For myriad reasons I should hate Bloody Well Live, the live two-CD set recorded by Britain's Whisky Priests on New Year's Eve 1992 in Hamburg, Germany. It is surprising that I don't. All of the up-tempo songs sound exactly the same, are played at the same frantic beat and are completely indistinguishable from one another. All of the slower songs are played at the same beat and sound identical, and all of the instrumentals are played at the same high-octane pace as the faster vocal tracks. In addition, singer-composer Gary Miller is far from a good vocalist. There are barely three words emanating from his mouth the entire evening that I can understand. Add into all of this the fact that the two discs clock in at whopping 110 minutes. That is way too long, especially when you take into consideration all of the musical redundancy.

So why don't I hate this CD? Even though the Whisky Priests' arranging talents lean toward sameness, they still manage to make the music quite listenable. Every one of the fast songs is something you can dance to and the six-piece, all acoustic, punk, Celtic folk-rock band combines mandolin, fiddle and accordion with more traditional rock instruments such as guitar, bass and a complete rock drum kit in a way that makes the music sound appealing anyway.

As a lyricist, Miller hits you where songwriters should: in the heart, soul and brain. "Halcyon Days" opens with, "I remember Charlie Douglas/When we were still at school/He was my very best friend/But I passed him as a stranger in the street the other day/He didn't even know my bonnie face." The song made me think about all the people that have come and gone in my life and it made me feel kind of sad. "See the Whippet Run" has Miller decrying the abuses of dog racing. Writing from the animal's point of view Miller laments, "This race has led me to grief and woe/And brought me to arms against friend and foe/Yet the fire still burns as bright as before/I can win this race and a thousand more."

Play this CD only one disc at a time to avoid monotony. Dance to the fast songs and make sure you have the lyric sheet in one hand and you too may find a reason to enjoy the Miller Brothers' wild New Year's Eve party.

- Rambles
written by Charlie Ricci
published 22 February 2003