Customer Reviews

Tain

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

 

 

Horslips worked in the prog rock era, when a sense of humour seemed to be contrary to the "serious" aspirations of rock stars, and everything was long winded, moody, and deeply rent with serious, earth-shattering meaning. In other words, a time when things were kind of dull. Dreadfully dull, actually. The fact that this album-- their second-- was a concept album could tell you that Horslips was part of this era. Like many such albums, it has a highfalutin' central theme-- the adventures of the legendary Irish hero CuChulainn-- and also like many such albums, the lyrics are rather humourless in detailing CuChulian's many adventures. But unlike many of their "progressive" brethern, this band had a sense of fun that could not be denied. It would leak through in the art for their album covers,which were often littered with small jokes. More importantly, it came through in their music, an astonishing blend of traditional Irish tunes and rock and roll that never slowed down to take a breath. The centerpiece of this album, the amazing "Dearg Doom," ably demonstrates this point. Built around a traditional tune called O'Neill's Cavalry and powered by drummer Eamon Carr's simple, precise drumming (no flashy prog-rock parradiddles for this capable musician) the song is a thundering jig that simply refuses to slow down. The band has the good sense to keep individual songs short-- a rarity in those times of four album side long "opuses"-- and the breaks are more often than not incredible multi-instrument takes on traditional jigs, reels, and airs. This isn't their best album-- that would be Dancehall Sweethearts, where the humour trickled over to the lyrics-- but it is a very good one. Horslips may have worked in the progressive rock era, but like all good bands, they only worked in their era-- they weren't quite part of it. Even today, the humour and joy of their music set them apart.

I'll keep it short. The horslips made a beautiful fusion of Irish Folk and Rock on their albums and this is perhaps the best example. This is a truly wonderful album depicting the Irish Myth of the Tain (short title) and does a great job. It's rawness really brings across the images of bloody battles etc. If you are looking to buy other horslips albums you are best off buying the middle ones (Tain, Book of Invasions, Dancehall Sweethearts etc and working your way out. Their first album being very Irish, their latter ones being Pop Rocky with an Irish twist.
So to sum up, for a first Horslips buy get this and see what you think. Give it several listens and see if it grows on you. If you already have another horslips album and like it you are almost certain to enjoy this as it is the perfect blend of both Irsh Folk and Rock.
I hope I have been of service...

Half this album is great Irish folk jams and jigs with a bit a prog rock sense and half is great prog rock songs with great guitar, flute playing, etc..these guys dont appear to appeal to many prog rock fans in general but id recommend it to all of them, especaally anyone who likes jethro tull at all..this is one of my all time favorite albums, its both complex and fun, the songwriting is great and so is the band in general.

Though this album is fantastic, Hoslips' many others are as well - if you liked this, try "Book of Invasions," another concept album based on Irish mythology, and their best by far. Not available in the US, but you can get it from amazon.co.uk!

This ambitious album most Horslips fans consider one of the band's two best; by no coincidence the other winner also takes old Irish legend as its inspiration and guide. A caution: make sure you purchase the newer, band-approved, re-mastered edition. It sounds magnificent, bettering an album that as the original LP wore grooves into my brain, such was my re-playing of it in the late 70s. I listened to the CD carefully a couple of times recently, to see how it held up vs. my recollections of when it first came out in the 70s. While the musical intensity is bettered slightly on their later thematic return to Irish legend, "The Book of Invasions," the narrative cohesion of the tale told in the "Táin" works to this album's advantage a bit more.

Their second album, after the '72 debut folk-prog "Happy to Meet" success and before the mixed reaction to the more "pat" folk-rock of '74's "Dancehall Sweethearts" and 75's "The Unfortunate Cup of Tea" LPs, sticks to what the band did best: combine a rethinking of trad Celtic themes and influences with an assured, ballsy, and literate rock delivery. It helps to read drummer Eamon Carr's notes about the Táin Bo Cualigne, as they call it, "Ireland's most exciting saga." Knowing more about the actual story of Fergus and Maeve, Ferdia, the Brown Bull, Cuchullain/Setanta, and what the Gae Bolga, The Morrigan, and Dearg Doom might mean: this will enhance your hearing of the songs.

Many are instrumental that convey the visceral tension and the softer romance of this ancient legend; those with lyrics tend to be hard-rock, with touches as diverse as a bit of reggae, C&W hoedown, ELP-Yes flourishes on the keys (these not a Good Thing, but considering the time recorded, perfectly understandable), a bit of Floydian languor, an overdone predilection for swirly organ which earns baroque-church-Bach allusions, and lots of Tull-ish flute-guitar energy. The comparisons to the latter band here are marked and are inevitable, when any rock lineup has a flutist prominently featured and ye olde tales regaled!

Still, Horslips manages not to sound like an Irish clone of Tull. Fiddles, mandolin, bodhran, and fluid guitar hold up well with the bass-guitar pairing, which is playfully expressive. Vocals are handled smoothly and confidently. Lyrics at times, as always with the band on their own self-penned songs, tend to be clunky in rhyme and veer near cliché, yet the interest of hearing this ancient story told through energetic rock atop folk foundations does make for a fresh approach. The ethereal or puerile ramblings of other groups trying to reach the mythic fall short, for Horslips was grounded in their sturdy Irish heritage even as they revamped it for young folks like myself, who I suppose (like me) were likely to then look further into the stories, and Thomas Kinsella's bold Táin translation with Louis deBrocquey's evocative drawings. For their second success, find 1976's "The Book of Invasions," with the most ancient origin stories from Irish tradition and again blended into a folk-rock confection.

Considering its appearance in the dark ages of circa 1973 rock, this holds up respectably, more than can be said for most contemporaneous efforts by far better known Anglo-American bands. Horslips not only deserves recognition for their pioneering role in making Irish music relevant and lively for the post-60s generation, but--in releasing their own albums, doing their own inspired tours, and compiling cover art, sleeve notes, and fertile ideas--serving as a DIY example for what would happen among those who heard Horslips in their formative years and would go on to start U2 and so many other Irish-raised musical champions the next decade. They showed you did not have to leave Ireland to make it in rock music.

First heard Horslips in Belfasts Whitla Hall 1980 and YES - this album is still unbelievable!!! Twenty-five plus years on and still one of the best albums I have ever heard. Brings the myth to life with a heart-breaking and a soul-lifting melding of poetry and music. All together in one memorable album, definitely a piece of history is the Tain! This is Irish; this is Rock; and this is Legend.

This 'concept' album or whatever is a mixture of irish trad and rock. very tight and good musicianship, rocking arrangements. It has a repeating theme that is played every 2nd or third track, which becomes a bit annoying. There are some fine tunes like charloais dearg doom and time to kill. Pity there aren't more guitar solos on it, and i think it sags a bit in the middle

The Book of Invasions album is released in America under the name Invasions so no need to go elsewhere to find it. Its definitely worth having as is Tain.