SHORT STORIES / TALL TALES

There is no denying that the sound of Horslips changed over the course of the 70's, but up till and including their previous album, The Man Who Built America, this change had been one of degree and not of essential nature. With the present album however, the change was radical. The Folk purists had probably been crying "sell out" for a few years already at this point, but it was really with Short Stories, Tall Tales that Horslips finally did sell out; they sold their Folk souls for Rock 'N' Roll, or rather for New Wave and Punk. The music found on this album really has much more to do with those styles than with Folk or Prog. It is very hard to even recognise which band it is!

Already on the previous couple of albums the songs had become somewhat shorter and the Folk influences had faded somewhat into the background, but with Short Stories the songs really became just that, short; the longest track here is just over four minutes and the shortest is under three minutes. Song length is, of course, not a certain sign of musical decline, but it is part of "the story". It is very hard to find anything on this album that would arouse any kind of interest in a fan of The Tain or Book Of Invasions. The Folk influence is almost totally absent here! The acoustic ballad Rescue Me is a nice folky tune, however.

In fairness, I must add that this is a professional recording and someone with a taste for New Wave or "Pop Punk" music might enjoy this. But for me personally, it is very hard to find any interest in this album whatsoever. For Prog fans, this is just an embarrassment!

Only for completionists this one

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