The Best Live CD you'll hear this year
o dubhthaigh | north rustico, pei, canada | 10/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"and one of the best CDs period. Mike Scott leaves nothing on the table and brings to the proceedings material from the entire Waterboys' catalogue. I'll never understand how they self-destructed on the cusp of greatness in the early nineties. This was a band to reckon with and they had the excitement and the energy and the tunes to eclipse Springsteen and a whole host of others who simply play to the gallery. Scott went into a period of solo outings and nominal Waterboy efforts, but perhaps with the release of the FISHERMAN'S BLUES SESSIONS a couple of years back, it struck Scott how viable the concern still was.
To that end a band was reformed around himself and Steve Wyckham and the tours reconvened. This is an exciting amalgamation culled from the 2004 UK and Irish tours and ever track crackles and burns with an intensity that Scott brought to his best efforst. In fact, this release falls squarely in line with FISHERMAN'S BLUES, THE LIVE ADVENTURES OF THE WATERBOYS, THIS IS THE SEA. It is so superb in every respect that it is arguably the best Waterboys disc to date. The 13 minute version of "Pan Within" never lets up (ONLY THE VERSION ON LIVE ADVENTURES that fuses the song with Patti Smith's "Because The Night" is more cathrtic). I've nearly wrecked the car twice while this was on. "Peace of Iona" for his native Scotland is so heartfelt, you'd be excused for packing it all in and heading for a croft in the Western Hebrides. "Whole of the Moon" resonates with such passion, it is nearly as inflammatory as the version on LIVE ADVENTURES. Dissolving into "Fisherman's Blues" it is one of the most thrilling experieneces you'll ever have with a recorded disc. "fisherman's Blues" is possibly one of the best songs ever written in the entire Irish-Scots Rock catalogue and resonates with an authenticity that speaks to everyone. Sharon Shannon comes on for the encore and it's a keeper of a tune, hopefully signalling that where ROOM TO ROAM left off, there will be a return to form. I hope so. A second coming of the full power of the Waterboys would be almost too much to ask for, and makes one delerious at the very likely prospect of its deliverance. Maith Thu! Iontach Mhaith!
"
Another winner
Jeffrey K. Salzmann | 02/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Return of Jimi Hendrix nearly moved me to tears the first time I heard it.
Some tunes were better on the 'Live Adventures', especially 'The Pan Within' and that massive sound, but this is a great sampling of their stuff and it only leaves me wanting more and more from these guys.
Brilliant stuff, what else is there to say?"
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1