Various Artists
'Greatest Irish Bands'
On Hip-O/UTV Records
Grade: B+Greatest Irish Bands brings together many different Irish rock stars on to one CD. Due out today, this album was entertaining and kept my interest. All different types of songs appear on this album including well known titles like U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name," "Breathless" by The Coors, "Linger" by the Cranberries and Van Morrison's old classic "Brown Eyed Girl." Overall, Greatest Irish Bands mixes in songs that we all know and love with lesser known songs by Irish artists for an enjoyable compilation.

The first thing apparent about the album, however, was the way it was packaged. It was in a thin case with a piece of paper in the front cover saying what each song was. Inside was a CD-R and handwritten on it was "Greatest Irish Bands." The album looks like a mix tape burned on a home computer. Hopefully this is only the version being sent to the press, because this album won't sell without better packaging.

The album begins with U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" off of their first number one album, Joshua Tree. This is a song that most people are very familiar with, which is a good way to start of a compilation CD. It grabs the attention of the average music listener.
The songs continue with Thin Lizzy's "Whiskey in a Jar." Thin Lizzy is better known for their song "The Boys are Back in Town," in America, but "Whiskey in a Jar" reached the Top 10 in the UK. This song is a good example of Irish taste since "Whiskey in a Jar" is a rock version of a pub song.

The next song is Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U." This song is much mellower than the previous two songs, and O'Connor's anti-Papal high jinks also come to mind. However, it is a sweet ballad that should probably just be switched with the next song which is Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays." This song picks up the pace again to something more upbeat. The song is also more well known in America, and everyone can relate to the theme of dreading Mondays.
The following song goes back to the mellower feel with Clannad's "In a Lifetime" which also features Bono from U2. Since this song begins a mellower section of the compilation, it would make more sense for O'Connor to be featured near it.

While the next song, "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues, a popular punk band in the UK and featuring Kristy MacColl, starts off very slow and smooth, it soon picks up again to become more upbeat. However, the song is about Christmas in New York, which seems a little out of place on an album that is pushing for Saint Patrick's Day sales.
Next is Still Little Fingers' "Alternative Ulster." Still Little Fingers is also a popular Irish punk band. While sounding relatively stereotypically punk-like, it was still a solid song. "Alternative Ulster" is followed by Rory Gallagher's "Tattoo'd Lady." This 1973 song has all the guitar riffs and flow of a classic rock song. At this point in the album, it becomes apparent that the types of songs vary significantly, and there isn't any real clear organization.

This lack of thematic coherence is again apparent with the next two songs: "Linger" by the Cranberries and "Breathless" by The Coors. Each song is very popular in America, and they both have a softer sound which is very different from punk. However, the next two songs "Don't Go" by the Hothouse Flowers and "Teenage Kicks" by The Undertones go right back into the punk feel. The Undertones even opened for The Clash on their American tour.

The album finishes out with the classic rock song "Brown Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison. The switching of song type makes it so better known songs are thrown in around the others. In this sense, listeners can remain interested and more engaged. It might, perhaps, have been a good idea to organize the album more by genre with a transitional song in between, but the more varied scheme does work fairly well.

Overall, the songs on the album are all enjoyable and the wide range of music will attract many different types of music fans. It's a good sampling of great Irish music from different times and places which includes both what Americans have liked in the past, and also what was and remains popular on the Emerald Isle itself. Greatest Irish Bands is certainly worth a listen.