Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I thought we would talk about an Irish band no one knows about. That band would be Horslips. They never had the following of a Pogues or Waterboys or that band with the silly name – U2. And a friend from Belfast referred to them as Ireland’s Aerosmith (and not in a good way considering I asked in early 1980). But this was a good band and Aliens is my favorite record. Sure – some may argue for “Book Of Invasions” or “The Tain”. Some may. But for me, 1977′s Aliens was as good an example of celtic rock as you could find at the time. The guitar work of Johnny Fean was outstanding and Jim Lockharts flutes and pipes were always key to the mix. Aliens revolved around the theme of leaving the homeland and hoping to find the “milk and honey” of America… if it actually existed. The songs rang true and mixed traditional rhythms with ringing guitars and rock steady drums. You can’t deny songs like “Sure the Boy Was Green” and “New York Wakes” and the lovely “Exiles”. This is not an overwhelming album, but it is not insignificant either. Horslips deserves their place in Irish music, so check it out. I am also fond of their followupp “The Man Who Built America”.

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