Ranking The Real McKenzies’ 10 Albums

8 min readJul 13, 2020

Is there a better Scottish-Canadian band than The Real McKenzies? If there is, I can’t think of who they are. The McKenzies, who formed in 1992, has been dominating the Celtic-punk scene for nearly 30 years, pre-dating similar bands like Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys (albeit not sharing the same amount of fame as the other two).

Although the band’s music is undoubtedly a group effort, it is overall the brainchild of singer Paul McKenzie, the only member to be in the band throughout its existence. The lack of consistent members is actually quite known for the band as they have a more-or-less revolving door of people coming and going. While Paul is the central figure, there’s also a couple other notable members that have been in the band throughout the years. Of those would be guitarist Kurt Robertson who played on every record but the last 3 and guitarist Mark Boland who appeared on everything but the first 2 and last 2 albums. These two members certainly helped shape the overall sound of the band for years.

Besides Paul, Kurt, and Mark, there are a few other notable people such as Matt Hawley, who played bagpipes for the band throughout the 2000s. In addition, drummer Sean Sellers played through 3 albums and bassist Joe Raposo for 2.

To properly analyze The Real McKenzies’ special brand of Celtic-punk through their 10 studio albums, I listened to their records several times per day for 3–4 weeks. Sometimes they were played in the background, sometimes during runs, and other times just sitting and analyzing the tracks.

As always, the ranking is not definitive and if you would rank it differently, you’re just as correct as anyone else.

10. Real McKenzies (1995)

Even from the beginning — the very first album, The Real McKenzies signature Scottish punk sound comes through clearly. Their debut is a short and fun salute to the homeland of Paul McKenzie. As opposed to other releases, this record only contains 3 original songs. The other 7 songs are made of 5 punk-influenced renditions of classic Scottish tunes and 3 other covers of non-Scottish songs, but with lyrics changed from the originals. All-in-all, while a fun debut, its’ lack of original content, similarity to bands before them (like The Pogues), and production — puts their debut at the bottom of the rankings.

Recommended Tracks: Pliers, Outta Scotch, & My Bonnie

9. Clash of The Tartans (1998)

On the follow-up to the debut, the band showed already some noticeable progress. As before (and continuing to this day), the songs are still heavily Scottish-themed, this time with 4 of the 14 tracks being covers (“Scots Wha’ Ha’e” covered for the 2nd time). As opposed to the first album, this one shows a bit more of the true colours of the band, where they start to incorporate slightly more of their particular brand of rock style into the Celtic themes. As the second-longest album for the band, it surprisingly doesn’t feel too long and there are no noticeably bad songs, but talent and melody-wise it doesn’t stack up to their later records.

Recommended Tracks: Stone Of Kings, Ceilidh, & Bastards

8. Beer and Loathing (2020)

Despite the lower ranking, the new album isn’t a bad one, but rather just has some disappointing aspects to it. Once you give it a few listens, some of the songs really begin to stand out, such as “Big Foot Steps” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee”. There’s a bit of a darker, more somber tone on the album which is particularly noticeable in Paul’s vocals and lyrics, and this gives the record a distinct sound from the others. Unfortunately, there are some completely skippable songs — surprisingly the first single and title track “Beer and Loathing” in particular seems to be a bit of a mess, almost as if it was a demo that made it on the final product. The production of the album itself seems a bit hollow and Paul sounds slightly tired or as if his heart wasn’t really in it. It’s a disjointed album with some very bright spots, but not enough to raise the position.

7. Loch’d & Loaded (2001)

Loch’D & Loaded was the last record to feature the “classic” McKenzies sound. Although the production here isn’t bad per se, the quality does noticeably step up after this album’s release. For fans of the rougher, straight-up Celtic punk sound, this may be the best record the band has released. Like previous records, the band includes some re-stylized versions of traditional Scottish tunes like “Flower of Scotland” and “Bonnie Mary”, but they’re at their best on their original songs. Loch’d & Loaded has a lot of the qualities that make a good McKenzies album — it’s fun, lighthearted, and evenly mixes folky songs with more straightforward rock.

