Tom Dunne's 30 Best Irish Hits Vol. 2

Shrewdly acknowledging the seniority of quantity, Tom Dunne has chosen to cram 7 ‘bonus tracks’ into Vol. 2 of his musical lucky dip, giving the uneven 2-CD collection an actual song count of 37.

Objectively, the songs can be split into three categories: first, the heavyweights who featured on Vol. 1 returning for a lap of honour. Second, worthy ascendants left off the first collection for logistical reasons. Third, chart pan-flashes of wildly varying quality which are an exhibit in the case against the sheltered Irish music scene (for cynics) and the warp and weft of life’s rich tapestry (for optimists).

Dunne’s choices – and those of his listeners, since his radio poll informed the track listing – in the first category are sometimes dubious, and give Vol. 2 a kind of reverse ‘B-sides & Rarities’ feel. Van Morrison’s four-decade career is hardly represented by ‘Days Like This’ and ‘Gloria’ (from the first volume). The Divine Comedy did a lot more than ‘National Express’ and ‘Something For The Weekend’.

There is much more of interest under the second and third rubrics. The inclusion of the Cranberries’ debut ‘Linger’ reminds us how promising they were and Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘Mandinka’ was and is a superb pop song, showcasing her writing ability as well as her exquisite voice.

There’s nostalgia aplenty too. Thin Lizzy, The Blades, Cactus World News and Paul Brady are all well represented, and the Boomtown Rats’ brilliant ‘Rat Trap’ is a highlight. The Waterboys’ ‘Fisherman’s Blues’, previously omitted due to Mike Scott’s not-actually-Irishness, has been rightly included here.

This reviewer’s problem is with the ‘Hits’ part of the title. It means that all the songs are necessarily singles, and therefore not necessarily the work of bands at their musical best. 30 BIH Vol. 2 is, as a result, a superficial skim over Irish music rather than a deep core sample.