| Green Suede Shoes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Genre | Celtic rock, alternative rock | |||
| Label | Tim/Kerr/Mercury [1] | |||
| Producer | Larry Kirwan | |||
| Black 47 chronology | ||||
| ||||
Green Suede Shoes is an album by the American band Black 47, released in 1996. [2] [3] It was a commercial disappointment. [4]
The title track was the album's first single. [5]
The album was produced by frontman Larry Kirwan. It dispensed with some of the stylistic range found on previous albums, focusing more on the Irish aspects of the group's sound; one song is sung in Gaelic. [6] [7]
"Rory" is a tribute to the late Rory Gallagher. [8] "Green Suede Shoes" is a semi-autobiographical song about a rock band; Kirwan later used the title for his autobiography. [9] [10]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [11] |
| The Indianapolis Star | [12] |
| Knoxville News Sentinel |  [13] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [14] |
| USA Today | [15] |
The Knoxville News Sentinel called the album "a rehash of the Black 47 shtick," writing that Kirwan "becomes ludicrous with his overdramatic storytelling." [13] The Chicago Tribune wrote that the band "again adorns its rousing tales of political martyrs and working-class louts with Celtic flourishes, reggae rhythms and punchy hard rock." [16] The Santa Fe New Mexican noted that the band "is often put down as a watered-down Pogues," but praised "Forty Deuce" as "a chilling story about modern Irish-American gangsters." [17]
The Indianapolis Star stated that "Black 47 blends more styles of music than perhaps any other band out there today... But it works." [12] The Los Angeles Times thought that "Kirwan brings a theatrical literacy and creativity to the table ... tales deal with the larger than life, the idealistic rather than the hedonistic." [18] USA Today concluded that, "unlike many pop prophets, the band conveys its agenda in keen storytelling and intoxicating tunes." [15]
AllMusic wrote that "the band cooks simply and mightily, goosing the traditional jigs and reels that make up most of its melodic repertoire with R&B, hip-hop and reggae riddims." [11] Dave Thompson called the album "a neglected classic, the Pogues go posh." [19]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Green Suede Shoes" | |
| 2. | "My Love Is in New York" | |
| 3. | "Bobby Sands MP" | |
| 4. | "Change" | |
| 5. | "Czechoslovakia" | |
| 6. | "Brooklyn Girls" | |
| 7. | "Gerty's Farewell" | |
| 8. | "Vinegar Hill" | |
| 9. | "Sam Hall" | |
| 10. | "Walk All the Days" | |
| 11. | "Five Points" | |
| 12. | "Rory" | |
| 13. | "Forty Deuce" | |
| 14. | "Mo Bhrón" | |
| 15. | "Green Suede Shoes (Acoustic)" |
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