It’s a big year in Mahoneland. The Mahones have just released “Paint The Town Red” a collection of greatest hits, and a live album “Live At The Horseshoe” What more do you need to know? If you don’t have these recordings, you damn well should! In my opinion, The Mahones are one of the top bands in my entire CD collection. If you’re familiar with The Mahones, I’m sure they are one of the top bands in your collection as well.

I’ll admit, I have not seen them live. Trust me, I can’t wait until they head this way again, beacause I will be the first one there! Since I haven’t seen them live, the next best thing for me to do is hear a recording of them live. That’s what I have in front of me right now. The Mahones “Live At The Horseshoe”. It was recorded on September 15th, & 16th, 2000, in the mighty town of Toronto, Canada. It’s a good mix of early stuff from 1994’s “Draggin’ The Days”, 1996’s “Rise Again”, and from 2001’s underrated album, “Here Comes Lucky”. I think only one song from the “Hellfire Club Sessions” is on it, but I could be wrong. The music is tight, the lyrics are right on, and the recording itself is clear as a bell. Nice one!

Track listing:
1. Paint The Town Red
2. Rise Again
3. Drunken Night In Dublin
4. Rose & Crown
5. Shake Hands With The Devil
6. Across The USA
7. Going Back To Dublin
8. Whiskey Devils
9. 100 Bucks
10. Drunken Lazy Bastards
11. Is This Bar Open

May 2003

Review By Brian Gillespie