THE TÁIN

Wow! This album is great! At the time when I found this, I had not found any new (to me) great music in quite a while. Surprisingly, I got two excellent albums in my mailbox on the same day, this one and Carmen's Fandangos In Space. Both brilliant albums!

This is true Prog Folk with strong emphasis on both the prog and the folk, and it rocks too! Many compare this to Jethro Tull, and I have to agree that if you like Jethro Tull the chances you will like this as well are large. But, this is not a Jethro Tull clone by any means, this is totally unique. Jethro Tull were never as folky as this and, of course, never as Irish as this! But Horslips are folky without sacrificing the rock, as so many other Prog Folk bands (like Trees and Pentangle that I find too lightweight for my tastes).

This album consists of a complete piece of music, flowing perfectly from beginning till end and visiting many different places along the way. Very coherent and constantly interesting.

The instruments include flute, fiddle, mandolin, electric guitar and more. All the instruments are all well played. The vocals are good too, but I would say that they are the weakest point of the album. Sometimes the singer just doesn't feel entirely convincing somehow.

Excellent addition to any prog music collection. I can't wait to hear more from this band!