THE BELFAST GIGS

Recorded when Horslips had become a full fledged hard rock band with Celtic embellishments, "Belfast Gigs" pounds the listener and presumably the audience into submission by the halfway point, such that by the time the presumed encore "Dearg Doom" arrives damaged and beyond repair, I'm pretty much dreading stretched out versions and 45 second endings. While I can accept the mainstream rock pretensions inherent in the superb "The Man Who Built America", I have a lot more trouble with Irish boogie in the form of the dreary "Shakin' all Over". "Belfast Gigs" serves neither as an entry point to the band nor as a document of the definitive version of even a single cut the way "Once in a Lifetime" worked for Runrig in the late 80s. For committed fans and collectors only.