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The Waterboys | Too Close To Heaven - The Unreleased Fisherman's Blues Sessions

Discover more of the band's Irish period.
CD, Ensign/BMG

Tekst: Martÿn ter Haar

Publicatiedatum: 08 december 2001

Mike Scott is like one of those big sea turtles. Steadily he goes his way, knowing exactly where he is heading and ignoring everything around him. He's got his loyal fanbase, which is big enough to keep him on a major label and to play sold-out gigs, but you'll almost never hear him on the radio, let alone see him on MTV. And seldom will you hear anyone under 25 rave about Waterboys classics such as 'This Is the Sea' or 'Fisherman's Blues'. Eight-minute songs with saxophone and fiddle solos and titles like 'Blues for Your Baby' and 'Lonesome Old Wind' are not exactly the now thing. Which is correct, because 'Too Close to Heaven's subtitle is 'The Unreleased Fisherman's Blues Sessions'. And those are from the period 86-87, when The Waterboys were still an Important Rock Band, like REM or U2. They never got as big as those contemperaries, but they don't have anything to do with 80s synth-rock from hell either. 'Too Close to Heaven' could just as well have been recorded in 76 or 96. Now I have to admit that I don't know 'Fisherman's Blues', so I cannot compare 'Too Close to Heaven'. All I can say is that it sounds like genuine Waterboys. The major difference is that the recordings Scott distilled the album from are mostly jams, so 'Too Close to Heaven' misses some of the finer arrangements of other records. Since Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Steve Wickham, and the various rhythm sections they used are all excellent musicians, they make up for it with passion. 'Tenderfootin'', for example, is just a blues jam, recorded in one take as it was made up. Nothing really innovative, but the execution is great, and the enthusiasm comes jumping from the speakers. The album's two best tracks, 'The Ladder' and 'Blues for Your Baby', were basic ideas by Scott, which were also developed while they were recorded, and there's so much chemistry Greenpeace should protest against these songs. So if you aren't looking for innovation or hipness, but are willing to settle for old-fashioned craftsmanship and raw emotion, get 'Too Close to Heaven'. Your wings won't melt.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/the-waterboys/too-close-to-heaven-the-unreleased-fisherman-s-blues-sessions/920/
Meer The Waterboys op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/the-waterboys