For the most part, the Dropkick Murphys don't play their instruments all that well. Vocalist Al Barr sounds like the cookie monster, and bassist and co-vocalist Ken Casey won't make anyone forget about Frank Sinatra either. Their songs are short, simple, and heavily indebted to punk bands of old. The likes of Beethoven probably roll over in their graves whenever these guys release a new album.

So why the lofty rating? It's simple, so simple in fact it can be expressed in a single word: heart. The Murphys put more of themselves and their emotion into their music than just about anyone I've ever heard. Their booze-soaked, Irish-inflected punk rock sound is the sound of a band of regular guys that actually care about what they're doing, not about what will get them on the radio or endear them to the pretentious. They've gotten away from those roots a bit on their last two albums, especially the recent "Blackout," which while competently written and played, doesn't display much of the fire and energy that once characterized the band. However, on their debut "Do Or Die" and its followup "The Gang's All Here," the Murphys can be heard in all their raucous glory.

For "The Gang's All Here," the Murphys faced the rather daunting task of replacing departed singer Mike McColgan, but Al filled the bill so well the guys didn't miss a beat. Al's cookie monster-growl may not be quite as endearing as Mike's brogue-tinged shout, but it's still more than adequate. Indeed, it's hard to imagine such songs as "Blood And Whiskey" and "The Only Road" performed by anyone else.

In the end, though, what makes "The Gang's All Here" such a triumph is the fact that, like "Do Or Die," it's filled with classic songs. "Blood And Whiskey," "Pipebomb On Landsdowne," "Perfect Stranger," and "The Only Road" are all perfect examples of prototypical, foot-stomping punk anthems. They're loud, they're fast, they're short, and they'll likely have you banging your head and reaching for a beer in no time (although I wouldn?t recommend that second part if you're driving). Matt Kelly is an excellent drummer, way above the punk standard, and his maniacal skin pounding may well do more than anything else to separate the Murphys from the pack. What the guitars lack in sophistication they make up for in raw power, and the same can be said of the vocals.

The adrenaline rush provided by the songs mentioned above and a few others may be the best thing about "The Gang's All Here," but the quality doesn't stop there. Songs like "Upstarts And Broken Hearts" and the positively heart-wrenching "Wheel Of Misfortune" slow things down for more of an emotive and thoughtful approach, with some surprisingly intelligent lyrics to match. My personal favorite here, "Curse Of A Fallen Soul," starts out as a slow and melancholic elegy to a dead friend, and the first time I heard this song I thought early on that it would be another slow tune. Well, I thought wrong, because about a minute in the song turns fast and heavy on a dime for a dynamic roughly equivalent to having a safe dropped on your head. In another surprise, the band does an all-instrumental cover of the classic "Amazing Grace," and their mix of bagpipes and hard-driving punk riffs works a lot better than one might expect.

Hearing this album, it's easy to see why the Murphys have become such heroes in their (and my) native Massachusetts. They've packed them in for multiple shows at one the biggest clubs in Boston for two straight St. Patrick's Day weekends, and justifiably so. Success may have dulled their edge a bit, but it's still easy to tell that these guys are at the very least making efforts to stay in touch with their fans. Hopefully they'll be a source of good music for a while to come.

Although the old Irish feel of Do or Die is lost with the new singer, After listening to this album for a few months, you discover the abundance of trad. Dropkick style."The Fighting 69th" has that feel as well as the fiddle in the "Wheel of Misfortune," the bagpipes in "Amazing Grace," and the irish styled "Gangs All Here." The one downfall on this album is the lack of good hardcore songs. "Blood and Whiskey" kicks maximum ass and is probably one of the best Dropkick Songs, but alot of them just drain on and aren't very melodic. But after listening to the album for a while (I didn't like it at first) you find the strong irish folk music mixed very well in half of the songs which you didn't notice before.

I believe this record ranks up there with Bad Religion's "Suffer", one of the greatest punk records ever made. The Gang's all Here is in general, a recording of UNITY. Something that is missing in the Punk scene. Songs about friendship, death and the wroking class...........It's all here

The second CD by Dropkick Murphys is the last I bought, since I heard there were no bagpipes in it. Not true. I also heard it was a weak CD, being Al Barr's first with the band. Very not true. I was very satisfied with this CD. It mixes beat-everyone-up punk music with hug-everyone lyrics. I really, really enjoyed The Gang's All Here. The songs:

Roll Call - Not really a song, more of an intro.

Blood and Whiskey - Didn't like this one at first, then listened to it three or four times in a row. GREAT song!

Pipebomb on Lansdowne - I bet they got some guff over the lyrics of this song, but it's all in jest. Really punk.

Perfect Stranger - This song is okay. I have to be in the mood for it.

10 Years of Service - Worker's song. A great example of such, too.

Upstarts and Broken Hearts - About the only DKM love song. Pretty sappy, but still good.

Devil's Brigade - Here we go, sing along chorus, fast tempo, great lyrics; this is more of the Do or Die that we know and love.

Curse of a Fallen Soul - Like this one a LOT. Catchy sing along.

Homeward Bound - Really grew on me. Quickly becoming one of my favorites by these guys.

Going Strong - Kind of weak (get it?). What's with the song about how great kids are?

The Fighting 69th - One of the BEST songs DKM has EVER done!!

Boston Asphalt - Another of the weaker ones. The songs before and after this track are much better.

Wheel of Misfortune - The closest thing to a ballad on this CD. Touching, really. In a good way.

The Only Road - The embodiment of punk as we used to know it. Loud, hard, fast - this is the best song on the album.

Amazing Grace - Typical, the only song with bagpipes on the CD. Quite good.

The Gang's All Here - Pretty good down on your luck song. Grows on you.

While not their best, buy this album if you consider yourself a fan of Dropkick. If you're just getting into them, pick up Do or Die or Sing Loud, Sing Proud first.

Dropkick Murphys in a new line up that is (in my opinion) is just as good as the original. Al's gruff voice is perfect for Oi! music, and the punding drums seem to support the fast guitars perfectly. The album is very different from the most recent Sing Loud, Sing Proud, which has alot more irish inspiration to it. The Gang's All Here is much more Oi! and less folk. Whether it is a better album, I don't know, it is different in it's style, it is a matter of taste I would say.
By any means it is a great album.