Customer Reviews

Shamrock Diaries

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first met Cris Rea's music on a cold December night in 1984. It was a concert at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England. Chris Rea was the support act, and Eric Clapton was the main. I don't think that Chris Rea's performance that night was enough to upset the odds (Clapton still remains in a class of his own), but may years on, I still think that this was the best concert I ever went to.

Chris Rea only played five songs. Only one of them appears on this album - the excellent 'Stainsby Girls'. But having heard the concert, I bought this album as soon as it was released, and was not dissapointed at all. In vinyl terms, side one is stronger than side two, but there really isn't a bad track here. I would describe this as a rather melancholy album - lyrically Chris spends a lot of time lamenting the past, but the album is musically excellent. Many years on, I still regard the opening track, 'Steel River' as one of my all time favourite pieces of music. This track has it all - great lyrics, slide guitar, and a wondreful jazzy horn section. Chris Rea's love song about a way of life now gone forever remains a classic.

Why should I spend my time reviewing a rather obscure album from an artist whose later work was more commercially successful? Simple. This album is a classic. Buy it.

One of the best albums of the eighties, certainly the best of Chris Rea's career, does not contain a bad track. Like his other albums, generally a mix of melodic keyboards, often fantastic slide guitar, solid drums - but he gets things right more consistently on this one. The lyrics are evocative without being sentimental, the low-key singing is often complementary to the music rather than being the most important element, but the end result is a bunch of tunes that get so many things right, they should be in college - of if not, they should be taught there. There's the occasional eighties saxophone break, true, but even that's handled as well as possible. As a fan of everyone from 'The Smiths' to 'Prince' to 'Placebo', I have to say that hardly anyone ever hit the heights of this one. Only one other of his own albums - On The Beach - got close. People often say Dire Straits are in the same category as Chris Rea, but that group certainly aren't in the same league.

An absolute gem of an album. I was fortunate to be at the Shamrock Diaries concert at Newcastle City Hall many moons ago and was treated to these songs and many others. One of the most underrated artists ever.

Along with "On the Beach" this album has Rea at the top of his game. A wonderful album that gets inside your head, heart, and soul. I never tire of listening to this album and the emotions it evokes. Highly recommend this release. A delight on the ears.

This was Rea's release that broke him to a wider audience. What is significant is that after 1990, on all Best Of collection albums - the great iconic tracks like Stainsby Girls were all re recorded - and this album has the original and to my mind superior, more spare and sensitive ORIGINAL cuts. Get it and compare - you will not be disappointed.

This is an outstanding album. I bought it because of the song "Josephine" It's a song thats always fresh. The whole album is still excellent, great songwriting, nice guitars and horns. Personal lyrics. And a great feel about the album. One of my all time favourites.

The songs on this album have a pseudo-disco nature to them that take away from the raw and serious nature of Chris Rea's other works. I was expecting some memorable, moving songs, but I would rather forget this album. Truth be told, I never made it through the whole thing as I found every song I did listen to fatuous and artificial. I just could not make myself go on. This album is a big disappointment.