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Music for
Grown-Ups Newsletter
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11/02/2004 The Waterboys: innovative... infuriating
by Mike Ollier
The band have perfected a two-part show: half acoustic (usually three-man) and then a full-on electric five-man second half. It’s worked well, but there have been grumblings on various message boards dotted around the net. The problem seems to have been the release of Universal Hall, which featured the welcome return of Steve Wickham, who had left the band in 1990/91. The album received excellent reviews from most newspapers and music mags, but some fans were not satisfied. It’s a quiet, reflective album which focuses on Mike Scott’s spiritualism and some people took it as a Christian album, but it is far from that. For my part, I think that, as ever for a Waterboys release, there is a fine EP straining to get out. Let me explain. I don’t think the band have released a full, coherent statement yet on record; closest, perhaps, is Fisherman’s Blues (dragged back by the lumbering World Party, and the superb We Will Not Be Lovers - both seemingly on the wrong album) and probably Scott’s ‘solo’ effort, Still Burning, which stands for me as his biggest musical achievement. However, when Scott is good he is very, very good and the gems more than make up for the bad tracks on any Mike Scott/Waterboys album. Because the band is so versatile and the sound changes so often, it’s usually just a case of wait-until-the-next-one-arrives and you are likely to be pleased. I saw three shows last year: Newcastle in January and October, then Drury Lane, London in July. I enjoyed all three, though they were by no means the best I have seen them play. At the first Newcastle gig, a new bass player, Brad Weisman, was introduced. Looking nervous, he made a few mistakes, but I thought he’d be OK when bedded in and this proved to be the case by the Drury Lane gig. So, it was a shock to find his place given over to Steve Watson by October. Though showing similar signs of under-rehearsal, he coped manfully and showed some seriously funky licks on an acoustic bass, especially on a wonderfully supple Strange Boat. Also new was drummer Carlos Hercules, which was a bigger shock. Geoff Dugmore seemed to have become an integral part of the Waterboys sound in the previous two years and supplied harmony vocals, as well as a superb drumming style. Carlos is a big man and he struck up a rapport with the fans; it’s to be hoped we haven't seen the last of him. The nucleus around Mike Scott is now Richard Naiff on keyboards - an incredible sight in full flow - and Steve Wickham on fiddle. Scott calls Wickham "the best rock fiddler in the world" and I’m not gonna argue with him. It’s been an interesting 20 years and I’m in for the next 20 with one of the most innovative, as well as one of the most infuriating, bands around. (c) Mike Ollier February 2004
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