HAPPY TO MEET, SORRY TO PART

3.75 stars really!! Horslips 's debut is exactly what I expected, except for four surprises. The title of their debut is taken from the two short numbers that book ends the album.

First my expectations: sound Celtic-Folk music including jigs and other traditional songs that make up the Irish traditions. Horslips manages those tunes in a much more meticulous manner than say Amazing Blondel and Steeleye Span and reach for the Malicorne way of rpresenting an old tune in a truthful but actualized rendition.

Now for the surprises: Squished in betweenall these Celtic-folk tunes are four superb progressive tracks that although much different in the instrumentation do not stick out (or stay out of line) of the album. Hall of Mirrors , Furniture , Clergy's Lamentations and Musical Priests are actually such folk-tinged prog masterpieces , that most of us would have liked to have an albumful of those kind. For the album's sake , those particular tracks appear maybe too early (second and third )and too late (second last) in the the sequence of tracks , that small deceptions are around the bend during the next two or three tracks because one is disappointed not to have this kind of stuff anymore. This however should blind from listening to the whole album because it is quite worth it.

Just start your CD player (or MP3 player, or whatever), and what you'll hear is this: >>cough cough<<, deedeleedee . >>cough<< >>ahh<< >>cough<< - deedeleedeedeleedum .etc., passing into "Happy to meet", which together with the last track "Sorry to part" encloses the musical pieces of this album. In 1972, this kind of beginning a record was somehow way-out and surprisingly new, or so I was told by somebody who is about 20 years older than me. Today, I think it is at least quite inventive and very amusing. - As is the whole album with its wilful mixture of traditional Irish folk and progressive rock, thus having founded the term "Celtic rock" used later. Indeed, in "Hall of mirrors", "Furniture" and "The musical priest" we find true prog rock masterpieces, showing what was to come in the HORSLIPS' second album "The Tain". Anyone interested in how Irish folk music is transformed into a more progressive style will also enjoy "The clergy's lamentation", "An bratach ban" or "Bim istigh ag ol", which seem to me a kind of transition between both styles. Together with "Ace and deuce", the latter would quite fit into some early JETHRO TULL album featuring traditional arrangements. Apart from progressive music, there are some other masterpieces to be found on this album: "The Shamrock shore", which is a beautiful Irish song; and "Flower amang them all" - also known in Northumberland as "Sir John Fenwick" and regarded as one of the classics of the Northumbrian repertoire - played with traditional instruments and in a certain way representing the musical equivalent to a perpetuum mobile*. Just find out for yourself . [*This review is dedicated to W.W. - Thanks for the hint . -)); ]

Horslips' debut album was released on CD twice. About a decade before the members of the band went to court to reclaim their rights to the music, Outlet Records had issued all of their albums on CD. These releases are now sometimes called bootlegs and are criticised for their supposedly bad sound, but for a long time they were the only option. Frankly, if there's anything wrong with the sound, I don't hear it. However, some of these contain a few alternative versions of songs instead of the original ones. Also, the playing order is different on some of the albums, which is the case with this one. The more recent releases are relatively expensive and the Outlet ones can be found very cheap, but I'd still recommend anyone to pay more for quality. The music however is still the same, a combination of more or less traditional folk tunes and a few much more rock oriented songs. It took me a while to enjoy it, unlike some of their later albums. However, I fell right away for Furniture, which for me is still the best song they ever did. For a prog music collection this album isn't an essential addition, but once you like Horslips you'll want this one. Having to choose between three and four stars, I give it three.

Horslips' debut album "Happy to Meet - Sorry to Part" is an excellent album and a long lost gem from the far away land of Ireland.. The music in this album is highly diverse. In a few songs you will find upbeat Irish folk jigs, another few sound like the Strawbs mixed with Oldfield, one would fit perfectly on a early NEKTAR album, and the best peice of the album is one that I wouldn't question if it was released with Wishbone Ash's debut album. But they have unique pieces too, like the bizarre "An Bratach Bán".

Alright, apparently this band came together as a prop for some kind of advert in 1970, and after doing the commercial they found that they quite liked it, and went upon the task of acquiring a guitarist. Two years later in 1971 they finally recorded a studio album, the magnificent "Happy to Meet - Sorry to Part".

