Saturday, April 21st marks the fifth annual Record Store Day, celebrating independently owned record stores across the globe, and a universal love of music. In honor of RSD, Flogging Molly and SideOneDummy Records will be putting out an exclusive version of Molly’s single in a limited edition red 7″ vinyl 45. Only two thousand copies will be pressed, so keep your eyes peeled this Saturday.
2012 also marks the tenth anniversary of Flogging Molly’s first gold album, Drunken Lullabies, so the release is doubly special for them. The single will be seen here on the record in its original format. Engineered and mixed by Steve Albini, this version was never released until now, and is really cool to hear after being such a big fan of FM for over ten years, and especially this record. When that kick drum starts stomping and Dave King’s vocals come over the raucous Celtic-Punk chorus, if your blood doesn’t start pumping along in time, you better check your pulse.
The B Side of the single slows things down for an acoustic version of “A Prayer For Me In Silence” which came off last year’s Speed of Darkness. The tune, which features King’s wife, Bridget Regan on accompanying vocals, is arguably Flogging Molly’s prettiest song they’ve ever done, and this version does not disappoint. While the acoustic version is just King by himself, the song’s message still rings true. It’s a gorgeous song about enjoying both the good times and tough ones in a relationship, and sticking through them all. I love the lyrics “Every house needs a foundation, so the mortar we’ll supply. We’ll be broke but never broken, let us laugh until we cry.”
