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On their latest release, “Absolutely,” the Young Dubliners have taken all the pieces that make their live shows so exciting and captured the vibe and excitement in the studio. Founder and lead vocalist Keith Roberts credits producer John Wooler (John Lee Hooker, Willie Nelson, The Staple Singers) for catching the Young Dubliner’s live essence on “Absolutely” by insisting on a live studio performance. “The goal was to capture the band’s live energy, but also have a production vibe that would stand up to radio,” says Wooler. “It was only a matter of getting the band in a decent-sized room and trying to cut the tracks live. The Dubliners have a great deal of personality in their sound and all I had to do was capture that. It worked really well.”

It worked very well indeed! This is the third album I’ve reviewed and the second live gig, and oh what a difference a few years make! With twelve outstanding Celtic Rock tracks, none of which repeat a song from an earlier album (my biggest complaint about “Red”), “Absolutely” is a triumph both musically and lyrically. It’s also the first album ever written by the entire band – Keith Roberts (lead vocals, guitar), Brendan Holmes (bass, acoustic guitar), Bob Boulding (electric guitar, harmonies) David Ingraham (drums) Chaz Waltz (violin, keyboards, mandolin, harp) – instead of one or two people. Keith told me, “Everyone was on the same page this time and we had a lot of fun and we put this album together in two weeks.”

One thing in particular that I noticed about this album is the contrast between the music and the lyrics on certain songs. A good example is “Low” (track 4). The music is fairly upbeat with a TINY bit of a country sound added to the rock and Celtic, but the lyrics are extremely serious including spousal abuse, drugs and extreme anger. “Scream,” (track 3) is another song of contradictions, this time in a good way. It’s a ballad, but to scream is to let out your frustrations and feel better. “Fan” (track 9) is upbeat musically, but the lyrics are complex and serious about an obsessed fan. This track is strange all the way around, but it definitely gets to you. All of these songs are awesome and it reminds you this band tackles social problems (on previous albums as well) in their music, instead of avoiding them.

All the songs on the album are great. Some of the tracks that are just fun include “Unreel” (play on words – great Irish reel), “Knickers” (great song for the “jig pit”), “Brown Dog” (old fashioned Irish drinking song) and “Ooh La La” (cover from The Faces).

In my opinion, the most beautiful song on the entire album is “These Days.” This is a ballad and the music and lyrics are very touching. The first track, “Salvation,” is a rousing opening to the album, followed by “Come On,” another energetic song. “Jump In The Sea” is fast and a love song of sorts, while “Name” is a slow rocker with a serious bent. All in all this is a great album from a great band that dares to take rock in a slightly different direction with the Celtic flavor added to the mix. A very worthy effort, with a lot of variety and a great addition to your music collection.