New Album Release: “WALLOP THE SPOT” - Four Men & a Dog

“The boys are back in town with this veritable Smorgasbord of traditional tunes and stunning songs. The long-awaited new release, shrewdly entitled Wallop The Spot, is the creation of Ireland’s most exciting ensemble, currently enjoying the zenith of their careers.

In the five years since their last studio project Maybe Tonight, the boys have been whipping up a storm worldwide, bringing music to the masses through their energetic stage performances. And it’s with the same energy, verve and commitment that the five lads have approached this latest project, making Wallop The Spot a must have for all fans of the award-winning band.

The thirteen tracks on offer include deliciously arranged Jigs and Reels, spicy Polkas and exceedingly palatable songs. From the outset the intention is clear with the launch of the first set of tunes leading with Lucy Campbells. Crash, bang, and indeed wallop…the Dogs do their thing on the classic Caledonian Reel. And there’s no letting up as the melee continues through Jigs, Reels and Polkas such as Hags Purse, Teelin Reel, Dan Murphy’s Polka and Dick Cosgroves amongst other prolific takes on endearing traditional tunes. Aficionados of the banjo will enjoy tunes such as Scatter The Mud and the Cúil Aodha Jig as Hayden & O’Connor chase the hare with relentless vigour and a sweeping panache.

On the song front the Calypso-style Bloomsday reveals the bands objective to give the album that global feel. From Caribbean beats to contemporary Jazz in the shape of Low And Lonely and Mary Anne the listener is transported to more colourful terraces, thanks to Doherty’s vocal and lyric skills.

Wallop The Spot is yet another jewel in the crown for the much travelled music maestros and Murphy, Lupari, Hayden, O’Connor and Doherty should take a deserved bow. The ensemble are joined on the album by a plethora of Irish stalwarts such as Arty McGlynn on Guitars and Ciaran Tourish on Fiddle, testament to the veneration enjoyed by the band in Ireland and abroad.”

- Eddie Creaney

Four Men & A Dog are Donal Murphy (Accordion), Gino Lupari (Vocals, Percussion), Gerry O’Connor (Banjo, Fiddle, Mandolin), Cathal Hayden (Fiddle, Banjo, Viola), Kevin Doherty (Vocals, Guitar)

Guest Musicians are Arty McGlynn (Guitars), Ciaran Tourish (Fiddle), Liam Bradley (Drums), James Delaney (Piano, Organ), Nicky Scott (Bass), Jimmy Higgins (Percussion), James Blennerhassett (Bass)

Four Men & A Dog will officially launch the new album at live shows in Britain (Hammersmith Irish Centre, London 13th October 2007) and Ireland (Lyric Theatre, Belfast 18th October 2007 with special guests)

Wallop The Spot is available through Claddagh Records (Ireland distribution), Proper Music (GB distribution) and Online at: www.fourmenandadog.com

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Wallop The Spot
David Granville reviews Wallop The Spot, Four Men And A Dog, Hook Records (Hook 005)
Distributed in UK by Proper Distribution

BACK IN the studio after a five-year break, the new album from the popular Irish musical ensemble Four men And A Dog is packed to the gunnels with virtuoso playing, well-crafted songs and the kind of musical vitality guaranteed to brighten up even the most miserable of winter days.

The band's current line up, Donal Murphy (accordian), Gino Lupari (vocals, percussion), Gerry O'Connor (banjo,fiddle, mandolin), Cathal Hayden (fiddle, banjo, viola) and Kevin Doherty (vocals, guitar), deliver a rollicking collection of traditional tunes interspersed with songs whose style embraces everything from from Latin-tinged calypso to honky-tonk rock and roll, skiffle and western swing.

The band are accompanied throughout by a string talented guest musicians in the guise of Arty McGlynn (guitars), Ciaran Tourish (fiddle), Liam Bradley (drums), James Delaney (piano, organ) Nicky Scott (bass), Jimmy Higgins (percussion) and James Blennerhassett (bass).

Setting down a marker for things to come, the album kicks off in fine traditional style with a set of Scottish and Irish reels. Played with sustained vigour and panache, you'd have to be tone deaf and joyless not to respond with tapping feet and a broad smile.

By way of contrast, the opening tunes are followed by Kevin Doherty and James Delaney's calypso-style love song 'Bloomsday'. While the song's style owes much to the Caribbean and Latin America, Doherty's lyrics, as its title suggest, are firmly rooted closer to home.

