The Waterboys
"Fisherman's Blues"
Released: 1987
Mike Scott, the undisputed leader of the Waterboys, has led his band through quite
a few phases. There are great songs on all their albums, but this is the one
that I really love. The group relocated to Ireland after the album "This Is
The Sea" and the subsequent 1986 tour. There they recorded in Windmill
Lane Studios in Dublin for some time before traveling west to the town of
Spiddal. The resulting album (1987) was a fifty/fifty affair with one side
from the east coast and one from the west coast. In spirit they're alike, but
the second side represents a more folky approach, their true "raggle-taggle"
phase. Incredible songs throughout, from a rather heavy and mean "We Will Not
Be Lovers" to the achingly beautiful "When Ye Go Away". Can't live without
this one. Really.
If you enjoy this album you should really check out "Room To Roam" which is
even more "raggly-taggly" than "Fisherman's Blues". Maybe somewhat patchy
but it's still got wonderful songs. Another beautiful Waterboys album is "This Is The
Sea" from 1985. Big Music at its best.
A slightly more punky album to check out is "Levelling The Land" by The Levellers.
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