THE BELFAST GIGS

First of all, this album is not exactly "prog", in fact it's not prog. It is in fact one of the greatest live albums to come out of the Emerald Isle. The album marked the end of a 10year career as a band( 8 years from their first album, and 9 from their first record/single release). It was recorded at the Whitla Hall, Belfast over three days. The album is more of a rock album, with,of course, the glorius inclusion of the traditional instruments that formed the Horslips' celestial sound. But by this time, the band had delved into new wave, yet this album conveys that the band were still able to recreate the far superior material from the earlier albums, even adding to some. The album is basically a "Best Of", (but what live album isn't?), yet it's live, which gives it that aura that makes it much more than the less subtle "best of" or "greatest hits" package. This album contains the Horslips at their rawest, yet most intricate,which proves that they were atill as good as ever,even though it was the end of their career. The Album kicks off with the crowd chanting, almost begging for the band to enter the stage, and mere seconds later they launch into that oh-so-familiar flute orientated masterpiece that is "Trouble with a capitol 'T' "(Book Of Invasions),which is somewhat rushed, yet it still retains the magic of the album version. The band then begin to relax as they lash out "The man who built America". The band gains confidance with "the Warm sweet breath of love", and substantiates their ability of harmony vocals. Jim Lockhart once again initiates the band in "The power and the glory", with his ever so beautiful keyboard intro. John Fean(guitar), Barry Devlin(bass), Charles O' Connor (guitar, mandolin, violin) and Eamonn Carr(drums), all the while, also prove(without much effort) that they too are true masters at their instruments. Fean's solos reach fever pitch during most songs, and O' Connor is nothing short of a maestro, which he proves with his short but sweet violin solo in "Power and the glory". This rendition of "Blindman" is one of the sweetest ever. The band then lashes out "Shakin' All Over" (cover), attacking the audiende with a barrage of notes, and riffs that would make even Thin Lizzy envious of their ability to Rock. Two of the finest horslips tracks, in my opinion, are contained in the last three tracks of the album. One being "King Of THe Fairies". Such a masterpiece could only be penned by true masters, or in keeping with irish mythology, fairies. This track, contains some of the bands best playing to date, perplexing the listener with an onslaught of riffs and notes, that leaves the listener in a euphoric state, dazed by the complexity of the interweaving between, not only the band, but O' Connor's violin and Fean's guitar, as Devlin, Carr, and Lockhart trifle along behind. "Guests Of The Nation" is next, a masterpiece in its own right, but nothing in comparison to the finisher, which leaves the lisener more perplexed and in a truly orgasmic state, almost on the brink of a euphoric spasms. This is none other than "Dearg Doom". One of the finest tracks penned by the band, and probably their most acclaimed track. This live rendering, starts off with Lockhart playing "O' Neill's Cavalry", a traditional arrangement which "Dearg Doom" is based upon. Right away, Fean and co propel into a Fean led Thin Lizzy-esque solo, while the rest of the band fulfill their duties of trifling behind , yet discharging a wall of solid sound as intricate as Fean's solo. Three and a half minutes later, Fean propels the infamous riff, while O' Connor, swipes the listener off their feet, with his over-whelming, yet evokative vocals, singing of a mythological hero cum demon, Dearg Doom. Its the perfect ending to a truly excellent live album, which unfortunately marked the end of a superlative career of one of the greatest Irish bands ever to roam the earth.

Recorded when Horslips had become a full fledged hard rock band with Celtic embellishments, "Belfast Gigs" pounds the listener and presumably the audience into submission by the halfway point, such that by the time the presumed encore "Dearg Doom" arrives damaged and beyond repair, I'm pretty much dreading stretched out versions and 45 second endings. While I can accept the mainstream rock pretensions inherent in the superb "The Man Who Built America", I have a lot more trouble with Irish boogie in the form of the dreary "Shakin' all Over". "Belfast Gigs" serves neither as an entry point to the band nor as a document of the definitive version of even a single cut the way "Once in a Lifetime" worked for Runrig in the late 80s. For committed fans and collectors only.

Trouble with a Capital "T"

During the period between the release of their first live album in 1976 and this, their second, live album in 1980, Horslips had gradually degenerated from Prog Folk to straight Rock. This transformation was taken to its logical extreme on 1979's Short Stories - Tall Tales, the band's final studio release and also their worst. Thankfully, only one track from that album is featured here in the decent Guests Of The Nation. The other three studio albums that had been released since Horslips Live was recorded are however not bad at all. The title track from 1978's The Man Who Built America, another decent rocker, represents that album here. Somewhat disappointingly there is not a single number from the often overlooked Aliens from 1977, however. Finally, the excellent Book Of Invasions - A Celtic Symphony is represented with Trouble With A Capital "T", The Warm Sweet Breath Of Love, The Power And The Glory, and (as a bonus track on the CD version) Sword Of Light. It is primarily the latter songs together with older classics like Blindman, King Of The Fairies, and Dearg Doom that prove that Horslips never strayed as far away from their roots in the live arena as they did in the studio setting. As a live band they still remained true to their past, at least to a larger degree.

The out-and-out Rock 'N' Roll number Shakin' All Over is the only real disaster here. This awful boogie could easily have been replaced by something more interesting (by a track from Aliens, for example). Other drawbacks of this live album is it's short running length and the fact that three of the nine songs had already been featured on Horslips Live. Still, The Belfast Gigs constitutes a much more fitting ending to the band's career than the poor Short Stories - Tall Tales (though, the end was not final as the band has recently reformed).

Compared to the two other live albums I've heard from Horslips (Horslips Live and the recent Live At The O2) the present one is clearly inferior. Make sure you get those others, as well as most of the band's studio albums, before turning to this one. But The Belfast Gigs is nonetheless a decent, though certainly not essential, addition to a comprehensive Horslips collection.