In this case, it's important to read the liner notes.

My first impression of Live at McGinn's, a recording made in 1985 and released in 2007 by a band called the Spalpeens, was curiosity. Why, I wondered, did they release this old recording, which sounds tinny and distant, and cannot be a good representation of the band's true sound.

Well, band member Patrick McGuire explains inside the liner. The amateur recording was made by a fan at the show in question, and the music was preserved on cassette by one of the band's members as a keepsake.

Since then, the band's primary singers in 1985, Bill Davis and Jerry Meyers, passed away, and the current version of the band -- which by that time included Davis's son, Greg, on bass -- decided to clean it up and release it as the only recording of the two men in their prime. In fact, they weren't even selling the disc, but giving it away for free as a memento to their fans.

The later lineup of the Spalpeens -- according to facebook.com/TheSpalpeens/ -- stopped performing several years later, but this stands as a nice tribute to their past incarnation. The band here is Davis on vocals, harmonica and bodhran, and Meyers on vocals and guitar, plus Rocky Davis on vocals, banjo, mandolin and guitar, Patrick McGuire on vocals, 12-string guitar and banjo, Marti Taylor on flute and concertina, and Art Levi on bass.

The 22 tracks are pretty standard stuff for an Irish pub band: "Big Strong Man," "Black Velvet Band," "Boys of the Old Brigade," "Finnegan's Wake," "Leaving of Liverpool" and the like. The quality of the recording is, as I said, rough. But you know what? I appreciate the spirit behind its release and will gladly hoist a glass for Davis and Meyers. I can tell from this recording, rough though it be, they were a hoot to see on stage.