The album has a very warm and intimate feel throughout, and there is no sense of tension or anybody trying to "show off". It's fairly accessible but will have the seasoned proghead coming back for more. The musicians themselves are quite good but not virtuosos, it's the way the pieces are written and how they handle they're instruments that make this album so beautiful. John Fean is an excellent guitarist, and his guitar style is similar to Wishbone Ash in this album, same sense of melody and soloing. Jim Lockhart and Charles O'Connor are the guys that make it so "Irish" with they're wide variety of traditional instruments. It's great to hear a tin whistle harmonizing with an emotional guitar melody.

As I spoke of before, the variety of musical styles in this album are huge. The Nektar-like piece is one of the four Sean Trane mentioned, "Hall of Mirrors". It sounds like late sixties psych, with a pretty laid back presentation, vocals a bit like Jim Morrison, with the suggestive drug themed lyrics and organ. The Strawbs like song would be "The Clergy's Lamentation" which is one of the best on this album. It has that trademark melancholic dark celtic-folk with guitar themes like that of ones featured on "Ommadawn" (Pure similarity of course, Oldfield came after this album). The more upbeat Irish jigs I thought I might not like, but some of them are very fun and a enjoyable listen. The best of them are "An Bratach Bán" which I could only describe with "Irish Reggae Folk". The best of the album comes in a neat little package called "Furniture" which is the Wishbone Ash like song. It features the best lyrics of the album, with a warm and insightful chorus that leads to a jam session and mounts to a majestic WA like melodic riff that will stick in your head for the day. Excellent!!

The intimate sound and odd styles on this album may not be for everybody, but it is certainly progressive in blending Irish Folk, Celtic jigs, Psychedelic rock, hard rock and reggae. Their sound has various influences, but it is far from being any type of clone, and maintain a unique style throughout the album that most will enjoy. Highly recommended.

Horslips’ first studio album is said to also be the first true ‘Celtic rock’ album, although I suspect Christy Moore might argue that point. It is in fact quite Celtic in nature, full of jig arrangements on both ends of the record; and with instrumentation that included Uillean pipes, mandolin, flute, fiddle, harpsichord, celeste, banjo, acoustic guitar and tin whistles the album has all the right credentials for a Celtic folk recording.

While the album opens and closes with distinctly Irish jig ditties, many of the tracks in between are unmistakable progressive folk compositions with beautiful piano arrangements, pleasant and unusual tempos, and fanciful imagery. “Hall of Mirrors” may be the finest progressive folk song on the album, with a keyboard track and vocals that evoke some of the same emotions as Genesis’ ‘Wind and Wuthering’ that would come some years later. “The Clergy's Lamentation” is similar but not quite as distinctive.

But the band cannot stray from their roots too long, as the romping jig titled “An Bratach Bán” demonstrates. This is followed by the slower number “The Shamrock Shore” which sounds like it’s going to be an instrumental until nearly halfway through when Barry Devlin and John Fea break in with a soft, folksy duet accompanied mostly by pipes and acoustic guitar; followed by a very similar tune (“Flower Amang Them All”) that actually is an instrumental, and in which I believe a flute, Uillean pipes and a smallpipe are the main instruments.

“Bím Istigh Ag Ól” is another jig-like number but with some fairly heavy electric guitar and weird keyboards, while “Furniture” is about as close to a normal soft rock tune as the band would ever approach.

Jim Lockhart takes center stage on harpsichord for “Ace and Deuce”, a rather short instrumental that is understated and consists primarily of the harpsichord and acoustic guitar with a bit of violin coming in at the end. This is a prototypical Celtic folk number that previews the type of sound the band would become well known for throughout the early and mid seventies.

The rest of the album is largely heavy Celtic jigging music, although “The Musical Priest” shows a bit of a progressive bent in the guitar and violin tracks. For the most part though the last ten minutes or so will only appeal to big fans of strongly Celtic sounds.

I was never a big Horslips fan back in the seventies, although some of their music has grown on me over the years. Their epic rendition of ‘The Tain’ remains one of the finest Celtic folk albums ever recorded in my opinion. This one is a bit more uneven, to be expected of a band just starting out and considering the music here was collected from the band’s first couple years of existence and recorded rather unconventionally in an old mansion reputed to be haunted and in which the band employed hay bales and stage curtains for baffles and sound management. As a seminal Celtic rock album ‘Happy to Meet…Sorry to Part’ deserves a place on the shelf of just about any serious collector of progressive folk, and probably most fans of world music as well. I wouldn’t call this a masterpiece or anything, but it is quite decent and is worth listening to a few times if you get a chance. Three stars a mildly recommended.

peace

Entry into the exclusive club of "professional musicians" is often a gradual and painful process. Based on recorded documents, such was not the case with Horslips, who came to the game fully formed and ready to rock n reel. I'm sure they paid their dues in a live setting for years, even if that included weddings, funerals, and christenings, as off the cuff performing is often part and parcel of Irish culture. Whatever the case, "Happy to Meet...Sorry to Part" is a landmark celtic rock recording and a stunning debut, and this applies whether you are a celtic music fan, a progressive fan, a rocker, or any combination thereof.

