ROLL BACK

An interesting reworking of a host of Horslips classics (although not, notably the 'greatest hit' of all, 'An Dearg Doom'). More bluesy than celtic, and resolutely slow-to-mid-paced rather than full on, it's perhaps an acquired taste for those of us brought up on the original versions (NB there is NO flute from Jim Lockhart anywhere on the album! A real disappointment!), but it is a grower, a demonstration of classic musicianship, real dedication, and a lot of reined-in passion. It''s great to hear the boys playing together again, and producing original, powerful versions of some great songs. A must for Horslips fans, but perhaps not the first port of call for new listeners. Try 'The Tain', or 'Aliens', or the double Live set for an underated set of great guitar workouts.

Roll Back is a collection of acoustic reworkings of songs, and some of them are excellent and very listenable, however for a die hard Horslips fan such a myself, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. As the band had not been together for more than 20 years before this release, fans such as myself desperately craved for another album matching the brilliance of one of their earlier efforts such as The Tain. However, acoustic versions are most certainly not something that I would associate with the Horslips. The classic 'Trouble With A Capital T' riff has been left out, which is a shame. However, there are some good tracks on this album, such as Furniture and Mad Pat, which definitely deserve a listen. Overall, a decent album, but if you are expecting classic Horslips, this will not be your Cup Of Tea.

Absolutely not prog at all, but fabulous none the less. After 25 years away, ANYTHING is welcome from these boys, one of the most innovative, original and talented bands of all time. OK, there's no new songs here (except the instrumental Huish the Cat) but they are all reworked acoustically and totally different from the originals - the way they once thought about recording them. Some, shock horror, are even better than before - none more so than Flirting in the Shadows. (I recently spoke to Charles O'Connor at his shop in Whitby and he said they were hoping to tour soon and a DVD is coming soon - bliss!) Don't buy this (and you can only buy it in Ireland or on their website) if you haven't got an open mind; it's not The Tain or Book of Invasions or even a best of, it's a new concept and a very welcome one. The live reunion DVD of their first gig back together is a very worthwhile bonus, proving that they have lost nothing of their live magic.

An album that Fairport Convention or Steeleye Span would be proud of, but not the return to Prog Folk we were all hoping for

Like so many other bands, Horslips fell victim to the changing musical climate of the late 70's. Their last real album (so far?) was Short Stories, Tall Tales from 1979 and that album was a true embarrassment as far as I'm concerned. At least it did not fit in very well with what the band were known for; namely, their fusion of (Prog) Rock and Irish Folk music. I don't know exactly why they broke up after that misguided New Wave styled album, but they have so far never returned with an original album. They did, however, release this album with re-recorded, acoustic arrangements of some of their most well known songs from the 70's. This is not exactly what Prog Folk fans were hoping for perhaps, but it is very welcome to see any sign of life from the band. Let us hope that we will see a full blown comeback in the near future. After all, countless classic bands have reunited in recent years as the times are now much more favourable for classic and progressive Rock than in the 80's and 90's. I would love to see them play The Tain or Book Of Invasions live, or have a brand new album in the style of those classic albums.

The present album consists, as I said, of acoustic re-recordings of older material. This is not strictly speaking true, though, as there is some discrete organ on some songs. But the core of the sound of Roll Back is acoustic and there are no signs at all of any electric guitars or synthesisers. The songs are almost all very laid back and there are not really any up tempo jigs or reels or any kind of prolonged instrumental work. There are a few instrumental cuts, but the songs are primarily vocally driven. The sound and feeling is very different from Drive The Cold Winter Away, which was the band's previous attempt to make a pure Folk album. While that album was distinctively Celtic in its nature, this album is more Folk Rock sometimes even with a slight American Folk sound! I think this is a bit more enjoyable, but also more conventional in a sense.

Almost all of the band's albums are represented here with two cuts each from Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part, Dancehall Sweethearts, Book Of Invasions and The Man Who Built America and one cut each from The Tain, The Unfortunate Cup Of Tea, Aliens and Short Stories, Tall Tales. The remaining tracks are, to my knowledge, not available on other Horslips albums, though they are I'm almost certain traditional Folk tunes.

Some of these new arrangements are more successful than others. Guests Of The Nation, taken from that disastrous last album, is a definitive improvement over the original. The same must be said about Wrath Of The Rain, originally taken from the Aliens album. The same might also be said about The Man Who Built America, but it is less obvious. The songs taken from The Tain and Book Of Invasions had perhaps better been left as they were.

Overall, this is a very competent and professional recording and it is indeed a very pleasant listen. Traditional British Folk Rock bands like Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span would be pround of this album, but I fail to conjure up much enthusiasm over these acoustic arrangements. The songs are not only de-electrified but also de-Progified (but the songs chosen were not really progressive in the first place anyway). Roll Back is thus not at all the kind of album that people who come to this site will be looking for. Still, for fans and collectors of the band and of Folk Rock in general this album is a decent addition.

Primarily for fans and collectors

Putting Horslips' "roots rock" album back into perspective after ten years time.

When Horslips announced their reformation and issuing of a "new" album in 2004, it shocked and delighted many that were caught off guard. Unfortunately, the reworking's of past classic songs into near acoustic treatments was not so welcomed at the time, especially among fans of the Irish group's prog fans.

However, with two truely progressive concept albums under their belts (The Tain from 1972, and The Book Of Invasions from 1974), this album has been viewed in a very skewed light. The band was always a roots/folk band at heart and the reshaping of the songs found on Roll Back was not the group's version of jumping on the unplugged band wagon that was left over from the nineties, as was the case with the Strawbs and Fairport Convention, who also had financial interests in their acoustic touring line ups. It was simply cheaper to tour without a drummer and keyboard player's instruments.

Roll Back gave Horslips the ability to play these tracks in the original way that the songs were demoed or envisioned by their creators and the results are stunning. The newer versions of both The Man Who Built America (redone in waltz time!) and Flirting In The Shadows are now the definitive versions of these songs to me as is the wonderfully evergreen Faster Then The Hound. Guitarist Johnny Fean's voice has developed a wonderful deeper timbre which really nails all his vocals as well as the fact that fiddle/guitar/mandolin player Charles O' Conner's voice hasn't changed at all in thirty years and is still as expressive and mysterious as ever.

Bassist Barry Devlin's voice has not fared as well and has picked up a more gravelly tone that works well for the more world weary songs such as Furniture and Guests Of The Nation.

Musically, this is still a world class group and three songs are great solo guitar instrumentals incredibly performed by O'Conner on acoustic slide guitar (Huish The Cat and My Love Is In America) while Jonny Fean resurrects the old piper practice tune Ace And Deuce.

So, is the Roll Back album a Prog Folk essential? Perhaps not. Then is it a Folk Rock essential? Definitely. 4 stars and get your Irish up.