The group roster for this one was Mike Scott (vocals, piano, guitar, bass and mandolin), Delahaye (organ), Nick Linden (bass and background vocals), Ray Massey (drums), Norman Rodger (bass), Stephen W. Tayler (bass and keyboards), Anthony Thistlethwaite (bass, saxophone, and mandolin) and Kevin Wilkinson (drums).
Side one opens with “December”, a beautiful mid-tempo ballad about love. I can’t help but get swept up by the flowing stream of emotion of this one.
“A Girl Called Johnny”, released as a single, charted at number 80 in the UK and number 44 in the Netherlands. With its rollicking piano and soulful saxophone, it is a tribute to the American punk pioneer Patti Smith.
“The Three Day Man” tells of a temporary tryst that was never meant to go beyond the brief physical encounter.
The epic seven plus minute long story of a girl named “Gala” closes out the first side.
Side two starts with “I Will Not Follow”, a mid-tempo rocker with a strong anti-war political message.
“It Should Have Been You” is a song about a man who failed to achieve all of the greatness he could have.
The tempo slows down with “The Girl in the Swing”. The organ parts give it a reverent texture.
“Savage Earth Heart” closes out the record. I like the guitars on this one, combined with an urgent piano.
The Waterboys was another album from 1983 that was not on my music radar at the time and, again, this was a big loss for me. I listened to this one on Spotify to review and, from the opening track, I was totally into this record. It instantly got added to my “download very soon” list.
Like you, I don't remember this one.
ReplyDeleteThe Waterboys [2002 Digital Remaster]
Gave it a spin, liked it.
Now I'm curious how their other stuff sounds.
Thanks Martin.