Blackout is the fourth studio album from Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....

, released in 2003. It was released with a DVD, which contained live videos for "Rocky Road to Dublin" and "Boys on the Dock", a music video for "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight", and a trailer for their then upcoming untitled full-length DVD, which became On The Road With The Dropkick Murphys.

The album was released in a condensed format on 10" vinyl

Gramophone record

A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

. It had five songs from the album as well as a cover of AC/DC

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

's "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)

It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)

"It's a Long Way to the Top " is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's album T.N.T., released in December 1975, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott...

" which was later released on Singles Collection, Volume 2

Singles Collection, Volume 2

Singles Collection Volume 2 is a b-side and rarities compilation album released by Boston punk rock band Dropkick Murphys, on March 8, 2005. It contains songs released on singles, compilations and splits...

. The band filmed music videos for "Walk Away" and "Gonna Be A Blackout Tonight".

The track "Time to Go", a homage to the Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

, was featured in the 2003 videogame Tony Hawk's Underground

Tony Hawk's Underground

Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. In 2004,...

.

The track "This Is Your Life" was featured in the 2003 video game Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home

Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This at Home

Backyard Wrestling is a video game developed by Paradox Development, and published by Eidos Interactive in 2003 for Xbox and PlayStation 2.- General summary :The goal of backyard wrestling is largely to use the environment to defeat an opponent....

.

Track listing

All songs by Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....

 unless otherwise noted.

1. "Walk Away" – 2:51
2. "Worker's Song" (Ed Pickford) – 3:32
3. "The Outcast" – 3:10
4. "Black Velvet Band
   The Black Velvet Band
   "The Black Velvet Band" is a traditional English and Irish folk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment in 19th century Britain and Ireland. The song tells the story of a tradesman who meets a young woman who has stolen an item and passed it on to him...
   
   " (Traditional, Dropkick Murphys) – 3:03
5. "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight" (Woody Guthrie
   Woody Guthrie
   Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
   
   , Dropkick Murphys) – 2:39
6. "World Full of Hate" – 2:22
7. "Buried Alive" – 1:57
8. "The Dirty Glass" – 3:38
9. "Fields of Athenry
   The Fields of Athenry
   "The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family...
   
   " (Pete St. John
   Pete St. John
   Pete St. John is an Irish folk singer-songwriter, most notable for composing Fields of Athenry.St. John is a prolific composer of widely sung modern ballads; his other most famous song is "The Rare Ould Times"...
   
   ) – 4:24
10. "Bastards on Parade" – 3:50
11. "As One" – 3:01
12. "This Is Your Life" – 3:43
13. "Time to Go" – 2:53
14. "Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced" – 5:34

10" and 7" Tracklisting

All songs by Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys

Dropkick Murphys are an Irish-American punk rock band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The band was initially signed to independent punk record label Hellcat Records, releasing five albums for the label, and making a name for themselves locally through constant playing and yearly St....

 unless otherwise noted

"Blackout 10" (Limited to 6,000 copies. First 250 released online and autographed by the band)"

Side A

1. "Walk Away" – 2:51
2. "Buried Alive" – 1:57
3. "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight" (Woody Guthrie
   Woody Guthrie
   Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
   
   , Dropkick Murphys) – 2:39

Side B

1. "Fields of Athenry
   The Fields of Athenry
   "The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family...
   
   " (Pete St. John
   Pete St. John
   Pete St. John is an Irish folk singer-songwriter, most notable for composing Fields of Athenry.St. John is a prolific composer of widely sung modern ballads; his other most famous song is "The Rare Ould Times"...
   
   ) – 4:24
2. "Bastards on Parade" – 3:50
3. "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)
   It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)
   "It's a Long Way to the Top " is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's album T.N.T., released in December 1975, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott...
   
   " (Angus Young
   Angus Young
   Angus McKinnon Young is a Scottish-born Australian musician, and the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the rock and roll band AC/DC. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of AC/DC in 2003 and is known for his energetic performances,...
   
