The Big Music: A Retrospective of The Waterboys
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One of my favourite albums of the 1980s was This is the Sea, the 1985 note perfect release by The Waterboys which I spun on my bedroom record player more times than I could count. During a period in which the guitar and rock reasserted itself after several years of ascendent synthesizers and beats, the sound of The Waterboys found the perfect balance between the melodic, progressive sounds of new wave and the blues, Celtic, and rock structures that formed the band’s base architecture.
The Playlist
December
It Should Have Been You
Church Not Made with Hands
The Big Music
Don’t Bang the Drum
The Whole of the Moon
This is the Sea
Fisherman’s Blues
We Will Not Be Lovers
Islandman
Glastonbury Song
Love and Death
The Charlatan’s Lament
Is She Conscious?
Seek the Light
Strange Arrangement
The Man with the Wind at His Heels
Song of Wandering Aengus
Politics
The Girl Who Slept for Scotland
Nearest Thing to Hip
If the Answer Is Yeah
The Connemara Fox
Man, What A Woman
Out of All This Blue
Ladbroke Grove Symphony
Why Should I Love You?
My Wanderings in the Weary Land
I tracked the band for a few more years, buying their wonderful follow-up, Fisherman’s Blues, and later the CD, Dream Harder, but lost track of the band thereafter only to rediscover them over the past few years. I learned The Waterboys had soldiered on, for the most part, over the intervening twenty-five years, releasing many albums, touring, and essentially exploring variations on their groove to impressively consistent results. Why such a band – with remarkable talent, consistency, and creativity – hasn’t garnered greater appreciation and success than it has is a mystery to me. Let’s explore their rich musical history to understand why.
“December”; “It Should Have Been You” \ The Waterboys (1983)
The Waterboys have been, essentially, guitarist and vocalist, Mike Scott. He founded the band in 1983 in Edinburgh, Scotland, has been its only constant member, and has written, or co-written, all the music. Yet, having surrounded himself with richly talented, diverse, and numerous musicians over the years, the idea of The Waterboys as a band sustains – most evidently through the full instrumentation of the music. Their discography does not have the markings of a singer-songwriter or the creative meanderings of a personality-driven act such as Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen and their bands, but more as a project to deliver an ever-evolving exploration of the cultural strains of Ireland and the UK mixed with the bedrock blues and R&B styles of rock music. It’s unlikely that was the intent when things started out.
Mike Scott was a musician and student of philosophy and English literature at the University of Edinburgh when, like so many in the profiles here at Ceremony, he caught the bug for punk music in 1977, shifting his interests from the rock sounds of the ‘60s and early ‘70s. In addition to running a fanzine, he’d played in bands throughout his school years and continued post-studies, moving through bands such as Karma, The Bootlegs, and Another Pretty Face, the last of which released a single through Virgin and started gaining some attention. Moving to London, the band was renamed Funhouse (after The Stooges album) but Mike was growing less interested in continuing with the aggressive and limiting strictures of punk, shifting his interests towards more nuanced sounds as the post-punk world blossomed.
From 1980 to 1982 he worked with British singer-songwriter, Nikki Sudden (Adrian Godfrey), of the band, Swell Maps and started making solo recordings. Funhouse had signed with Ensign Records, which on hearing Scott’s separate, non-punk material encouraged him to go solo. He formed a band to play his new music live. Called The Red and the Black, the line-up was formed with two Brits, Anthony (Anto) Thistlethwaite (sax) – and lifted from Nikki Sudden’s band – and Kevin Wilkinson (drums). Scott also spent some time in New York recording with guitarist, Lenny Kaye, of the Patti Smith Group, which ultimately didn’t produce satisfactory results and weren’t used in Scott’s growing list of recordings.
As the recording progressed and led to an album, Scott decided to rebrand as The Waterboys, a name taken from the 1973 Lou Reed song, “The Kids,” which had the lyrics, “And I am the Water Boy, the real game's not over here / But my heart is overflowin' anyway / I'm just a tired man, no words to say / But since she lost her daughter / It's her eyes that fill with water / And I am much happier this way.”