Doherty's excellent song-writing skills are further showcased in the more traditionally-styled love song 'The Greengrocer's Daughter', the swing-soaked Mary Anne and the album-closer 'I Don't Want It'. The latter, co-written with fellow Irish singer-songwriter Paul Brady, rails against the tiresome iniquity of consumer capitalism, adding a subtle political voice to Four Men and A Dog's eclectic 'rock and reel' triumph.

As you'd expect from a line up of this calibre, the musicianship on Wallop The Spot is magnificent throughout, with the interplay between Gerry O'Connor and Cathal Hayden on Scatter the Mud and Cúil Aodha - a sort of 'duelling banjos, Irish style - providing possibly the best of the album's many highlights.

While the mixture musical styles employed on the album won't be to everyone's taste, for this reviewer at least it added rather than detracted from my enjoyment. In fact you could say that it was spot on.

David Granville

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FOUR MEN AND A DOG - Wallop the Spot
Hook Records Hook005
13 tracks, 54 minutes

In another comeback from the band that never really went away, songsters Gino Lupari and Kevin Doherty are reunited with fiddler Cathal Hayden, early "dog" Donal Murphy on box, and banjo bon viveur Gerry O'Connor. Other big names play cameo roles, but the sound is basically back to the unmuzzled mayhem and eclectic brilliance of Shifting Gravel or Doctor A's. Papa G's blues is recalled by the honky-tonk doggerel of Mary Ann. James Delaney's rockabilly piano on Turn Me Loose brings back memories of Bertha. Bloomsday adds a new note of Ulster Latin to this genre-bending band. Song For PJ is of course not a song, as any Gerry O'Connor devotee will tell you: it's an air, played here as a fiddle duet. The banjo duet comes later, when Gerry and Cathal take their picks to Scatter the Mud and Wissahicken Drive, one of five sets of reels and jigs. There's a polka track too, four fine old tunes grabbed by the heels and whirled into the air to see how they fly. Mostly they survive intact. The Teelin Reel, The Hag's Purse, Joe Skelton's Reel and the title track are torn into with similar abandon, and quite right too. This is what the Dogs do. The odd slow number, but mostly Wallop the Spot is a return to that intoxicating mix of fast fiddling and funky fretwork with a side-order of accordion salsa. www.fourmenandadog.com will put more flesh on these bones. Lock up your flocks: the pack is back!

Alex Monaghan

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The Irish World
8th March 2008

Review
Four Men & A Dog: Wallop The Spot
HOOK 005

Always a blistering band live, the Dogs with their new album 'Wallop the Spot' (produced by Arty McGlynn who also guests on several tracks) seem to have become a band of two halves.

In this, their first album in five years, the musical territory of the Dogs is divided between Kevin Donerty's contemporary style and the traditional style of the rest of the band. What worked quite beautifully before, in the way modern elements interweaved with the traditional style of their music, now seems to be moving out in two slightly confusing directions.

While there is no doubting the musicianship and ability of the band to deliver, there is a feeling that Doherty is ready to take wing on his own and concentrate on a solo career. It's interesting, for instance, to see him co-writing with someone of the calibre of Paul Brady in the last track 'I don't want it'. Having said that, you cannot get away from the fact that when these guys click they are the real deal.

Listening to 'Scatter the Mud' and other traditional tunes, you really want to rip up the dance floor. Every Dogs' album has the great Gino Lupari moment (when Gino decides to give Elvis and other assorted 50's rockers a run for their money). In this instance, he has a ball singing 'Turn Me Loose', the old Doc Pomus song.

It's great, too, to hear Gerry O'Connor playing more banjo than usual, while Cathal Hayden excels as one of Ireland's premier fiddle players. Donal Murphy on accordian always comes in at the right moment and as the album title tells you, 'Wallops the Spot'! There are moments here of the band's legendary greatness; there would be even more with a bit more cohesion between musical styles.

John McKeown

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PROMO UPDATE 6.5.08

4 Men & A Dog
Wallop The Spot
HOOK 005

Interview with Kevin Doherty by Martin Doyle, from Irish Post newspaper:

(Click on the 2 images below for high resolution versions)

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Promo Update 31.3.08

Four Men & A Dog
Wallop The Spot
HPPK005

Review of Four Men & A Dog's album Wallop The Spot
by David Granville from Saturday's Morning Star daily newspaper.

Also airplay:

WFM 22.3.08
Interview with band member Gerry O'Connor several tracks played

SWINDON FM Mike Ganley's The Crooked Road 3.4.08
TRACK: Tom Billy's
TRACK: Micho's Apron
ARTIST: 4 Men & A Dog
ALBUM: Wallop The Spot HOOK 005

BBC Radio Wales Celtic Heartbeat 29.3.08
TRACK:  Copperplate
TRACK:  Billy in the Lowground
ARTIST: Gerry O'Connor
ALBUM:  No Place Like Home.

