Favorite Irish Albums – Ever!

This weekend is St. Patrick’s Day – so I thought, after all these years, that I would put together a list of my favorite Irish albums. There was no rock music in Ireland before the early 1970s – before Them, Horslips and Thin Lizzy it was all Showbands. The Showbands morphed into Country and Western outfits that attracted (and still do) large audiences to dancehalls around the country. However, scattered around towns and cities there were small rays of light – catapulted forwards in the late 1970s by the chart success of the Boomtown Rats, Lizzy, SLF and the Undertones. One of those bands, U2, became a monolith. Many trailed in their wake – one good album perhaps, they didn’t have the ambition, the management, the ideas. But, that one album may have been great.

The 1980s was a truly great era for Irish popular music – a rebirth of traditional music, the last hurrah of the ballad singers (Makem & Clancy, Foster & Allen, Paddy Reilly etc.) and the Indie rock disciples of the post punk scene, my generation, lit up the second part of the decade (a truly atrocious time for UK based chart music). After that, unfortunately, the local music industry sold out to Louis Walsh and manufactured pop; international promotion of some great acts has been shocking. I recently went to the farewell show of Clannad and realized that I last saw them live in 1984. I saw Mary Coughlan in concert last summer – last seen live in 1986! There are myriad bands that we followed back then – Those Nervous Animals, Hothouse Flowers, Light a Big Fire, Auto Da Fe, In Tua Nua, Regent Street, Gripewater Blues Band and various other artists that I have forgotten who are not in this list, but produced great songs and singles. The venues – Baggot Inn, Whelans, Roisin Dubh, UCD concourse, Olympic Ballroom, Academy, McGonagles, SFX, Top Hat – many long gone.

These days, frankly, I cannot abide most of what I am hearing from the great capitals of rockdom – London, LA, New York. The popular charts are populated with endless strings of boring American rap records (I got tired of rap around 1990 – the UK and afro versions remain appealing), lightweight indie style pop rock, anything that appears at the Grammy’s, country and bubblegum pop records that are entirely constructed using samples on computers (even the  vocals are auto-tuned). Good popular music needs a bit of edge. My taste evolved from the late ‘70s punk scene. Although lately I have been listening to a lot of Roxy Music and Depeche Mode, I do like edgy politically charged sounds. So, strangely, the last few years have been a golden period for musical acts from my own back yard – good honest musicians and singers who have something to say and say it well. Proto punk acts like Girl Band (now Gilla Band), Fontaines DC, Murder Capital, Just Mustard, Silverbacks and, in particular, Pillow Queens and gaining some traction. For the rest unfortunately, with a hostile media environment, lack of international promotion and the hubris of the record industry, most of theose acts will fail to emerge out of the emerald isle. A couple of pop rock acts to look out for – Academic and Inhaler do look like they will break the shackles of their island home. Best of luck. Glastonbury 2030?

A shout out to Hot Press. How is it possible that a nation the size of the United Kingdom cannot keep a new music periodical going – like Melody Maker, NME, Record Mirror, Sounds – when a tiny island like Ireland can produce this tremendous periodical with 80,000 readers? There is now, literally, no decent music publishing outlet for new talent in the UK – and that spells entropy for a music industry that produced wave after wave of British Invasion bands and artists. If you want to read more about that topic, check out Ted Kessler’s excellent autobiography.

So, this St. Paddy’s day – here is my list (forgive me if some of the years are incorrect). It obviously starts with the big ones, but once you get past the obvious top 5 or 6 there are lots of nuggets that many readers have never heard. And remember, this is my list, my favorites and I reserve the right to include live albums and greatest hits collections. I do not claim to be an expert on Irish popular music. I started this list with a plan of 100 records – at the time of publication there were a few more. I am sure that several more will emerge when I remember them or find a CD, tape or record in one of my piles or one of my brothers reminds me of a favorite. Consequently, aside from the first 5 or 6 – take the order with a pinch of salt. Interestingly, a large number of these albums exist in my collection only on cassette tape – hence the late 80s, early 90s bias. Some I haven’t listen to for 25 or 30 years. Now easily streamed…..