Mixing punk and rock influences in typical post-punk fashion, The Waterboys’ self-titled debut, released in July 1983, delivered the melodic, modern sounds of new wave absent the synths. It was an impressive record musically but gained the band little love from audiences or the music charts. Scott’s distinct, nasal-toned voice, ever-present from the start as a signature sound of The Waterboys, and penchant for expansive arrangements established the band’s sound. The album’s first track, the wonderful, “December,” clearly revealed the blueprint. The single, “A Girl Called Johnny” (a tribute to Patti Smith), established the band’s talent for bluesy pop tunes, rife with catchy sax and piano. The single managed to crack the top 100 in the UK singles chart. The band’s early sound was compared to U2, and the album included a song, “I Will Not Follow,” which was tempting to view as a response to U2’s landmark debut single from 1980, “I Will Follow,” though there has been no evidence to suggest as much.
I wouldn’t discover the band until their breakthrough a few years later and never had the chance to go back and explore the prior work. Now that I’ve had the opportunity, I regret not discovering this album originally and being able to enjoy it over the past thirty-five years. The Waterboys was an unheralded album and a hidden gem of the decade.
“Church Not Made with Hands”; “The Big Music” \ A Pagan Place (1984)
As The Waterboys promoted their debut LP they were joined by Welsh multi-instrumentalist, Karl Wallinger, on keyboards. Now a quartet, the touring band was also supplemented with trumpet player, Roddy Lorimer, a bass player, a second guitarist (John Caldwell, from Scott’s original band, Another Pretty Face), and Eddi Reader, a Scottish singer who performed with many acts and went on to be the frontwoman for the band, Fairground Attraction (and whose brother, Frank, later formed the band, The Trash Can Sinatras). Lorimer and Reader also contributed to the recording of the band’s second album, A Pagan Place, released in June of 1984.
Much of the material for the LP had been recorded by the original trio prior to the release of the debut LP, with additional tracks added by the quartet and finally all overdubbed by the expanded group in the studio. The sound was therefore consistent with the expansive sounds and mixes of new wave, blues, and rock established in the first LP. The Waterboys established themselves as a highly consistent, engaging act, as once again the album offered one strong track after another, start to finish. However, commercial success was yet to come, though the LP cracked the top forty in New Zealand and eked into the top 100 in the UK. None of the LP’s three singles reached the charts.
The first single was the song, “The Big Music,” which became the descriptor for the band’s early musical brand. It was a beautiful, bluesy track with piano, horns, a languid pace, and Mike Scott’s expressive vocals supported by Reader’s soulful, backing harmonies. The second single was the LP’s opening track, “Church Not Made with Hands,” which like the first LP, launched the album in dramatic, lively, and compelling fashion. The album was also anchored by a fantastic, lengthy, blues drenched tune, “Red Army Blues.” More energy and a pop feel came from the album’s second track and third single, “All the Things She Gave Me.” This has been another album I didn’t know until recently and have been thrilled to explore and make a regular in my personal playlists.
“Don’t Bang the Drum”; “The Whole of the Moon”; “This is the Sea” \ This Is the Sea (1985)
The band was returned to a trio in 1985 after drummer Kevin Wilkinson left to join China Crisis. After supporting tour gigs for the likes of Pretenders and U2, there was hope for The Waterboys’ profile and success to be raised with their third LP, This is the Sea, released in October. The likelihood of that result was boosted by the album not only being another thrillingly consistent album, but by raising the bar in quality and accessibility. The Waterboys were rewarded when the LP’s first single, “The Whole of the Moon” reached the top forty in the UK and top twenty in Australia and New Zealand. North American success was not yet in reach as the single didn’t chart in the US, though did get into the top 100 in Canada. The US was a market the band would never be able to fully crack into, though over the years the song and album have achieved greater awareness and popularity. Later albums would see some presence way down in the US charts, but never into the upper echelons.
Regardless, This is the Sea was one of the best albums of the decade, even if it only just cracked the top forty in the UK. The album had a multitude of thrills, from the slow opening build into the crashing brilliance of the opening track, “Don’t Bang the Drum,” to the big music vibe of “The Pan Within,” to the quieter and hypnotic vibes of “Spirit,” “Old England,” and “Trumpets,” to the full rock energy of “Medicine Bow.” The album closed with the elegant, expansive, acoustically driven journey of the title track.
“The Whole of the Moon” remains The Waterboys’ signature track, helped by its re-release as a single in 1991 (to support a Greatest Hits release) in which it reached the more appropriately and deserving top five position in the UK singles chart. The song’s catchy rhythm, built on drums and piano, smooth melody, and exultant feel with its trumpet calls and wonderful backing vocal from Australian singer, Max Edie, was undeniable and the full realization of the band’s project to that point.
