Published on Mar 15, 1999
The Waterboys were a band who resided in almost perpetual
musical limbo. The project of musical visionary Mike Scott, the
other members were a revolving door of rock and Celtic musicians,
never quite deciding whether they were a reel-n-roll band or a
Celtic-folk band. At various times, Karl Wallinger, who later
formed World Party, was a member, as was Steve Wickham of In Tua
Nua and Sharon Shannon, who later became a successful Celtic solo
artist. In their ten year career, they put out six CDs; the first
three were rock, the next two were more folk, and the last, 1993’s
Dream Harder, contained no original members save Mike Scott.
(Unlike most Waterboys fans, I don’t -ignore- this CD; I kinda like
it, but it’s not on tap today).
’81-’90 covers the first five CDs, and is a comprehensive
overview of the Waterboys during their period of greatest activity
and experimentation. The Waterboys’ sound was infectuous, their
music at alternatives poppy and richly textured, a fascinating
intermingling of traditional instrumentation and rock and roll. In
many ways, they were the groundbreakers for the modern sound known
as reel and roll, the Celtic/rock fusion now espoused by bands as
varied as The Corrs, Tempest, and Great Big Sea. They were also one
of the few rock bands in the eighties to have an openly pagan theme
to some of their music, with one of their albums being called
A Pagan Place.
The CD’s tracks are laid out in chronological order (and as a
side note, this earns bonus points from me. I like hearing exactly
how a band’s sound evolves through time). Kicking off with the
bounce and flair of “A Girl Called Johnny”, it covers their ‘first’
sound, that of a progressive rock band with Celtic influences, with
highlights being “All The Things She Gave Me’, “Don’t Bang The
Drum”, and the powerful anthem “The Whole Of The Moon”. As a fan, I
missed “The Pan Within” from
This Is The Sea, but was appeased by the nice touch of the
substitution of a live version of “Old England” from the same CD.
The second half of
’81-’90 covers the more Celtic-folk side of the Waterboys’
career, and while I’m not as fond of that sound, “Killing My Heart”
and “And A Bang On The Ear” are worth a close listen.
The Waterboys were never quite as good as they could be. There
are a lot of arguments as to why; the revolving door of musicians,
Mike Scott’s insistence on iron control, or perhaps even an
inability to find a real identity as a band. But as part of the
foundation of the Celtic revival of the ’90s, their influence is
hard to deny, and is worth looking into.