THE BOOK OF INVASIONS - A CELTIC SYMPHONY

Go back to the late 60s in Ireland, and 3 styles ruled. One was the showbands, another traditional and dull folk, the other the Irish folk crooners singing songs like My darling Killarney mammy. Or something equally ****. Then, in 1970, an advertising agency in Dublin was commissioned to shoot an advert for Harp lager, which was to be a party with a band called The Gentle People playing to lots of young people drinking Harp. Some of the members played instruments, so they decided to form the band themselves, miming. From this, Horslips was born. After some singles, a lot of gigging, a controversy when they were banned from playing by the Catholic Church, they released their debut album, Happy to Meet, Sorry to Part. This was, at the time the fastest selling album in Irish history, mixing traditional Irish music with progressive rock. It was like lobbing a hand grenade into the quiet Irish music scene and founded Celtic rock. Roll on to 1976, and after another four albums, including the utterly brilliant The Tain, Horslips were trying to recover from the utter flop that The Unfortunate Cup of Tea had been. They wisely decided to revisit the concept format that had made The Tain so brilliant, and to reach back into the mythology of Ireland to recount the Lebor Gabala Erenn, which tells the story of Ireland from the Creation to the Middle Ages. The complex story is split into three parts: Geantrai (when Giants walked the Earth), Goltrai (the pursuit of Diarmaid and Grainne, and Suantrai (the living end). It's marvellous stuff: a blend of Celtic rock and prog which is often catchy and memorable and always brilliantly composed, played and sung. There are no weak tracks: it moves from one superb track seamlessly into the next. Many (Trouble with a Capital T, The Power and the Glory, Sword of Light and the Warm Sweet Breath of Love) were live staples and influenced a young David Evans, better known as The Edge, and Paul Hewson, better known as Bono. But my personal favourite is the closer, Ride to Hell, with its gentle folky intro, which morphs into a chunky riff and a fine organ solo with excellent guitar and violin before returning to a quiet folky end. But I could eulogise about all the tracks, because there isn't a weak moment. In summary, this rivals The Tain as Horslips' crowning glory and is a true masterwork, well worthy of 5 stars. It's shame it's not more widely known beyond the shores of Ireland, where Horslips are still revered to this day.