold.  And when I found the one that I loved, I fucked it up and now I’m all alone”

Topics seem to revolve around the struggle of the American everyman and the politics are a lot more subdued than previously but still ramped up higher than 99% of most American bands. It all seems a bit personal and autobiographical as on Mike McColgan’s ‘It Stay’s With Me’

“Remember cold Tuttle Street days, just to run down Grampian Way. Dreamers sprung loose by Catholic cages, come take a walk with me, I’ll read my pages”

There’s plenty of touches of celtic-punk here but the various members are to be congratulated on making a superb album containing so many disparate strands of music and yet marrying them together to make something pretty much unique as well as perfect!

Out on Pirate Press Records

Contact The Band:  Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW- JOHNNY RIOUX ‘CowbOi!’ (2013)

many of us who come from Irish backgrounds will have had the misfortune to have heard a quite a lot of country’n’western music…and when I say a lot I mean a LOT. although what we grew up listening to was not strictly country’n’western it was country’n’Irish a hybrid of the worse in country music AND the worse in Irish music! names like Big Tom, Margo and that giant of c’n’I Daniel O’Donnell an still bring me out in cold sweats and nightmares of sitting in our local Irish club with a coke and crisps being forced to listen to 4 middle aged Irishmen from Derby wearing cowboy hats singing Take Me Home Country Roads!

well what a surprise I got this morning…

I had’nt heard of Johnny Rioux until very recently and it turns out that not only is the Boston based musician in The Street Dogs but he’s also part of Texan celtic-punk band Murder the Stout (along with fellow Street Dogs guitarist Marcus Hollar) and he’s been in and also worked with a shed load of other bands including record producing for Flatfoot 56, the Street Dogs and Roger Miret and the Disasters.

The album itself is a mix of ‘country-fied’ punk and Oi! standards (and a few less so) but more in keeping of Johnny Cash than Jim Reeves! This fits in easily with the recent wave of alternative (punk?) country bands like Old Man Markley and Banjoey Ramone. As a offshoot of celtic-punk its great to hear old fashioned music given a new twist and like celtic-punk it may hopefully inspire people to delve into the back catalogues of some of the best country artists…just as long as they stay the hell away from country’n’Irish!!

Here’s a 30 minute set from YouTube to whet your appetite for buying the album!

Johnny Rioux’s Facebook page is here

Track Listings:

01 – Working (Cock Sparrer)
02 – If The Kids Are United (Sham 69)
03 – Voice Of Generation (Blitz)
04 – Someones Gonna Die (Blitz)
05 – Societies Fools (The Bruisers)
06 – Crucified (Iron Cross)
07 – A.C.A.B (The 4Skins)
08 – Oi! Oi! Oi! (Cockney Rejects)
09 – Police Oppression (Angelic Upstarts)
10 – Evil In Brain (Blood For Blood)