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Maybe Tonight - Four Men and a Dog - HOOK02

Cathal Hayden fiddles, viola, banjo

Gerry O’Connor fiddles, banjo, mandolin

Gino Lupari bodhran, vocals

Kevin Doherty vocals, acc guitar

with special guests:

Donal Murphy Accordion

Mairtin O’Connor Accordion

Arty McGlynn Guitars

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FOUR MEN AND A DOG - Maybe Tonight
Hook Records Hook002

The boys are back! Cathal, Gerry, Gino and Kevin are joined by several guests including Mairtin O'Connor and former Dogs Donal Murphy and Arty McGlynn. Maybe it's their new-found maturity, or maybe it's a cunning marketing ploy, but with this recording they're bursting back onto the scene in a more low-key style than I'd anticipated. They're still a long way from chill-out land, and fans of their masterful mix of Celtic fire and transatlantic vibes will not be disappointed by Maybe Tonight.

The album opens with a slightly restrained bash through the ever-popular Music for a Found Harmonium, then the first of three songs by Kevin Doherty lays the foundations for the funkier side of things. Mairtin's virtuoso box takes us on Rambles in Russia, combining influences from Gagarin to Galway, next comes the first set of reels and things begin to hot up as Gerry O'Connor unleashes his banjo. The title track shows Kevin Doherty in super-relaxed mood, the polka Barlow's Knife picks up the pace a bit, and the high octane deisel finally kicks in on Leslie's March. Interestingly, Gerry's back on banjo and Gino Lupari makes his first appearance now. Gino's considerable presence continues on Midnight Special, a fitting vehicle for the band's tasty fun and games, and another high point. A pair of spirited instrumentals bring us close to the end, with a lovely tight sound on some West Kerry classics before the lads gather speed through a trio of well-known reels. The final scene starts with Kevin boogying on down to an arrangement that includes the kitchen sink and even the Hammond organ, then our heroes ride off into the sunset to the strains of The Last Rose of Summer. In jig time.

It's great to have them back, no question. A bit more flash banjo wouldn't hurt, though, and more of Mr Lupari too (you know what I mean). Still no sign of the dog either. That aside, Maybe Tonight is a first-rate album full of class and more than worth the money. If you can't find it, enquiries@4menandadog will be delighted to help.

Alex Monaghan (Living Tradition Magazine) Added to site on 19th May 2003

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4 Men & A Dog

Mother Redcap's, Dublin

Gerry O'Connor, Cathal Hayden, Dónal Murphy, Kevin Doherty and Gino Lupari: the roll-call is formidable, each musician secure in a solo reputation yet hell-bent on inhabiting a different identity in this ensemble. Theirs is a magnificent mix of traditional rythms and sweeping country, with more than a tincture of Tijuana hallucinogens thrown in.

O'Connor and Hayden are two of the most-rounded fiddle and banjo players south of the Mason-Dixon Line or east of the Pale. Murphy does for the accordian what Martin Hayes did for the fiddle, unpleating its pleats and assembling them all over again. As for Doherty, his lineage stretches from Hank Williams to Joe Cooley. Lupari is that rare breed: an Italo-Magherafeltian, and his bodhrán is no more than a daisy in a bull's mouth.

These boys tickled the old tunes, including Music For a Found Harmonium and Joe Cooley's Roaring Mary, and coaxed a rake of their own into the limelight. Doherty is convinced the Brazilian hoopla of Bloomsday will line their pockets with silver, and if there's any justice this gemstone rememberance of Molly and Leopold's courting days will sweep the charts worldwide.

Rafters were raised, sweat poured from unspeakable locations; this was a night to remember and a band whose reincarnation is complete. Glorius mayhem to savour long after the rains of the bank holiday subsided.

Siobhán Long (The Times) Added to site on 13th May 2003

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Who let the dogs out? well whoever they are; we owe them a favor as Four Men and A Dog are back. In the early 90’s, and Four Men and a Dog exploded onto the Irish traditional music scene with a blast of vibrant energy. The said energy was kinetic enough to win the 1991 fRoots album of the year with their debut album Barking Mad. The Dogs replaced Mick ‘Black Dog’ Daly with Kevin Doherty and carried on until they gradually ran out of steam.

