ALBUM: Live for Ireland (Recorded 1986)
MVC Rating: 3.0/$$$
It was the Irish version of Live Aid, with U2 kicking it all off with an anguished soul-killing version of Bob Dylan’s ‘Maggie’s Farm.’ I still can’t tell if that’s good or bad. Probably had to be there.
A general statement first. I don’t particularly care for most live records. ‘Most’ I say.” I like Cheap Trick’ and Dylan’s separate live albums from Budokon.
The Rolling Stones ‘Get your Ya Ya’s Out’ is old school rock concert stuff. I’ve heard cuts off Nirvana Unplugged that are surprisingly good live acoustic versions.
But it’s likely it was all probably better live, seeing about a dozen or two dozen Irish acts during a 14-hour marathon.
Some of the acts included: Tua Nua, U2, Chris Rea, Clannad, Van Morrison, The Boomtown Rats, Chris De Burgh, and a new version of Thin Lizzy which months earlier lost their frontman Phil Lynott due to a fatal drug overdose.
De Burgh’s expansive organ and guitar laden, ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman,’ was a chartmaker in the US. DeBurgh’s MOR/classic rock style served them well in the oudoor venue
Christy Moore did a nice Irish song called Back in Derry which seemed to resonate.
The Irish concert’s goal was to help unemployment, which was a major national problem.
Thin Lizzy without Phil Lynott, lineup used in Self-Aid concert.
According to its Wikipedia page: The telethon raised millions of pounds for a job creation trust fund as well as over 1,000 job pledges.[The song chosen for the finale was “Let’s Make it Work”, written by Christy Moore and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran. Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzywith Gary Moore on lead vocals.[