  1. Horslips – The Book of Invasions, A Celtic Symphony (1975)
  2. U2 – The Joshua Tree (1987)
  3. Van Morrison – Astral Weeks (1968)
  4. U2 – Achtung Baby (1991)
  5. Van Morrison – Moondance / Veendon Fleece – in fact all of the Warner Albums.
  6. Horslips – The Tain (1974)
  7. Rory Gallagher – Irish Tour 1974  (1974) or pretty much anything he recorded
  8. My Bloody Valentine – Loveless (1989)
  9. Villagers – Becoming A Jackal (2010)
  10. The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy & The Lash (1986)
  11. Whipping Boy – Heartworm (1995)
  12. Mary Coughlan – Tired and Emotional (1985) or the Collection (2007)
  13. Thin Lizzy – Live and Dangerous (2022 Box Set) – Jailbreak (‘77), Black Rose (‘79)
  14. Ash 1977 – (1996) – and pretty much all their records
  15. Something Happens – Stuck Together with God’s Glue (1990)
  16. CMAT – If My Wife Knew I’d Be Dead (2022)
  17. Stiff Little Fingers – Inflammable Material (1979)
  18. The Radiators (from Space) – Ghostown (1979)
  19. Undertones – Undertones (1979)
  20. Boomtown Rats – Tonic For the Troops (1978)
  21. Fatima Mansions – Viva Dead Ponies (1990)
  22. Pugwash  – Eleven Modern Antiquities (2008)
  23. Pillow Queens – Leave the Light On (2022)
  24. The Clancy Brothers (with Tommy Makem) – Come Fill Your Glass With Us (1959)
  25. The Cranberries – Everybody is Doing it, So Why Can’t We (1993)
  26. Damien Rice – O (2002)
  27. Clannad – Newgrange (1983) or the Collection (various versions) or Christchurch Cathedral or anything except Legend
  28. Christy Moore – Ride On (1986)
  29. Lisa Hannigan – Sea Saw (2008)
  30. Girl Band (Gilla Band) – The Talkies (2019)
  31. My Bloody Valentine – Isn’t Anything (1989)
  32. Aslam – Made in Dublin (1999)
  33. Duckworth Lewis Method – Duckworth Lewis Method (2009)
  34. The Thrills – So Much For the City
  35. Hothouse Flowers – People (1988)
  36. Snow Patrol – Final Straw (2003)
  37. Drogel – Fontaines DC (2019)
  38. The 4 Of Us – Songs For the Tempted (1990)
  39. Hozier – Hozier (2014)
  40. Sinead O’Connor- I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990)
  41. Planxty – Planxty (1973)
  42. Various – A Woman’s Heart (1991)
  43. Hal – Hal (2005)
  44. Imelda May – Life Love Flesh Blood (2017)
  45. The Murder Capital – When I Have Fears (2019)
  46. Horslips – Happy To Meet You Sorry To Part (1972)
  47. Luke Kelly – The Luke Kelly Collection (various versions)
  48. The Stunning – Paradise in the Picture House (1990)
  49. Microdisney – The Clock Comes Down The Stairs (1995)
  50. The High Llamas – Gideon Gaye (1994)
  51. Villagers – The Art of Pretending to Swim (2018)
  52. Paul Brady – Hard Station (1981)
  53. Gemma Hayes – Night on My Side (2002)
  54. De Dannan – De Dannan (1976)
  55. Virgin Prunes – If I Die, I Die (1982)
  56. That Petrol Emotion – Chemcrazy (1990)
  57. Waterboys – Fisherman’s Blues (1988)
  58. The Frank & Walters – Trains, Boats and Planes (1992)
  59. Lisa O’Neill – All Of This Is Chance (2023)
  60. Ham Sandwich – White Fox (2010)
  61. Taste – Taste (1969)
  62. The Divine Comedy – Promenade (1994)
  63. Fontaines D.C. – Skinty Fia (2022)
  64. Stars of Heaven – Sacred Heart Hotel (1986)
  65. Light A Big Fire – Surveillance (1986)
  66. Those Nervous Animals – Hyperspace (1986)
  67. Therapy? – Troublegum (1994)
  68. Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History (2010)
  69. Moving Hearts – Moving Hearts (1981)
  70. Cathy Davey – Tales of Silversleeve (2007)
  71. Lankum – Livelong Day (2019)
  72. Gilbert O’Sullivan – Alone Again (1972)
  73. Sharon Shannon – Compass (1993)
  74. Fionn Regan – The End of History (2006)
  75. JJ72- JJ72 (2001)
  76. U2 – Boy, War, The Unforgettable Fire, Rattle & Hum, All That You Can’t Leave Behind
  77. The Corrs – Talk on Corners (1997)
  78. Afro Celt Sound System – Volume 1 (1996)
  79. Republic of Loose – Aaagh! (2007)
  80. Denise Chiala – Go Bravely (2020)
  81. The Hot Sprockets – Honey Skippin’ (2011)
  82. The Frames – For the Birds (2001)
  83. Bagatelle – Bagatelle Gold (1985)
  84. A House – I am the Greatest (1991)
  85. David Kitt – the Big Romance (2001)
  86. Them – Them (1966)
  87. An Emotional Fish – An Emotional Fish (1990)
  88. Saw Doctors – If this is Rock n’ Roll I Want My Old Job Back (1991)
  89. Mary Black – No Frontiers (1989)
  90. The Bothy Band – Old Hag You Could Have Killed Me (1976)
  91. Inhaler – Cuts and Bruises (2023)
  92. David Holmes – Let’s Get Killed (1997)
  93. Eleanor McEvoy – Naked Music (2016)
  94. The Blades – Raytown Revisited (1985)
  95. The Golden Horde – The Golden Horde (1991)
  96. The Gloaming – The Gloaming (2014)
  97. John Spillane – So Far So Good (2009)
  98. The Redneck Manifesto – Thirtystrings (2001)
  99. Gary Moore – Still Got The Blues (1990)
  100. And So I Watch You From Afar – ASIWYFA (2009)
  101. Starjets – God Bless the Starjets (1979)
  102. The Commitments – Soundtrack album (1990)
  103. Gavin Friday – Catholic (2011)
  104. Adrian Crowley – The Season of the Sparks (2009)
  105. For Those I Love – For Those I Love (2021)

