Silver & Dust
€10.99 including postage

CRR 0603 Cannery Row Records /5
SPCD 06 Spellbound  2006

1. Rambling Jack  (Sample)
2. Don't Let Me Fall (Sample)
3. Blood On Your Boots (Sample)
4. She Said (Sample)
5. Roll The Dice (Sample)
6. Gone Again (Sample)
7. Straight Down The Line (Sample)
8. Shabby Dress (Sample)
9. Evil (Sample)
10. Nobody Home (Sample)
11. Antibes (Sample)
12. Time Is Tight (Sample)
13. Don't Walk Away (sample)

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Irish band on German label make convincing Americana
In this post Libertines world where it seems that any raggle-taggle band with half-formed ideas and unfinished songs are catapulted onto the front line, have records in the charts before they coalesce and rarely mature in the hothouse atmosphere (I sound so old) it is nice to know that there are bands like this that are in it for the long run and who change and evolve - they grow. This Irish band releases their fourth record on which the ideas are fully formed, fully realised and importantly contain more than just the germ of an idea. Dowd and the band move from cantankerous country blues redolent of his namesake Johnny, smooth country rockers - the satisfying 'Don't Let Me Fall' which is Cash like in its warm redemptive tone – and raucous rock. Not one to be afraid of noise turning the amps up or stomping on the effects pedals or even sounding a bit like REM crossed with Green on Red on 'She Said' or to be generic as they are on the Satanist country song 'Straight Down the Line' - nice twist that. Songs like 'Evil' are a kind of crushed velvet gothic country. There is edginess to the sparky guitars and something almost debauched about the louche vocal. I like the personality and experience in his voice it makes him an engaging and believable narrator and I'm happy to spend time in his company. Dave Cowling / Reviewers Rating: 8 / 10

Americana UK (UK)

Eamonn Dowd und seine Racketeers stehen für eine anspruchsvolle Mischung aus gitarrenlastigem Folkrock und Blues. "Silver and Dust" ist die insgesamt vierte Scheibe der irischen Band, die seit zehn Jahren schon quer durch Europa tourt. Dowd selbst ist auch ab und an mal solo in den Pubs dieses Planeten unterwegs. Er liegt gesanglich irgendwo zwischen Johnny Cash und Shane McGowan und seine angenehm einprägsame, rauchige, spröde Stimme sorgt bereits beim Opener "Rambling Jack" sofort für Gänsehaut. Jeder der folgenden Titel hat seinen ganz eigenen Charakter und sorgt beim Hören sofort für Kopfkino, die Texte sind bildreich und lyrisch, die Melodien von Melancholie geprägt. Das Projekt hat Format. Die Atmosphäre, die hier vermittelt wird, zwingt einen fast zur Generierung eines neuen Genre-Ungetüms: Country Gothic. Rauchiger, roher, düsterer, schwermütiger Rock'n'Roll mit einer ordentlichen Portion Tiefgang.

Whisky Soda (Germany)

Eamonn Dowd und seine Racketeers stehen für eine anspruchsvolle Mischung aus gitarrenlastigem Folkrock und Blues. Dowd liegt gesanglich irgendwo zwischen Johnny Cash und Shane McGowan und seine angenehm einprägsame, rauchige, spröde Stimme sorgt bei “Rambling Jack” sofort für Gänsehaut und Kopfkino, der Text ist bildreich und lyrisch, die Melodie von Melancholie geprägt. Der Song hat Format. Die Atmosphäre, die hier vermittelt wird, zwingt einen fast zur Generierung eines neuen Genre-Ungetüms: Country Gothic. Rauchiger, roher, düsterer, schwermütiger Rock’n'Roll mit einer ordentlichen Portion Tiefgang.

Wentour (Germany)

Exit Hellsville  
€10.99 including postage

SPCD 05  Spellbound  20045  Spellbound 2004

1       I Don't Know You Anymore (Sample)
2       Feel It In My Bones (Sample)
3       Never Did, Never Will (Sample)
4       Damage Done (Sample)
5       Nowhere Fast (Sample)
6       Come On Little Baby (Sample)
7       No Point In Worrying  (Sample)
8       Trouble Around The Bend (Sample)
9       Down Into Hell (Sample)
10     Never Is A Long Time (Sample)
11     Slip Away (Sample)
12     Don't Believe What They're Saying (Sample)

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"A damn fine example of gravel-voiced country rock.....these songs are full of unaffected, unrefined humanity, a kind of world-weary, warts 'n' all honesty that's getting rarer in music....there is something raw and real about The Racketeers that's easy to love."

