HAPPY TO MEET, SORRY TO PART

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.