I know that there are no albums by Damian Dempsey, Declan O’Rourke, The Coronas, Bell X1, The Script, The Wolf Tones, Dubliners, Chieftans, Enya, Sean O’Liada, Paddy Casey, Mundy, just – none of their albums grab me. But some of these artists have huge domestic followings – so respect. I love Irish traditional music and ballads – but  – really most of the best ballads can be found on compilations and the traditional scene is out of my league (we can catch a great session any night in local pubs – astonishingly great musicians). No Louis Walsh (Westlife, Boyzone etc) – never. Oh, and no Terry Wogan (ok maybe the Floral Dance).

I am sure that there are dozens of great albums out there by Irish artist that I have not heard – so suggestions (below) always welcome. These days with rising prices (€125 to see John Fogarty) I’m going to stay and support local.

This St. Patrick’s day will see a couple of mammoth releases – a huge box set by Horslips, and “Songs of Surrender” by U2 – 40 re-recorded songs many of which featured in Bono’s audiobook biography. I am really looking forward to both. I fu**ing hate the way that all U2 reviews start with “love them or loathe them” or “you may not like U2, but” – critics get over yourselves – if you don’t like U2 or Coldplay or Radiohead or Beyonce or any other band or artist, f**k off and give the job to someone else. Success and popularity seems to equal uncool to a pathetic hoard of begrudging critics who are afraid to offend the wankerazzi. At least (after about 40 years) they have stopped talking about how old the Rolling Stones are. We are unlikely to see their like again…..

~ by Pat Neligan on March 15, 2023.

Posted in Albums of the Year, Downloading, live music, Magazines, Music Biography, Music Lists, Retromania, Vinyl
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