A good (but not great, live album)
scott p. braun | appleton, WI United States | 04/06/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Horslips live is an album with a great lineup of songs from several of their albums. If you're not familiar with horslips, they're a great mix of traditional Irish music and rock. This live album, however, is not the best example of how awesome horslips can be live. Johnny Fean's guitar work is not as tight as it can be and most of the songs are better on the studio versions. It's still a good album and one worth having if you are a Horslips fan. If I were to only own one live Horslips album, however, I would wait until "The Belfast Gigs" is rereleased. It is a much better example of Horslips live."
Rousing double live album
J. Talsma | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 07/13/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Midseventies live album by the renowed Horslips, whose forte was the combination of hard driven rock with traditional Irish folk or vice versa. On this concertregistration however
the folk influence is far less present. It is recognizeable though and therefore not alike so many of their rock contemporaries' live-albums, but overall the rock takes over, with soaring guitars. The band play well but the songs are not better than those on the studio-albums. In a way that is a pity because Horslips' strength was to combine tender folk and rousing rock to make a wholly new kind of music, in which they succeeded to great effort. Nevertheless it is a very enjoyable set, featuring 17 songs from the earlier albums (with the exception of the totally acoustic "Drive the Cold Winter Away", that is). They proved their ability to write fine songs and play them in their own vein, sometimes incorporating already existing elements of Irish folkloristic tunes, but went live astray from that path and opted for a more solid sound. The same can be heard on "Belfast Gigs" with which they closed a decade of being one of the finest Irish band of that time. As I might have chosen I would have taken te opportunity to listen to some more folkish reworking of their songs in a livesetting but this album satisfies my appetite of their unique blend enough. After 30 years it does'nt lose any of its glory.
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