The CD running time is 65:30. Then, in vinyl terms, “Drinkin’ to the Dead” would be a double album. There are 16 tracks on the album, 15 listed and 1 bonus track titled “Secret Strings”. There is only 1 cover (“Dirty Old Town”), 1 track written by fiddler Paul Dvorchak  (“Harvest”), 4 tracks written by mandolin/banjo player Danny Rectenwald (“Let’s Have a Party”, “What a Life that Would Be”, “Slip (the) Jig” and “Drinkin’ to the Dead” (prelude) and  the other tracks have been written by front man Jimmy Bastard.

Apart from the pirate theme (“Pirates of Three Rivers”), Bastard Bearded Irishmen have stretched the boundaries of their sound to Eastern European influences. In fact I daresay that Bastard Bearded Irishmen have become the U.S. answer to English band Smokey Bastard on tracks such as “No Problems, No Drama”, “Ya Ya Ya”, “Drunken Drinkin´” and “What a Life that Would Be”. Moreover, there is an instrumental number, “Harvest”, a couple of kick-ass party songs (“Moscato” and “Let’s Have a Party”), together with a number in The Tossers vein (“Another Bottle of Booze”) and a song that reminds me of the Eagles “Hotel California”.

My fave songs are, in running order, “Salutations, Memoirs, Denouements”, (celtic punk at its best), “Let’s Have a Party” ( amazing number to sing along, dance and drink), “Harvest” (brilliant tune based on mandolin and fiddle. Why most of the Celtic punk bands are reluctant to record their own instrumentals and keep on recording the usual worn out traditional tunes?), “Drunken Drinkin’” (a blend of The Dreadnoughts’ energy and Smokey Bastard’s sound), “Pirates of 3 Rivers” (an upbeat number featuring Mike Hall on accordion), “What a Life that Would Be” (another amazing Eastern European sounding number) and “Drinkin’ to the Dead” (a badass cut with a Flogging Molly twist featuring Jessica Hohman on flutes).

Bastard Bearded Irishmen “Drinkin’ to the Dead”  is a must have for every Celtic punk fan and the proof that these guys are one of the best bands in the Celtic punk scene.