For over twenty years The Waterboys have been a testament to Mike Scott's extraordinary vision and his fearless love of musical exploration.With songs ranking as some of the most imaginative and distinctive of the past qua... more »rter century, The Waterboys have scored the dreams and aspirations of generations of music listeners. Now with Book Of Lightning, The Waterboys have created a natural successor to their classics This Is The Sea and Fisherman's Blues and 2000's acclaimed comeback, A Rock In The Weary Land--an album containing elements of those powerful works, but also taking us into thrilling new territory; an album as literate and compelling as anything in The Waterboys' catalog to date. As the opening bars of `The Crash of Angel Wings' thunder out, we know that Book Of Lightning is going to be a new, unpredictable installment in The Waterboys' story. Book Of Lightning was recorded in London in Fall 2006 and was produced by Mike Scott and Philip Tennant, who previously worked with The Waterboys on Fisherman's Blues.The album features electric fiddler Steve Wickham, whose involvement in the band dates back to 1985. Mike Scott is also joined by regular Waterboys' keyboardist Richard Naiff, Louisiana-born drummer Brady Blade, top London drummer Jeremy Stacey, bassman Mark Smith, hot young guitar stylist Leo Abrahams and long-time Waterboys alumni Roddy Lorimer (trumpet), Thighpaulsandra (keyboards) and Chris Bruce (electric guitar). In addition,"Sustain" was recorded in Vancouver with members of Canadian art-rockers Great Aunt Ida. By turns savage, beautiful, haunting and bitingly humorous, Book Of Lightning is brilliantly bound together by Scott's lyrical talents, which have taken on even more maturity and confidence.The consistent presence of weather and nature throughout the lyrics and sound of Book Of Lightning acts as a masterful unifying stroke, drawing us into a world that could only be created by Mike Scott at that moment in time--a world that is a mirror of Scott's self-awareness, his understanding of nature of love, and his observance of the destructive effects of the glamour of power.« less
For over twenty years The Waterboys have been a testament to Mike Scott's extraordinary vision and his fearless love of musical exploration.With songs ranking as some of the most imaginative and distinctive of the past quarter century, The Waterboys have scored the dreams and aspirations of generations of music listeners. Now with Book Of Lightning, The Waterboys have created a natural successor to their classics This Is The Sea and Fisherman's Blues and 2000's acclaimed comeback, A Rock In The Weary Land--an album containing elements of those powerful works, but also taking us into thrilling new territory; an album as literate and compelling as anything in The Waterboys' catalog to date. As the opening bars of `The Crash of Angel Wings' thunder out, we know that Book Of Lightning is going to be a new, unpredictable installment in The Waterboys' story. Book Of Lightning was recorded in London in Fall 2006 and was produced by Mike Scott and Philip Tennant, who previously worked with The Waterboys on Fisherman's Blues.The album features electric fiddler Steve Wickham, whose involvement in the band dates back to 1985. Mike Scott is also joined by regular Waterboys' keyboardist Richard Naiff, Louisiana-born drummer Brady Blade, top London drummer Jeremy Stacey, bassman Mark Smith, hot young guitar stylist Leo Abrahams and long-time Waterboys alumni Roddy Lorimer (trumpet), Thighpaulsandra (keyboards) and Chris Bruce (electric guitar). In addition,"Sustain" was recorded in Vancouver with members of Canadian art-rockers Great Aunt Ida. By turns savage, beautiful, haunting and bitingly humorous, Book Of Lightning is brilliantly bound together by Scott's lyrical talents, which have taken on even more maturity and confidence.The consistent presence of weather and nature throughout the lyrics and sound of Book Of Lightning acts as a masterful unifying stroke, drawing us into a world that could only be created by Mike Scott at that moment in time--a world that is a mirror of Scott's self-awareness, his understanding of nature of love, and his observance of the destructive effects of the glamour of power.
"It's hard to know the reason for the connection I feel to the Waterboys music. I even somehow missed the Big Music days; it was Fisherman's Blues which first caught my attention. I loved it. Bought all the earlier music. Very different, but loved it also. Room to Roam was a bit of a letdown but I saw them on tour for the first time then and the fun was still there.
Then came the long slow decline with a release or two I hated, and a couple more where the description was enough to keep me from buying. The highpoints of those years for me were collections of odds and ends, and expanded versions of the original releases.
Now comes Book of Lightning. I won't describe the songs...you can hear the samples. But it's lively and fun again for me, taking me back to the reasons I first fell for this band. If you liked the first four Waterboys releases, regardless of what you think about what came later, I urge you to get this one because I think you'll like it too.
I'm hoping radio shows they're doing next week will be on the internet, and I'm definitely planning to see them on tour in November. You can check out their website for info on all that. For now, just start listening to this one."