“Fisherman’s Blues”; “We Will Not Be Lovers” \ Fisherman’s Blues (1988)
“Islandman” \ Room to Roam (1990)
If there is an album that competes with This is the Sea for the band’s most celebrated, cherished, and successful, it would be their next LP, 1988’s Fisherman’s Blues. After three LPs in three years, the band waited a few years to release the next, a time during which several significant changes took place.
The line-up went through a near wholesale re-ordering. Karl Wallinger left to form the band, World Party. Irish violinist, Steve Wickham, who had played on This is the Sea, came on board as a permanent member. Trevor Hutchinson, also from Ireland, came on as bassist and Peter McKinney settled in on drums to round out the quintet. Numerous musicians contributed to the recordings that occurred through 1986 and 1987, including Roddy Lorimer once again on horns.
The other major change for the band was relocating to Ireland in 1986 at the invitation of Steve Wickham. Mike Scott had spent time in Dublin and delved into the country’s rich musical heritage. The result was a shift in musical direction in which the violin came into prominence and folk became a new characteristic of the band’s sound. The new iteration of The Waterboys, as noted on a credit on their next LP, was nicknamed the ‘Raggle Taggle band.’
The first evidence of the change to a new musical direction came when the band performed the song, “Fisherman’s Blues,” on a TV show in 1986. The tune would be the next album’s first single, its title song, and opening track. Flowing along its melodious violin lines, swinging tempo, and infectious groove, it was undoubtedly a different take for The Waterboys but still another fantastic offering. The single reached the top forty in the UK chart, helping propel the LP to a top twenty achievement in the UK albums chart and even a #76 placing in the US chart, the only time the band would crack the top 100 stateside. The LP also had a song titled, “World Party,” which Karl Wallinger used as the inspiration for the name of his new band.
The album didn’t let up with its second track, the epic, “We Will Not Be Lovers,” which melded some of their big music vibe in with its new, Celtic flavour. The song had a breathless sweep of drums, guitar, vocals, and the persistent, staccato punctuations of Wickham’s violin.
Wickham, Scott, & Thistlethwaite
After the impressive and elevating offerings of the first two tracks, the rest of the LP settled into a more sombre, understated feel that explored the traditional Irish and Scottish music of the band’s members. “Strange Boat,” “Jimmy Hickey’s Waltz,” “And A Bang on the Ear,” “When Will We Be Married,” and “Has Anybody Here Seen Hank,” were songs that would not have fit on any prior Waterboys’ LP. Naturally, the new wave and rock fans of the band were dismayed and there was some backlash, but for the most part critics and fresh waves of fans buoyed the band to its commercial pinnacle. For 1988, the album was a unique offering that tapped into a broader desire for more organic, traditionally oriented music, but didn’t relate to any of the emerging trends in the UK or USA. As successful as Fisherman’s Blues was for The Waterboys, it didn’t make their journey any easier as they moved forward.
The Raggle Taggle band sustained as the band recorded their next LP. Yet another change on drums came with Peter McKinney being replaced by Noel Bridgeman. Colin Blakey was added on whistle, flute and piano, and Sharon Shannon on accordion, indicating the band’s sound was not going to move away from its folk leanings. The new line-up released The Waterboys’ fifth album, Room to Roam, in 1990.
After the first four albums opened with some of their most revered and epic songs, this album started with the quiet folk tune, “In Search of a Rose,” before giving way to the peppy, “Song from the End of the World.” These opening tracks made it quite difficult to relate the album to The Waterboys of the first three albums. If you were a fan of Irish music, it was right in your wheelhouse, but if you were looking for sophisticated, modern rock with a ‘big music’ twist, that brand of the band seemed retired.
Room to Roam was okay, but not great – again, unless you relished the new sound – which apparently, many did. The album reached #5 in the UK album chart but only barely made it into the top 200 in the US. The first single, “How Long Will I Love You?,” only charted in Ireland.
Just after the album released, the Raggle Taggle band started unto unravel. Mike Scott and Tony Thistlethwaite seemed ready to move on from the folk leanings of the past two LPs and lean back into their prior, rock sound. Steve Wickham, whose violin was the core of their new sound, was less than thrilled with this plan and chose to leave the band. Not surprisingly, the other contributors of the Irish folk sound, Blakey and Shannon, followed suit.
“Glastonbury Song”; “Love and Death” \ Dream Harder (1993)
1991 saw The Waterboys release a Greatest Hits package highlighted by the re-release and success of “The Whole of the Moon.” However, the dissolution of the band continued with Trevor Hutchinson departing, Mike Scott moving to New York, and at the end of the year, the only other original member, Anto Thistlethwaite, also leaving. If The Waterboys were to continue, it was now down to its leader, creative soul, and only remaining member, Mike Scott.
