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Sleeve Notes (2012)
The Dubliners began in O'Donoghue's pub on Merrion Row, Dublin in 1962 as a quartet known as the Ronnie Drew Ballad Group. They comprised Ronnie Drew (vocals and guitar), Luke Kelly (vocals and 5-string banjo), Barney McKenna (tenor banjo, mandolin, melodeon and vocals) and Ciaran Bourke (vocals, guitar, tin whistle and harmonica). Drew was rather reluctant to be regarded as the nominal leader of the band and Kelly, who at the time was reading 'Dubliners' by the great Irish author James Joyce, suggested that 'The Dubliners' was a better name for the band.
The Dubliners' repertoire largely comprised traditional songs, to which they added an element of Celtic magic and humour. As Ronnie Drew noted: "When we started, Irish music always sounded a bit staid, not much fun, and tended to be presented in an academic way. We never did it like that. In England and America, there'd been folk revivals, but in Ireland it hadn't needed it because it had always been alive". Their material and approach brought them surprising commercial success.
In 1963, The Dubliners were spotted playing at the Edinburgh festival by Nat Joseph of Transatlantic Records, for whom they started recording. Their first album, 'The Dubliners', was not released until 1964, soon after which Luke Kelly left and Bobby Lynch (vocals and guitar) and John Sheahan (fiddle, tin whistle, mandolin, concertina, guitar and vocals) both joined. When Kelly returned and Lynch left in 1965, the widely accepted 'classic lineup' of the band was in place, which lasted until 1974.
After two further LPs for Transatlantic, the live albums 'In Concert' and 'Finnegan Wakes' (the latter named after a run of shows at the Gate Theatre) The Dubliners signed to Major Minor Records, a label launched by Phil Solomon (1926-2011) whose family had been involved in the Irish entertainment business, and who promoted such Irish acts as Ruby Murray and The Bachelors. Following this, Solomon became heavily involved with the pirate radio station Radio Caroline, on which he ensured that Major Minor releases enjoyed heavy rotation.
The legendary group's four original Major Minor studio albums from the 1960s, which have never previously been released on CD in their original form, have been expertly digitally remastered from original mono source tapes. This album, 'More Of The Hard Stuff, is the second of those, and was released in the autumn of 1967. It followed the album 'A Drop Of The Hard Stuff, which was quickly re-titled and re-issued as 'Seven Drunken Nights' after the opening track was released as a single that stayed in the UK chart for four months and peaked at No.7 in June 1967.
Though some felt that the success of the 'Seven Drunken Nights' single was unlikely to ever be repeated, 'A Drop Of The Hard Stuff', spent nearly ten months on the UK albums chart, reaching No.5. This chart success was further reinforced by the release of 'Black Velvet Band', a second single from the album, which also made the UK Top 20 and led Transatlantic Records to release an album of their earlier recordings, 'Best Of The Dubliners' that joined 'A Drop Of The Hard Stuff' in the UK album chart for over two months.
The second Major Minor LP 'More Of The Hard Stuff was released in October 1967 (reaching the UK top ten) and true to its title, five of the songs are about heavy drinking. Among the tracks included on this are one of the most widely performed traditional Irish songs 'Whiskey In The Jar', which many will recall as the first hit single by another notable Irish group, Thin Lizzy, and 'A Pub With No Beer', which was a 1959 UK Top 3 single for Australian Slim Dusty and adapted by Gordon Parsons from the original poem by Dan Sheahan, who had moved from Ireland to Australia in 1957. Several other tracks here, such as 'The Old Triangle', which was written about a metal triangle in Mountjoy prison used to wake its inmates, 'Dicey Reilly' and 'Maloney Wants A Drink' were written by Dominic Behan, described as "one of the most influential Irish songwriters of the 20th Century". The folk song 'Muirsheen Durkin' tells the story of an Irish emigrant who goes off to join the California Gold Rush in 1849. 'Kelly The Boy From Killan' is about the United Irish leader John Kelly who fought in the Irish Rebellion of 1798.
In addition to 'A Drop Of The Hard Stuff' and 'More Of The Hard Stuff, this remaster and re-issue of The Dubliners' early work also includes the classic albums 'Drinkin' & Courtin'' and 'At It Again!', all of which have never sounded so good!
Despite the fact that most of the original members are sadly no longer with us, The Dubliners remain active in 2012, fifty years after their formation! They are deservedly revered around the world and their unique take on Irish traditional music ensures that they rank alongside other notable acts from Ireland such as The Chieftains, Van Morrison and U2 and remain one of the most influential of Ireland's traditional folk bands.
John Tobler, Washington (UK), March, 2012
Edited by Jon Wilson
