Waterboys - Traditional Irish on its best!

Waterboys` masterpieces:

- Fisherman Blues - Room To Roam

Mike Scott and the Waterboys have played for music for 17 years now. There have been upsides and downsides, but mostly upsides. Two of the best albums are built on Irish traditional music.

Fisherman's Blues (1988) After the rock masterpiece This is the sea (1985), the Waterboys started to play traditional Irish music.

One of the group members Karl Wallinger quitted before the work with the album begun and established his own group called World Party. After treatment for drug problems the main person Mike Scott did a fantastic comeback. Ireland became their new home country.

Grand guitars, fiddles, flutes and banjos become their instruments, which gave the Waterboys music a totally new sound. Highlights are Fisherman's blues, Strange boat, and And a bang on the ear.

An another highlight, which surprise the most music interested people, is the song The Stolen Child. This song is considered to be the Waterboys` strangest song ever. Both the melody and the lyrics are excellent. The lyric is something for itself. It is based on the wonderful poem with the same name as the song, which is from WB Yeats' "Crossways" collection (written in 1889). It is the first time the poet's estate has allowed one of his works to be set to music. Toma McKeown, a celebrated Gaelic singer from Carraroe in Galway, intones the verse. Extremely elegant and romantic done!

Photo: Cover from the Fisherman's blues - the Waterboys.

Room to Roam (1990) This album is a successful follow-up to Fisherman's Blues. Mike Scott found his inspiration from Bob Dylan. This album is probably the best Waterboys album ever in my opinion. It is an impressive mixture of rock and Celtic traditional music. The album is almost without weaknesses. The songs are both various, beautiful and romantic. Sometimes slow and sometimes in a wild tempo.

Also on this album you can hear sounds from lots of grand guitars, fiddles, mandolins, whistles and flutes. Highlights are Raggle Taggle Gypsy, which makes me rock around and shout wildly in my living room, How long will I love you which puts me in the romantic corner and makes me crying, and the instrumental song Kaliope house, which makes me really happy.

Photo: Cover from the Room to Roam album (1990) - the Waterboys.

These albums are timeless. They will be played forever. You never get bored with them. But the most important; they makes you happy and heels your soul! The more I listen to this music, the more I dream about going back to Ireland again!

Stein Morten Lund, 25 October 2000

Additional information For more information about Mike Scott and the Waterboys, click on the link below:

http://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/

The music wonders of the world: - Check out the world's greatest song: Read Army blues (from the album Pagan Place). - Check out the concert versions of the Pan Within and Savage Earth Heart (including Because the night) on the double album The Live Adventures of The Waterboys.