Scott recorded the next album in the US with session musicians, retaining The Waterboys name. The result was the album Dream Harder, released in May 1993. Guitars were back, up-tempo songs were back, and if not the expansive, big music feel of the early albums, at least a more direct, accessible brand of rock was the order of the day. Some elements of the Irish and Scottish folk still appeared but now were accents rather than the main thrust of the album. For those that loved those early LPs, it was a welcome return, though the magic of the earlier music wasn’t quite there. The modern rock edge was gone, replaced with a more generic, pop-rock format – though the closing track, “The Return of Jimi Hendrix,” had an interesting blend of the band’s early ‘80s new wave vibe mixed with the rock sound. The high consistency of Mike Scott and The Waterboys wasn’t as reliable as it once was.
If the album wasn’t a knockout, it didn’t mean there weren’t many good tracks to sink your teeth into. “Glastonbury Song” was the LP’s second single and carried an upbeat, catchy rhythm throughout. “Love and Death” was a lovely, down tempo song with hooks and drama.
Dream Harder returned The Waterboys to the UK’s top five in the album chart and its two singles both cracked the top forty. Success remained elusive in the US, with the album just barely surpassing Room to Roam’s low placement in the US top 200. For me, this was the last album I picked up and I lost track of them, which I now realize came about from the band’s imminent hiatus. As Scott’s attempts to assemble a satisfactory touring band appeared futile, he made the decision it was time to set aside The Waterboys. He decided it made more sense to release music going forward under his own name, which he did with LPs in 1995 and 1997.
“The Charlatan’s Lament”; “Is She Conscious?” \ A Rock in the Weary Land (2000)
After poor sales of his solo albums and being dropped by his label, Mike Scott recorded his next LP over 1999 with a long list of guest musicians and now without the support of a recording label. Once completed, the album was shopped around, and appreciating the value of The Waterboys name, Scott signed with BMG and issued the album under his old band’s name.
A Rock in the Weary Land, officially The Waterboys’ seventh album, was released in 2000. It was a remarkable album, refreshingly experimental and rocking with an abandon no prior Waterboys album had exhibited. It employed effects and distortion and featured long jams and grooving, guitar-driven passages. “The Crown,” the album’s closing track, exploded after a three-and-a-half-minute, slow, shimmering intro into a rollicking extended jam.
The album’s second and third tracks, “The Charlatan’s Lament” and “Is She Conscious,” neatly encapsulated how Scott was blending the old Waterboys’ spirit with the new. At turns edgy, rocking, and big, to quiet and tense at moments and then dramatic and jubilant at others, songs like these should have re-invigorated interest from The Waterboys’ fan base as well as finding new ones in a period in which edgy rock was building a niche place in the modern music universe. But, as is usually the case with a veteran act, it wasn’t to be. The LP just failed to crack the top forty in the UK and didn’t chart in the US. Neither of its two singles charted anywhere.
“Seek the Light” \ Universal Hall (2003)
“Strange Arrangement”; “The Man with the Wind at His Heels” \ Book of Lightning (2007)
The list of musicians who’d participated in The Waterboys albums was growing impressively long. However, among those who contributed to the recording of A Rock in the Weary Land were some of its original, core members. Anto Thistlethwaite and Kevin Wilkinson had played on the album, and not long after its release, Steve Wickham returned to the fold as part of the touring band before also re-joining as a permanent member. When Richard Naiff joined full-time on keyboards, The Waterboys were returned to a proper band.
The return of Wickham saw the band, unsurprisingly, returning to its folk-rock sound for the next LP, 2003’s Universal Hall. The album brought more of Scott’s highly listenable blends of pop, rock, and folk, with an Irish lilt thanks to the violin flavourings. There were no big music tunes this time around, as the album mostly featured down tempo tracks. There were some peppier, pop-oriented tunes such as the first track, “This Light is for The World,” while “Silent Fellowship” brought a catchy beat into the song’s mellow mood. “Seek the Light” was the song on the album that stood out the most, linking more to the prior album’s caustic, experimental feel, and riding along an electro-rock beat that starkly set it apart from the rest of the LP. Universal Hall charted in the UK but not highly, and its only single, “This Light is for The World,” didn’t land a spot on the singles chart.
