Green Suede Shoes
Studio album by
Black 47
Released1996
GenreCeltic rock, alternative rock
LabelTim/Kerr Records/Mercury Records[1]
ProducerLarry Kirwan
Black 47 chronology
Home of the Brave
(1994)		 Green Suede Shoes
(1996)		 Live in New York City
(1999)

Green Suede Shoes is an album by the American Celtic rock band Black 47, released in 1996.[2][3] It was a commercial disappointment.[4]

The title track was the album's first single.[5]

Production

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]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
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)" 

References

  1. ↑ "Black 47". Trouser Press. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ↑ "Black 47 Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ "IRISH REBELLION: BLACK 47 STANDS ON THE ROWDY EDGES OF CELTIC MUSIC". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Arts & Entertainment. 13 Sep 1996. p. 19.
  4. ↑ Christiano, Nick (14 Mar 1997). "BLACK 47: STUBBORN, POTENT IRISH BLEND". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Features Weekend. p. 16.
  5. ↑ "Don't Tread On Them". Billboard. 108 (41): 22. Oct 12, 1996.
  6. ↑ Lipp, Marty (15 Mar 1996). "A Weekend in the Emerald Style". Newsday. p. B21.
  7. ↑ "BLACK 47'S BLARNEY ROCK". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  8. ↑ Brown, Matthew Hay (24 Oct 1996). "BLACK 47 GREEN SUEDE SHOES". Hartford Courant. Calendar. p. 5.
  9. ↑ Sullivan, Jim (11 Dec 1996). "Black 47 a hit on both rock, Irish circuits". The Boston Globe. p. C6.
  10. ↑ "Rockin' Novel: Kirwan's 'Green Suede Shoes'". NPR. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Green Suede Shoes - Black 47 | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  12. 1 2 Slosarek, Steve (29 Nov 1996). "Black 47 'Green Suede Shoes'". The Indianapolis Star. p. F7.
  13. 1 2 Campbell, Chuck (15 Nov 1996). "'Green Suede Shoes', Black 47". Knoxville News Sentinel. p. T10.
  14. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 113.
  15. 1 2 Gundersen, Edna (28 Jan 1997). "Black 47, Green Suede Shoes". USA Today. p. 8D.
  16. ↑ Reger, Rick (15 Nov 1996). "Black 47". Chicago Tribune. Friday. p. 55.
  17. ↑ Terrell, Steve (14 Mar 1997). "TERRELL'S TUNE-UP". The Santa Fe New Mexican. PASATIEMPO. p. 35.
  18. ↑ Seigal, Buddy (30 Nov 1996). "No Paint-by-Numbers: Black 47 Prides Itself on Creating a Unique, Theatrical Blend of Politically Inspired, Irish-Tinged Rock". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 2.
  19. ↑ Thompson, Dave (December 22, 2000). "Alternative Rock". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
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