Well, it’s a live, acoustic Real McKenzies record. The band throws out Celtic/punk amalgams that are generally pretty successful, if limited as hell in their scope (i.e., they mostly do songs about drinking and revved-up covers of Scottish classics). I’ve heard a grand total of two other albums by this band, both of which I prefer over Shine Not Burn. With a few exceptions, I’m just not a big fan of live albums. The sound quality’s fine here, if a little thin, the performances are raucous and inspired, and audience and performers alike seem to be having a blast. But it’s still a live record of already released songs. Everything I’ve heard about this band points to their live show, but I’ll still take 10,000 Shots over this one, hands down.
–keith (Fat)