Firstly, for celtophiles we have a number of spirited songs and instrumentals that transcend the sameness of a lot of traditional interpretation, and do not require visuals to work. The opening and closing title tunes herald and wrap up the effort, while "An Bratach Bán", "Flower Amang Them All", and "Ace and Deuce" all hold up that end of the bargain nicely. "Hall of Mirrors" and "Furniture" are full on progressive songs utilizing inventive drumming, organs and jammy lead guitars along with strong vocals. Then we have a host of tunes that blends the two styles, largely through the use of proggy time changes and instrumentation resting upon traditional structures, such as "The Clergy's Lamentation", "Bim Istigh Ag Ol", and "The Musical Priest".

While Horslips reached several career pinnacles after this debut, it is curious that they never really followed the formula proposed herein, which had perhaps only been so effectively implemented by early Alan Stivell albums. "Happy to Meet...Sorry to Part" simply glows with ethnic authenticity and a progressive sheen from a band happily occupying several musical worlds, whom you should meet and from whom you might never part. 4.5 stars.

Many believe this to be the first genuine celtic-rock album. Folk-rock fusion was certainly in its infancy in the early seventies. "Happy to Meet" is a debut by a band having a great craic discovering how fun it is to twist rock music up with traditional Irish. From the swirling psychedelic originals "Hall of Mirrors" and "Furniture" to the mangled traditional covers "Flowers", "A Giddy Dance to yr Daddy". Personal favourites are "The Clergy's Lamentation", the sweet "The Shamrock Shore" and the rocking Gaelic drinking song "Bim Istigh Ag Ol" With the eloquent "Musical Priest", Horslips command the stage with virtuoso guitar and mandolin playing transformed by the rhythm section into a new music form. When Horslips were touring with this album the entire concert hall would be up dancing to the pulsating melodies. It is quite a gem and often underrated too. It has a homely intimate feel to it. If you like Irish music then this is just the icing on the cake. Four solid stars.

This band was recommended to me, and this album given to me, back in the seventies by an Irish friend of mine, who understood my love of prog rock. Back then, the album didn't capture my interest. But perhaps the years have mellowed my tastes. Now I appreciate the album much more. I'm still not much of a fan of celtic music, but I appreciate it's value.

The album is primarily Celtic folk rock, with a bit of prog thrown in. The band is certainly technically adept, and able to blend the styles well. The best prog tracks to my ears are Hall Of Mirrors and Furniture. And I also like the rock jig, The Musical Priest.

I'm still not sure if I'm ever going to pursue more from Horslips, but I'm glad I own this album.

Horslips' first album "Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part" is a nice precursor to their following prog opuses, mainly "The Tain" and "The Book Of Invasions-A Celtic Symphony", as it puts the listener both at ease as what to expect next and also apprehensive at the same time. That's mainly due to the band's penchant for both jigs and reels Celtic music and contemporary rock with varying degrees of psychedelic rock and folk rock incorporated into the mix. "Happy to Meet..." starts off with a brief snippet of a traditional instrumental before segueing into a dreamscape of echoing guitar and spacey keyboards before Charles O'Conner starts singing about examining oneself at the outset of falling in love. "After you've been through the tunnel of love its the hall of mirrors for you' he sings accompanied by darkly warped carnival-like music that breaks down into raucous hard rock before returning the listener to O'Conner's bizarre carnival ride. Following directly is a proggy instrumental titled "The Clergyman's Lament" that fits well with "The Hall Of Mirrors" before the band turns to excellent versions of the Irish Trad. and popular tunes "An Bratach Ban" (sung in Gallic I presume), "The Shamerock Shore", and "Flower Among Them All". All are delivered with great verve and taste as does the album's second side which follows the formula plotted out on the first side. Modern compositions are again interspersed with traditional and Irish popular tunes. Standout songs on side two include "Furniture", "Ace And Deuce", and "The Musical Priest".

"Happy To Meet..." is an excellent introduction to Horslips as well as a template of what many called their forte while assigning the group as it's originator: Celtic Rock. 3 stars.