The trio held together for the next album, Book of Lightning, which returned to a more rocking delivery. As he had over so many albums in the past, Roddy Lorimer contributed horns. Though he didn’t play on the LP, the last two tracks were co-credited to Anto Thistlethwaite. Though Waterboys’ albums weren’t providing the same level of thrills nor were as consistent from start to finish as they’d delivered in the ‘80s, the album still produced an enjoying and engaging listening experience. Mike Scott’s penchant for catchy turns and his always distinctive vocals continued to give The Waterboys’ music a consistently appealing charisma.
Book of Lightning was an LP that saw the band’s varied musical styles start to blend, and rather than an entire album exploring one style over another, the styles could change from song to song or even be combined within songs. “Strange Arrangement” was an example, in which the ballad featured Scott’s speaking style of vocal carried by Wickham’s Celtic strains laid over a blues-rock arrangement with piano. “The Man with The Wind at His Heels” was another ballad but this time on acoustic guitar, light electric, more violin, and a sung vocal. Yet, the album’s opening track, “The Crash of Angel Wings,” was a blues-rock tune with a pop sensibility, invigorated by Lorimer’s trumpet.
Again, the LP charted but didn’t reach the top forty in the UK and the singles didn’t make a mark. Now into the music streaming era, The Waterboys were but one of many veteran acts plying their trade to consistent but lower levels of support as the music world continued its stratification into niches.
“Song of The Wandering Aengus”; “Politics” \ An Appointment with Mr. Yeats (2011)
Recall that Mike Scott had been an English Lit major in university. He had a love of poetry, particularly that of William Butler Yeats. Several albums had put music to the Irishman’s poems (though he was raised and worked mostly in England), starting with the song, “The Stolen Child,” from Fisherman’s Blues. The Waterboys’ tenth album would venture wholly down this path, setting fourteen of Yeats’ poems to music. It also saw the departure of Richard Naiff, leaving Scott and Wickham as the only consistent members of the band.
The result was a lovely LP, with several elegant songs orchestrated around its beautiful lyrics. “Song of The Wandering Aengus” was the album’s second track and was a lovely ballad set on a simple arrangement carried by an organ. The lyrics could be paired with more dramatic shifts in the music, such as on, “News for The Delphic Oracle,” while, “A Full Moon in March” featured edgier electric guitar and more organ, this time giving the song a ‘70s classic rock feel. “Politics” included vocals from Irish alt-folk singer, Katie Kim (Sullivan), and had a great, mid-tempo pop delivery mixing a catchy beat with piano and horn accents. The album was a wonderful listen start to finish, more journey-like and varied musically than former LPs and that continued the approach started with the prior LP. The band was rewarded with their first top forty chart placing in the UK since the LP, Dream Harder, eighteen years prior.
“The Girl Who Slept for Scotland”; “Nearest Thing to Hip” \ Modern Blues (2015)
A positive aspect common with veteran artists, especially those who had success early in their career and have a loyal following, is greater freedom of exploration with their art. And while Mike Scott didn’t stray too far from the Celtic and rock foundations of The Waterboys’ music, he also clearly felt emboldened to continue pushing the band’s music into the deep veins of those fundamentals and, thanks to his excellent song-writing skills, to consistently solid and rewarding results. His later career has reminded me of another stellar veteran of his generation, Paul Weller.
As its title suggested, the next album saw The Waterboys rocking through blues-based tracks. Modern Blues was an incredibly appealing listen throughout. Scott’s musical freedom was enabled by having released the prior three albums via indie labels, and this was the same, issued on their own indie label, Harlequin and Crown, taken from the lyric of the album’s second track and first single, “November Tale.” The album was also recorded in Nashville, drawing on the locale’s tradition to support the album’s musical direction.
Modern Blues featured more lively drumming, a trend that would increase over the coming LPs. Beats had never been a defining feature of The Waterboys but going forward would be a more prominent element. Pop hooks, deep blues riffs, and all-out rockers saw the band playing some of its most accessible music of its career. The album was critically lauded and Modern Blues returned the band to the upper reaches of the UK album chart with a #14 placing. The days of seeing any singles reach charts, in the vague new world of streaming, was no longer a feature of The Waterboys’ career.
While “November Tale” and “Beautiful Now” were the LP’s singles, there were an abundance of other great songs to settle into. “The Girl Who Slept for Scotland” was yet another example of the band’s easy grace, mixing rich melodies and deep rhythms into a flowing, beautiful result. “Nearest Thing to Hip” was a song that caught my attention when I saw The Waterboys in Toronto in 2019, checking that box after never having caught them before. The tune had a playful quality mixed with the band’s rich texture, with organ, horns, and backing female vocals. The song had a live feel to it.