 John Walshe - Hot Press (Ireland)

"There are moments on this album that capture perfectly the magic that can be conjured up by combining country and rock 'n' roll in just the right proportions. Nothing on Exit Hellsville sounds staged or contrived. The lifeblood of the album is undoubtedly its energy, even the 'ballad' Come On Little Baby drives along rather than just drifts and, like the majority of the rest of the album, it contains more hooks than a convention of pirates. 8/10"

Americana UK (UK)

"Americana from Dublin. And it ain't Dublin in the state of Ohio, but Dublin, Ireland......this is alternative country.  Brian O'Toole on bass guitar and drummer Chris Teusner follow Eamonn Dowd's cracked vocals and dark lyrics on their way down into hell. Considering the trio is from Europe, they do it much better than their musical brethren on the other side of the Atlantic."

Folkworld (Germany)

"A powerful and rootsy sound that brings fiddle, mandolin, lap steel and banjo up front and center next to the electric guitar, bass and drum foundation. This is roots rock as strong as a lot of the Stateside bands claiming a similar pedigree. Listen to 'Never Did, Never Will' with Bill Whelan's banjo adding a spikey texture to the mix or the harmonica led 'Come On Little Baby' to see what I mean."

Steve Averill - Lonesome Highway Vol 2 # 3 (Ireland)

The story behind the making of Exit Hellsville

            
By Hook Or By Crook 
€10.99 including postage

"The songs are tempered by delicious harmonies and expressive playing. The Racketeers stir up a fine old musical brew"
 
 Horses Mouth (Ireland)

"A frenetic mixture of  roots, folk and furious rock'n'roll"

 Dublin Event Guide (Ireland)

".....a rather fine debut album, and more importantly, it bodes extremely well for the future. They have succeeded in making an album which sounds fresh, loose and ready to go anywhere the mood takes it."

 Hot Press (Ireland)

"This record has its heart in the hardy busking style of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Other shades (notably Nick Cave) cast a wider and darker net. Buy it!"

U Magazine (Ireland)

Long Time Gone 
€10.99 including postage

 

SPCD 02 Spellbound 1999
     
1   Woke up Monday Morning (Sample)
2    Hard Times 
3    Million Miles Away
4    Bad Luck Charm
5    Slow Down Time
6    Rumours Down Town (Sample)
7    Walk a Mile in my Shoes
8    Midsummer's Eve (Sample)
9    I Never Knew
10  When The Sky Comes Tumbling Down
11  Don't Depend On Me

"An accomplished and rich sound, augmented by the liquid boogie of a Wurlitzer, a mournful fiddle, 
and the dexterous pen of Mr. Dowd. They come close to cruising with the harmonic country-rock
majesty of  The Band.......a fantastic vulnerable voice."

Leagues O' Toole - Dublin Event Guide (Ireland)       
                  
"Based around the songwriting of Dublin resident Eamonn Dowd, a man of considerable ambition and a grasp of the rare art of well-crafted composition. With their feet in various musical camps they go on to create their own sometimes epic vistas of sound incorporating dark country atmospherics, Dylanesque ramblings, electrifying contemporary rock, passionate Celtic soul and traditional-flavoured motifs (‘A Million Miles Away’ and ‘Slow Down Time’). They’re not averse to adopting a gritty rock persona as on the riff’n’roll of ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ and it is this willingness to surprise and offer a slightly skewed take on the singer-songwriter form which renders ‘Long Time Gone’ such a success. The care and attention to detail throughout gives The Racketeers a real edge."

Rock 'N' Reel  (U.K)

"Dowd's vocals have an indecently gritty quality-he sounds like he's lived the lifestyle he portrays so
well.......a passable impression of a younger Van Morrison.....old-fashioned American rock and 
country-tinged balladry, but they do it VERY well."

Hot Press (Ireland)

"There are so many great tracks on this album it's difficult to know which one's to write about. The great
blend of traditional instruments into moving rock tracks is to be commended. Some great riffs, excellent
harmonica and lead guitar work..."

Irishbandslive.co.uk (UK)

Counterfeit Christmas E.P. Sold Out
€5.99 including postage

A limited edition festive release, featuring "Million Miles Away" which resulted in a couple of  TV 
appearances  for the band. Although mainly acoustic, a Sam Fletcher northern soul stomper gets the sample
treatment, and a 300 year old reel sounds like it was lifted from an old 78, despite the fact that it was digitally 
recorded !!

I Don't Know You Anymore Sold Out
€5.99 including postage