I first met Cris Rea's music on a cold December night in 1984. It was a concert at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, England. Chris Rea was the support act, and Eric Clapton was the main. I don't think that Chris Rea's performance that night was enough to upset the odds (Clapton still remains in a class of his own), but may years on, I still think that this was the best concert I ever went to.

Chris Rea only played five songs. Only one of them appears on this album - the excellent 'Stainsby Girls'. But having heard the concert, I bought this album as soon as it was released, and was not dissapointed at all. In vinyl terms, side one is stronger than side two, but there really isn't a bad track here. I would describe this as a rather melancholy album - lyrically Chris spends a lot of time lamenting the past, but the album is musically excellent. Many years on, I still regard the opening track, 'Steel River' as one of my all time favourite pieces of music. This track has it all - great lyrics, slide guitar, and a wondreful jazzy horn section. Chris Rea's love song about a way of life now gone forever remains a classic.

Why should I spend my time reviewing a rather obscure album from an artist whose later work was more commercially successful? Simple. This album is a classic. Buy it.

An absolute gem of an album. I was fortunate to be at the Shamrock Diaries concert at Newcastle City Hall many moons ago and was treated to these songs and many others. One of the most underrated artists ever.

This was Rea's release that broke him to a wider audience. What is significant is that after 1990, on all Best Of collection albums - the great iconic tracks like Stainsby Girls were all re recorded - and this album has the original and to my mind superior, more spare and sensitive ORIGINAL cuts. Get it and compare - you will not be disappointed.

I don't hate it. I haven't received it yet! I will do some detective work and find out where it is.