Review:

on 2011-04-01 CharlesMartel Said:

In retrospect, this album suffers by comparison with the two which immediately followed it. Mike Scott claims many of them were written at the same time as those which later appeared on "A Pagan Place", but I have my doubts. The quality of the songs is just so different and I find it hard to believe that anyone of Scott's genius (and arrogance, to be fair) would have filled his debut album with what were the weaker of the songs he had written thus far. Still, I will regard this album as being indicative of Mike Scott practicing, warming up if you like, for the supremely amazing work which was to follow with his next two albums.

I now have the remastered CD which provides a better sound quality than the original, but the songs on here are just not mature enough. The genesis of the Big Sound was clearly here, and it is evident that Scott was already working towards something which would eventually produce one of the finest albums of all time in "This Is the Sea". But his debut album did fall short. Perhaps the one exception is the moving and simple tale, almost certainly autobiographical by the sound of it, of "The Boy in Black Leather". A wonderful story, just voice and piano tells the quite sinister tale of Jackie who was spirited away form a life of simplicity down the pub with her mates into a life of, well it is not entirely clear what but there is a hint that it is something despicable.

There is no doubt that the potential which was realised with the next two albums is clearly discernible here. This is the origin of the Big Music sound which was to propel Mike Scott to the edge of world-dominating greatness. That full-on sound, which dominated any space in which the music was played, be it a room or a concert arena, was the hallmark of the early Waterboys output. It is noticeable here in the soaring melodies and the power and emotion with which Scott has always infused his voice. "A Girl Called Johnny", "Savage Earth Heart" and above all "A Boy In Black Leather" lead the way and presage much of what was to follow as his style reached maturity later. But above all it is the instrumentation, whether simple or complex, which is what strikes you. It would be a while before Scott managed to make his lyrics match the style and grace of the music, but it would eventually come about.

Criticism of the way the remastering has altered the sound of the music is common among many critics, especially for the first three Waterboys albums, and that criticism is perhaps most understandable with the first album. However, I feel that the remastering has put a fuller sound to the music which, on the vinyl, seemed less absolute than on his subsequent two albums. However, the addition of bonus tracks on the same CD is a criticism I will sustain. With the exception of that one fabulous track I have already mentioned, the additions really add very little to the overall picture.

But if you want to listen to the rise and fall of the Waterboys, start here with the albums in chronological order. End immediately after listening to "Fisherman's Blues". That album marked the end of the band as a credible force in music and there is really little after that which is worth listening to unless it is live renditions of songs off their first three albums.
Rating: 6/10