Maybe Tonight is the their return album and its business as usual. The eclecticism and off the wallness, are there as is bitingly intensive traditional music that made them so unmissable first time round. While the obstreperous behavior, is left to the musical end, the Dogs sense of their capabilities has also grown. Eastern European influences join the fray from Mairtin O’Connor’s accordion on Rambles in Russia and subtle keyboards and percussion add light and shade. Kevin Doherty’s songs still sound like Delta blues from Buncranna, resembling an Irish Howin’ Wolf on Baby Loves to Boogie while Gino Lupari shows his Fats Domino inflections on Midnight Special. Music for a Found Harmonium gets the kitchen sink treatment while The Ash Plant and West Kerry Set belt along like no tomorrow.

Maybe Tonight is the sound of a band having fun with their music and reinventing itself in the process. Whoever did leave the dogs out should be commended, as Four Men and a Dog have come screaming back into our lives again and all is right with this part of the world anyway.

John O’Regan fRoots magazine (Folk Roots)

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After five years off the road, Four Men and a Dog are back in action with a new album, Maybe Tonight, and a nation wide tour. Known for their high-energy, high-precision approach to traditional music, the Men prove they have lost none of their capacity for producing steam. The playing is muscular and true; the arrangements full of innovation.

On Maybe Tonight several former Men returning to fill their guest spots. The basic line-up of Cathal Hayden (fiddle/banjo), Gerry O’Connor (banjo/fiddle), Gino Lupari (vocals/bodhrán) and Kevin Doherty (vocals/guitar) is augmented by the likes of Máirtín O’Connor on accordions, and Arty McGlynn – who also produces – on guitar.

The result is a great variety of styles, and an incredible lack of coherence. There are several different albums here; various traditional styles are alongside western swing and more contemporary sounds.

The familiar Music for a Found Harmonium kicks off. Layers of sound create an almost overpowering anti-silence with hardly a sliver of space for an extra note. Máirtín O’Connor’s wheezy accordion leads out on Rambles in Russia, a piece as lively as a puppy and clever to the point of smart-assery, snatches of tunes weaving in and out of the main theme. The Ashplant set, in contrast is more straightforwardly traditional. Kevin Doherty’s I Wanna Ramble sounds like it’s played by an entirely different band, swinging like a Texas Roadhouse. The title track is deliciously sparse: Doherty’s voice and guitar backed up by the light banjo and harmony.

On Baby Loves to Boogie, he brings us back to the saloon, whooping it up like it’s Saturday night. In track 7 Gino Lupari finally puts in an appearance laying down the bodhrán foundation for a frenetic set of reels – The Trip to London / Séan Ryan’s / Leslie’s March. He switches to lead vocals for The Midnight Special coming on like a Manic Cowboy.

The West Kerry Set, captained by Donal Murphy, is too squarely 2/4, with all the subtlety of the polka form battered into submission by the over-zealous accompaniment. There’s a fine fiddle-banjo-accordion-bodhrán combination on Martin Whynne’s.

Bass, guitar and drums push their way through for Touch Me If You Dare; the result is a high-class céilí band. By the time The Bucks of Oranmore are roled out, the place is jumping.

And the digestif? The Last Rose of Summer – a nice tune, despite its associations, and its morphs seamlessly into a pleasant closing barn-dance. Why is it there? Probably as a reminder that these boys are unclassifiable.

Irish Examiner, Pat Ahern, Thurdsay 17.02.2003

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To quote renowned Belfast Playwright Marie Jones, “I’ve never heard a CD before that has the power to literally transport you to the gig. So powerful, you feel the excitement, experience the adrenaline and witness the brilliance of their live performance”

Quite a recommendation, especially when you read the liner notes to discover Maybe Tonight is a studio album rather than a live one! Recorded over six weeks during the few intermittent breaks in four heavy solo schedules, this first Four Men album in nigh on seven years does exactly what you’d expect it to; showcasing the talents of four of Ireland’s foremost musicians at the pinnacle of their artistic energy and virtuosity.

Officially “disbanded” some five years ago but occasionally allowing themselves to be “reunited” for a select few memorable concerts, Four Men did/do what few Irish bands have been able to accomplish since, blending serious musical expertise with a lyrical creativity which has long been central to their success, combining the irresistible synergy of Irish trad and bluegrass in concerts and recordings that ooze fun from every pore and groove.

Music that’ll have you dancing round the kitchen on miserable Winter mornings and laughing out loud as the rhythms evoke the stage antics that would usually accompany the live performances Maybe Tonight is released on the Hook Music label on December 1st and will be followed by an extensive Irish tour in February 2003.

Distribution: Gael Linn www.gael-linn.ie

Ossian www.ossian.ie

For further details, photo requests etc. contact:

Four Men and a Dog

e-mail: info@fourmenandadog.com
website: www.fourmenandadog.com
telephone: +44 776 027 2992