Recommended Tracks: Pickled, Nessie, & Scots’ Round the World

6. Oot & Aboot (2003)

This album ushered in a higher quality production for The Real McKenzies as well as an increased focus on the heavier rock/punk elements of the band. While they never shied away from faster, riff-heavy tracks, Oot & Aboot comes out the gate at full force with “Cross The Ocean” and never really slows down much throughout the run-time. This trend of heavier tracks would continue on through the next 2 releases for the band (improving on each release). The band’s 4th release is a good starting point for new fans as it’s easily digestible, but with all of the quirks that make the McKenzies great.

Recommended Tracks: Cross The Ocean, Jennifer Que, & Oot & Aboot

5. 10,000 Shots (2005)

Stepping in where Oot & Aboot ended, 10,000 Shots adds an extra depth with the inclusion of drummer Sean Sellers (known for his time with Good Riddance) and bassist Joe Raposo who had gained notoriety in the punk scene with his technical basslines that he created in the band RKL. The release features some of the band’s best guitar solos and is overall a very rambunctious and speedy album. The record is also one of the least “traditional” Scottish sounding for the McKenzies although it still features 3 Scottish songs (2 poems reimagined as songs and a Scottish folk song cover).

Recommended Tracks: 13, The Skeleton and The Tailor, & Pour Decisions

4. Rats in the Burlap (2015)

Rats in the Burlap is a great example of the later tier of the McKenzies. It’s a combination of the more rock-heavy 2000s mixed with the folkier, traditional-focused era of the 90s. Older fans of the band are likely to find something they enjoy on this record as they retread some familiar ground while also trying newer things like on the jazzy “Bootsy the Haggis-Eating Cat”. Lyrically there’s nothing new and most of the songs pay some sort of homage to Scotland, perhaps most noticeably the track “Yes” which is about the failed 2014 Scottish referendum vote. If I have any complaint it’s that there could have probably been more faster songs and there are a couple of toss-aways like “What Have You Done”.

Recommended Tracks: Who’d a Thought, You Wanna Know What, & Stephen’s Green

3. Two Devils Will Talk (2017)

It’s great to see that this late into their career (over 25 years), that the band can still put out catchy songs that are still in line with the same message as when they started. Although the McKenzies have famously switched around members a lot, the guitarists have been mostly consistent, but this release sees 2 brand new people on the axe — Jono Jak & Dan Garrison. Surprisingly, the switch in personnel goes by unnoticed as the new guys are able to easily carry themselves and provide some excellent riffs for the catalogue. One odd thing about the album is that they decided to cover “Scots Wha Ha’e” once again (their 3rd time), as the last track on the album it would’ve been a nice way to tie the first and last albums together since it’s also the first track on their debut, but with their new album… this symmetry no longer works.

Recommended Tracks: Sail Again, Due West, & Northwest Passage

2. Westwinds (2012)

As the longest Real McKenzies album and the only one to take longer than 3 years between the previous release (4 years in this case), Westwinds stands apart from the rest. The charm of this record is largely in its group style of vocals. On top of the group vocals, I think the album features Paul at his strongest vocally — he comes across as more passionate and ranged than before. The result makes this a go-to singalong album in the band’s discography. It’s also a very versatile record that traverses all the different avenues the band has been able to build expertise in over the years. Although the first half of the record is the strongest, there isn’t really any weak point in the album — it’s overall an excellent example of what makes the band lovable among fans.

Recommended Tracks: Fool’s Road, The Message, & I Do What I Want

1. Off The Leash (2008)

The title of this album is perfect for the contents inside — an all-out, no holdback album of searing riffs and overall unrestrained energy. As the only McKenzies record to feature 3 guitarists, it’s no surprise that you’ll find a plethora of excellent solos throughout, and not only are the solos superb, but they also perfectly match up with the bagpipes. Off the Leash features Joe Raposo on bass again (also played on 10,000 Shots) and this time his skills really shine throughout the 36-minute run-time. While this is the fastest, most overdriven McKenzies record, it doesn’t mean it never slows down. In fact, it contains some excellent unhurried tracks like the folky “The Maple Trees Remember” and the barroom singalong “Drink Some More”. Off the Leash sees the band at a peak level and full of more energy than ever before.