   , Malcolm Young
   Malcolm Young
   Malcolm Young is a Scottish-born Australian guitarist, best known as a founding member, rhythm guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter for the Australian hard rock band AC/DC. Young was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003, along with the other members of AC/DC...
   
   , Bon Scott
   Bon Scott
   Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott was a Scottish-born Australian rock musician, best known for being the lead singer and lyricist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC from 1974 until his death in 1980...
   
   ) – 4:43

"The Fields Of Athenry 7" (Limited to 2,000 copies)"

1. "The Fields of Athenry"
2. "I'm Shipping up to Boston"
3. "If I Were a Carpenter (Live)"

CD Singles

"Walk Away (European release only)"

1. "Walk Away"
2. "We Got the Power"
3. "Victory"

"The Fields of Athenry (Limited to 600 copies)"

1. "The Fields of Athenry"
2. "I'm Shipping up to Boston"
3. "If I Were a Carpenter (Live)"

"The Fields of Athenry Promo (Given away at Soccer match in Glasgow, Scotland)"

1. "The Fields of Athenry"
2. "Buried Alive"

"Time to Go (Limited to 12,000 copies - released at Boston Bruins game)"

1. "Time to Go"
2. "The Dirty Glass"

Reception

Allmusic gave Blackout a score of four stars out of five, saying that the album was the band's "tightest material to date" and that it combined the "intensity" of earlier albums with "a bit more polish."

Fields of Athenry Andrew Farrar Memorial CD

In 2005, the band released a two-song CD single for the family of Andrew K. Farrar, Jr., a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps who was killed on January 28, 2005 in Al Anbar, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Farrar, who was a big fan of the Murphys, made a request to his family that if something were to happen to him during his tour of duty

Tour of duty

In the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....

, he wanted "The Fields of Athenry

The Fields of Athenry

"The Fields of Athenry" is an Irish folk ballad set during the Great Irish Famine about a fictional man named Michael from near Athenry in County Galway who has been sentenced to transportation to Botany Bay, Australia, for stealing food for his starving family...

" to be played at his funeral. The single features a ballad version of "The Fields of Athenry" that was originally recorded and placed in Farrar's casket, although the band decided to release the updated version. The disc also features the track "Last Letter Home," which was written about Farrar and was featured on the Murphys' 2005 album The Warrior's Code

The Warrior's Code

The Warrior's Code is the fifth studio album by the Irish-American Celtic punk band, the Dropkick Murphys. Released in June 2005, it is also their bestselling. It features a dedication to Lowell's own "Irish" Micky Ward...

. All of the proceeds for the $10 single go to the Sgt. Andrew Farrar Memorial Fund and can be purchased through the band's website or at one of their shows.

Personnel

• Al Barr
  Al Barr
  Alexander Martin "Al" Barr is the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys. He was also a founder and lead singer for The Bruisers, which he helped form in 1988 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. His first band circa 1984, was called D.V.A....
  
   – vocals
• Ken Casey
  Ken Casey
  Ken Casey is the bass guitarist and a vocalist of the Boston Celtic punk group Dropkick Murphys. Casey was one of the original members, starting it in 1996 with Rick Barton and Mike McColgan. He is the only original member of the Dropkick Murphys left in the band, though drummer Matt Kelly joined...
  
   – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  , vocals
• Matt Kelly – drum
  Drum
  The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
  
  s, bodhran
  Bodhrán
  The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...
  
  , vocals
• James Lynch
  James Lynch
  James Lynch may refer to:* James Lynch , Irish Roman Catholic archbishop.* James Lynch , Irish Roman Catholic bishop* James B...
  
   – guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , vocals
• Marc Orrell
  Marc Orrell
  Marc "The Kid" Orrell is an American guitarist, best known as a former member of the Boston Celtic Punk band the Dropkick Murphys. Originally from Grafton, Massachusetts, he joined the band in 2000 when the band was recording Sing Loud, Sing Proud...
  
   – guitar, accordion
  Accordion
  The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
  
  , vocals
• Joe Delaney – bagpipes
  Bagpipes
  Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
  
  
• Stephanie Dougherty – vocals on "The Dirty Glass"
• Jim Siegel – engineer