Modern Blues continued a gradual return of The Waterboys to greater attention and appreciation. “The Whole of the Moon” had a stronger legacy as a classic of the ‘80s that far exceeded the level of success it achieved when it debuted. The band was issuing some of the most consistent, enervating, and rocking music since their first three albums.
“If the Answer Is Yeah”; “The Connemara Fox”; “Man, What A Woman” \ Out of All This Blue (2017)
The resurgence of The Waterboys spurred increased activity and releases, as the band started touring more to larger and more receptive audiences. In 2017, they released their most ambitious offering yet, the double album, Out of All This Blue, which delivered twenty-three songs across almost one hundred minutes of run-time. The album also achieved their third UK top ten album and first since Dream Harder in 1993.
Leaning more into the pop, blues, and R&B styles, the album rolled through one catchy tune after another. Employing infectious, at time danceable beats, songs like, “If I Was Your Boyfriend,” sounded like something that could compete in the modern pop charts. Similarly, “If the Answer Is Yeah” laid pop melodies over a toe-tapping beat, begging a double-take to ensure this was a Waterboys’ album. “New York I Love You” extended this approach into an extended jam, letting the listener wade deeper into this new formula. “The Connemara Fox” kept the beats but mixed it with a growly, bluesy guitar riff with violin accents. Slow, emotional ballads could be found in tunes like, “The Girl in the Window Chair,” and “Man, What A Women.” “Nashville, Tennessee” was exactly what you’d expect, a Midwest, country-rock, blues laden track with an infectious groove. “Payo Payo Chin” channeled Leonard Cohen into a pulsating, moody pop tune.
The album saw the band return to the label, BMG, and clearly showed Mike Scott, Steve Wickham, and their host of guests having a ball in the studio, using technology and modern sounds to continue the evolution of The Waterboys project. It was a remarkable and admirable album for a band now on its twelfth LP release in its thirty-fourth year.
“Out of All This Blue”; “Ladbroke Grove Symphony” \ Where the Action Is (2019)
“Why Should I Love You?”; “My Wanderings in the Weary Land” \ Good Luck, Seeker (2020)
Over the past four years The Waterboys have continued to tour (until the pandemic paused that) and have released two more LPs, 2019’s Where the Action Is and 2020’s Good Luck, Seeker. This is a level of output not seen from the band since their first three LPs in the early ‘80s. In 2019, I saw the band in a packed house of about 1,400 people in Toronto and they put on a fantastic show, offering up tracks from throughout their career, venturing off into epic, transcendent jams, and drawing on their influences through covers such as The Stone’s, “Dead Flowers,” and capping off their encore with a stirring rendition of Prince’s, “Purple Rain.”
The two albums continued to develop the band’s contemporary sound, varying between out-and-out rockers to sultry blues ballads, to electro-rock pop hooks and, occasionally, the Celtic-flavoured folk of their Scottish-Irish heritage. This playlist offers but a few examples of the excellent range of tunes available on these LPs. “Out of All this Blue,” likely the omitted title track from the prior LP, was a sublime blues track riding on a groovy beat. “Ladbroke Grove Symphony” picked up the pace and again gave me a Leonard Cohen vibe, as Scott offered subdued vocals over a propulsive beat and nuanced musicianship. “Why Should I Love You” was an unabashed, pop-rock tune with soulful backing vocals and a joyful mood. Finally, “My Wanderings in the Weary Land” seems like a good place to close the playlist (for now, for surely there is more to come) with its driving jam and rocked-out crescendo, with of course, a violin solo in place of where a guitar would normally reside (though there’s some of that too).
The Waterboys have been on quite the journey. As much as it has been the vehicle for the creative output of Mike Scott, the lengthy and considerable contributions of Anto Thistlethwaite and Steve Wickham along the way has held the idea of The Waterboys being a proper band. And while dozens of musicians have counted themselves in – both in the studio and on stage – it has been these few that have anchored the project throughout. Few acts are out there with the remarkable pedigree, longevity, and consistency of The Waterboys.
Whether a fan of their early, modern rock sound, their Celtic folk offerings, or their more recent contemporary take on blues and pop, aside from the constant of Mike Scott’s easily identified, accented, nasally vocal, The Waterboys have had a variety of options from which fans could take hold. They’ve been exactly the type of band that should be admired, respected, and celebrated, and I hope their resurgent success continues and we get to hear more of their splendid music.
