Favourite Irish albums of the CLUAS writers
Brian Farrelly's top 5 Irish albums of all time...
Act:
My
Bloody Valentine
Album: "Loveless" (1991)
How can genius be described? What is it that distinguishes a Picasso
from the work of a jobbing artist? Perhaps it is the fact that every time you
encounter one, you take something new from the texture, the subtle nuances, the
simplicity that masks the minute attention to detail. And so it is for
"Loveless", a shimmering, lush, sonic landscape that propelled MBV from the indy-by-numbers
throng to legendary status. This is the modern day equivalent of a symphony - an
album that must be considered as a unit and not dissected to its constituent
parts. It is an ethereal flow of grinding guitars and washed out, androgynous
vocals, epic in its ambitions. Kevin Shields pursuit of perfection almost broke
the band and bankrupted their record company, Creation. The recording is
shrouded in myth including tales of Shields waking exhausted singer Belinda
Butcher in the middle of the night to ensure her wraith-like vocals were as
inert as possible. It is little wonder that Shields output has been negligible
in the decade since it's release, how do you follow up such a tour de force?
Sounding as contemporary and fresh today as ever, Loveless is without question
the finest Irish album ever released. Currently on mid-price release, there
really is no excuse for having such a gaping hole in your collection. Kick back
with your anaesthetic of choice, and indulge.
Act:
Whipping
Boy
Album: "Heartworm" (1995)
Ah The Whipping Boy - the name alone conjures up memories of 'bring your
own beer' gigs in the Project Art Centre where the strobe light minimum was
three songs. The band's visceral and edgy performances were notorious around
Dublin but their early recordings were subdued with more than a nod to their
shoe-gazing contemporaries. Then came Heartworm, as close to a perfect studio
distillation of what a band are about live as is ever likely to be committed to
disc. Even through the melodic riffs and orchestral flourishes, there is a raw,
driving power underpinning every track. But the real beauty of this album is the
seamless marriage of the dark, brooding lyrics and the chilling mood of the
music. Indeed, the lyrics proved controversial, an issue that unfairly dogged
the band - but hey, life ain't pretty, you heard it here first folks. If Charles
Bukowski or Hunter S. Thompson had lived in Dublin, this album would have been
the soundtrack to their lives.
Act:
Fatima
Mansions
Album: "Viva Dead Ponies" (1991)
Cathal Coughlan has always been something of an enigma. From his
pop-tinged beginnings with Microdisney, he formed Fatima Mansions and mutated
into a very angry man. In essence, "Viva Dead Ponies" is an unrelenting stream
of vitriolic consciousness, bleak in its political, social and religious
invective. The music is equally uncompromising, running a whole gamut of styles
from the strangely soulful "You're a Rose" to the downright industrial "Blues
for Ceausescu". And yet for all of this, there are hidden pop gems and flashes
of caustic humour such as the classic "Only losers take the bus". How refreshing
it was to have someone putting the boot into the twee view of Ireland peddled by
The Hot House Flowers and The Waterboys at the time. Irreverent and cynical,
"Viva Dead Ponies" makes the top five for the sheer ballsy courage of Coughlan's
convictions.
Act:
The
Blades
Album: "Last Man In Europe" (1985)
At a time when U2 were going stadium 'rawk', The Blades released "Last
Man in Europe", a complete antidote to all things fist-clenchingly Bruce
Springsteen. The Blades wore their working class credentials on their sleeves,
the songs a social commentary on the Ireland of the time which was a decidedly
grim place, a whole generation either on their way overseas or saving their
social to do just that. Yet the real charm of this album is the stark contrast
between the lyrical content and the unashamedly infectious music - seeped in
roots and ska rythms, laced with brass from early Stax/Motown, "Downnarket" and
the title track are two of the finest Irish singles ever. Not that the album is
without flaws, there is some awful synth work and plodding production but the
quality of the songs shine through. Tragically, the band drowned in a sea of
record company indifference, with disaffected songwriter Paul Cleary walking
away from music for the guts of a decade. What might have been...
Act:
The
Pogues
Album: "If I should Fall from the Grace of God" (1988)
Here is the strange thing about The Pogues. A whole generation of people through
the seventies and eighties grew up rejecting the music of their parents, taking
their lead from England and glued to Top of the Pops (it was cool then) when an
Irish act managed to break through. It made you proud to see The Rats or Phil
Lynott beamed into your sitting room on a Thursday night - this was our
yardstick of success. Meanwhile, across England a very different view of Irish
music existed. In the smokey Irish bars, they celebrated with raucous balladry
and singsongs, the (inexplicable) sale of cockles and mussels, drunken excess
and the longing for the auld sod. These were places where time stopped in the
fifties with the first wave of immigrants, sustaining a culture that had long
since expired in their home country. It was from this mire The Pogues emerged, a
pissed up, political fusion of traditional music and punk, centred on the poetic
song writing of Shane McGowan. Their success came as a kick up the backside to
most of us. It was a sudden realisation that we had largely ignored our rich
musical heritage and that in the right hands, it was cool as f$*k. The choice of
album matters little (although "If I should Fall.." is their finest hour), The
Pogues changed the face of Irish music, reawakened our interest in trad, and for
that, they should be saluted.
- Check out the final Top 50 Irish Albums of All Time as voted by CLUAS.com readers
- Discuss this selection of best Irish albums of all time on the CLUAS Discussion Board.
- Check out the top 5 Irish albums of all time chosen by these other CLUAS writers:
Allen Conlan
Anthony Morrissey
Brano
Brian Farrelly
Brian Kelly
Celine O'Malley
Chris Ford
Ciaran Wrenn
Cormac Looney
Donal Griffin
Dromed
Gav Reilly
Hugh Tynan
Jimmy Murphy
Jules Jackson
Ollie O'Leary
Stephen McNulty