Best Waterboys CD In Decades
Bornintime | The East Coast | 08/27/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I was completely surprised at how wonderful that this new cd is and almost equally surprised by the lack of attention it is getting, considering that it was released in Europe months ago. As a big fan of The Waterboys in the 80's I've since listened to Mike Scott's output of the past almost 20 years and didn't care for a lot of it. Rock In A Weary Land (2001?) is a muddy sounding mess with poor songwriting and is practically unlistenable. Book Of Lightning is the polar opposite. The songs are catchy and bear up after repeated listenings, plenty of good rockers but also some softer introspective material. "She Tried To Hold Me" is a masterpiece that marries incredible lyrics with an amazing vocal. The production is perfect for the material, very clean but not sanitized and overproduced. Mike's voice is wonderful here. It is rough at times (I want to say Dylanesque, but I know that would put some people off) and sounds absolutely wonderful with this material. What also hearkens back to the 80's is the album length - 45 minutes - 10 songs and not one of them makes me reach for the skip button. I don't see restraint like that much from my favorite artists. If you like anything else by The Waterboys I can't imagine you being disappointed with this."
City of Kings
Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 09/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Waterboys have released such a variety of musical styles that they are hard to predict. Their fans either need a broad range of taste or stay on their toes. "Universal Hall" which was very soft held a couple of jewels that I still play, "This Light is for the World" and "The Christ in You." I look forward to new work from the Waterboys with the enthusiasm I used to have for the next album from The Moody Blues. Waterboys frequently have more uplifting positive messages and incorporate that Findhorn philosophy into the music. "The Archivist's Tale" in the booklet about a person from the future tuning back into the good and bad from our era is classic example of the esoteric backbone of Mike Scott and the band. "Book of Lightning" is an appealing mix of churning rockers and softer pieces. The CD is the musical polar opposite of "Universal Hall."
"The Crash of Angel Wings" opens the set with Mike Scott's smashing electric guitar Jeremy Stacy's percussion, "Here she comes like rumbling drums." "Nobody's Baby Anymore" jumped out with a slightly slower beat, but the electric waterfall of sound still in high gear and religious Palm Sunday imagery in the lyric amid a field of emotional chaos, "I've stepped out on highways that were studded with jewels; I rode into the City of Kings on the back of a mule; I kissed riches, strode tall in my britches, I knew esprit de corps." "You in the Sky" is another of my favorite tracks with its slower beat and Scott's dreamily romantic lyric, "Let me know you, lover woo me, open up my heart and sing your song right through me." "Everybody Takes a Tumble" has a flavor of "Fisherman's Blues" era with Steve Wickham's fiddle elevating the track into a breathtaking classic, "There's vengeance in my belly, slime on both my shoes & everything bad that you ever heard about little old me is true; My trigger finger is itchy, my humour is black & you just stumbled blind, babe, right into my track." Other tracks like the softer "Sustain" or the pounding "It's Gonna Rain" are also excellent. This is an impressive set from this classic Irish band, best of year quality. Bravo!
"
Another Gem
Richard Magee | Abingdon, Maryland USA | 04/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"E Book of Lightning gives us yet another gem by The Waterboys. The lyrics are crisp, intelligent, and they cut to the core. The melodies are more radio-friendly than "Universal Hall," but we've come to expect each album will have its own sound. You can hear traces of Mike Scott's influences (Dylan, Van Morrison, The Beatles), but he is no imitator. He synthesizes these and other influences to create his own great music."
The Ninth studio album gets a 9!
Stacy E. Sardelli | Milwaukee, WI | 10/05/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I've been a longtime Waterboys fan and couldn't wait for this release!
`Book of Lightning' starts out with `The Crash of Angel Wings'. I'm not connecting with it like I do with other Waterboys tunes. However, I can say it's quite catchy and I like the lyrics.
`Love Will Shoot You Down' is nothing short of fantastic! A true rock and roll song that is a definite highlight on this release. I especially like the lyrics on this track:
Time, old Time, King Time is moving back and forth
like a backlit dancer on a pale white horse
On a mad racecource in a hungry land
you will be forced to play your secret hand
and love will shoot you down, will shoot you down
`Nobody's Baby Anymore' surprised me, having an unusual vocal style for Mike. I love it!!! Gotta give it to the boys for always offering something different... and the vast majority of the time it works. This is another catchy song but what I really like about it is the subject matter. I read somewhere that it's about our planet and the lack of care for it. This track was partially penned twenty years ago and was recently completed for inclusion on `Book of Lightning'.
The pace of the album slows down a bit for a breather. `Strange Arrangement' is a hauntingly striking offering that tugs at my heart every time I listen to it. Mike Scott has a way of making his songs cozy and effortless to embrace. The feelings injected into this tune cannot be faked and really say a lot about him as a person - someone with lots of compassion, wisdom and soul. Mike is the founder, songwriter, vocalist & an instrumentalist.
I think everyone can relate to `She Tried To Hold Me'. This is a great, easy-going song with one of my favorite lines ever: `like she was skin surrounding thunder'. Wow.
My husband's standing behind me laughing. He claims that it's a perfect description of me on a daily basis. That may be so... but he's the tornado that spins a mess throughout the house! He agrees and we hug.
`You In The Sky' is delightful, dripping with glittered honey... and just a little Bob Dylan DNA. This track originally appeared on the `Fisherman's Blues' album.
Other Major Highlights are `It's Gonna Rain' and `Sustain'.
If you are familiar with The Waterboys you know that their music weaves its way into your veins. It becomes a large part of that soundtrack to your life. Please give `Book of Lightning' a listen.