Julian Howard - 10/13/2011

When most people are asked if they've heard of The Waterboys they will pause for a moment and then say "oh yes, they did the Whole of the Moon in the 80s". But if people's memories stop there, no one told Mike Scott. Never one to wallow creatively, he went on from the Big Music of that early era to Irish-inspired folk, then rock, before a solo career and back to rock and folk again. Scott's love of poetry harks back to his university days and his albums have frequently paid homage to the greats. Glimpses of Yeats have appeared in 1988's masterful Fisherman's Blues as well as 1993's spiritual but rockier Dream Harder.

Several albums on and with nothing left to prove, Scott has turned his enormous singer-songwriter talent to what many might see as a hubristic attempt at marrying the mystical poetry of Irish poet WB Yeats to the 'Waterboys sound'. I'll admit I was apprehensive at what this was going to sound like but thankfully he has pulled it off, and brilliantly at that. His basic approach has been to blend the folky style of 1988's Fisherman's Blues with the later rock sound of his 1990s work and then apply the mix sensitively to Yeats' words. Sonically this is far more natural than the Celtic rock effect you might be forgiven for thinking would result. Scott is too subtle and too talented for that. Instead a multi-talented band provides a firm platform for the lead instrument of choice to give just the right amount of mystical and literary edge, be it Steve Wickham's masterful use of the fiddle or Scott's own penetrating Edinburgh-tinged vocal entreaties.
Yes, there are times when things get a little forced and he is reduced at one point to virtually reciting out loud with the band playing in the background. In this sense more work on matching the music to the words might have helped, but such moments are few and far between and credit must be given for the innovative way in which Scott has spliced different elements of Yeats' poems in order to make the songs work as a whole. Some die-hard literary fans may feel this is a compromise but the effect is well worth it.
Overall, Waterboys and Mike Scott fans should be delighted. New listeners for their part will be getting a taste of what the top of the musical mountain must look like to an artist who has quietly plugged away and pursued his own vision for over 30 years without compromise.