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The Waterboys "Room To Roam" Album From 1990 Is Given A SUPE

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 08/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 11 August 2008 re-issue is part of EMI's "COLLECTOR'S EDITION" series and is a 2CD major overhaul and remaster of the Waterboys much loved 5th album. Here's the breakdown:



DISC 1 (42:43 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 17 are the album "Room To Roam" released September 1990 in the UK on Ensign Records CHEN 16

DISC 2 (49:03 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 17 are "Additional Recordings" - 14 studio outtakes with 3 live recordings



Mike Scott has overseen the song choices, presentation, the booklet. The first half of the excellent inlay produces the original album credits, lyrics etc - the second half does the same for Disc 2 - including full session details, lyrics, photos of the band, a history of the album and their stay in Ireland by Scott - Sharon Shannon and Noel Bridgeman's influence on the sessions and their love and knowledge of Traditional Irish music - all of the recollections about playing and choices, the details - all of it - very nicely done...



The Waterboys Band and Session Players for the LP were:

MIKE SCOTT on Lead Vocals, Guitars & Keyboards (principal songwriter)

ANTO THISLETHWAITE on Baritone Saxophone, Mandolin

COLIN BLAKEY on Whistle, Flute, Hammond Organ and Piano

STEVE WICKHAM on Fiddle, Hammond Organ and Backing Vocals

TREVOR HUTCHINSON on Double Bass and Bouzouki

NOEL BRIDGEMAN on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

SHARON SHANNON guest player on Accordion and Fiddle



Recorded in Galway in the West of Ireland over many months, "Room..." follows on from the `Traditional Irish Folk Meets Rock' of "Fisherman's Blues" in 1988; it's simply more of the same. But what's improved most here is the SOUND. The remaster is beautiful, clean and clear - loads of space and warmth around the instruments - my 1990 original CD is a bit haggard compared to this. Steve Wickham's lovely fiddle playing on "A Man Is In Love" sails out of the speakers. The bass on all tracks is warm and backdrops everything with a real sweetness. Many of the songs are now LOUD too, but not in that overbearing way, more live-in-your-living-room - and wonderful for it. Improvements would include the fiddle jaunt of "Natural Bridge Blues" which is now so clear - the sax break on "Something That I Lost" - the whack of the drums on the Traditional Irish Air made famous by Planxty, "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" - all fabulous work done with the master tapes. And the album's best track "A Life Of Sundays" with Noel Bridgeman's great backing vocals is now just HUGE - a wow!



But the biggest surprise is DISC 2, which I feared would be rammed full of worthy but dull filler. It isn't. It does of course have some clinkers - the 3 live tracks are ok, but full of drunken crowd shouts that detract too much and could have been dropped, while the cassette quality of "Florence" in "Danny Murphy/Florence" is unlistenable. But the rest of it is excellent - proper studio out-takes - and some that would make you wonder why they didn't make the finished album. "Three Ships" sounds like something that came off "This Is The Sea" - a trippy instrumental jaunt with Celtic overtones - excellent stuff. "Sunny Sailor Boy" is gorgeous - a genuine bonus track. "A Strathspey In The Rain At Dawn" is simply SHARON SHANNON and her accordion with Irish rainfall and birds tweeting as her backdrop - very pretty. A real rarity, however, is the lovely Irish-Only 1989 single release of "Down By The Sally Gardens" which features the wizened and emotive lead vocals of TOMAS MacEOIN. And as the slow air of "A Song For The Life" draws Disc 2 to a close, it's hard not to be moved.



MIKE SCOTT has always been a magical songwriter to me - an artist who pens a tune that nails you - moves you impossibly - and then you find yourself backtracking - buying up everything that he and his band have ever done.



To sum up, I've come back to this album not expecting much, but this great re-issue is making me love it all over again. Sure, as you can see from the short playing time of both discs, with a bit of judicious pruning on Disc 2, they could've been combined and would have made an excellent single CD thereby saving us punters a few bob. But I won't begrudge THE WATERBOYS a sausage - anything new by them is good news in my book and well worth paying for.



"Room To Roam" COLLECTOR'S EDITION is a nice album made a whole lot better - and with a top REMASTER too. Highly, highly recommended."

Not to be missed by fans from any waterboys era

Edward A. Arnold | 08/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In retrospect, Room to Roam made complete sense, following Fisherman's Blues, which took several steps from This is the Sea; but these traces are much clearer in light of the remastered F.Blues and of course Too Close to Heaven, where the evolution becomes apparent. But this album seemed like quite a change, even from side two of F.Blues, when it dropped. It proved to be a gem with a few listens, so having it (here as Side One) in greater sound is worth the price. And having the tunes accurate is a help too. Side two is obviously the feature here:



In Search of a Rose: splendid alternate take, showing how well the band indeed played together, how well these instruments layered into beauty.



My Morag: an unreleased gem, a wonderful addition to the library, no mere throw-away by any means. Mike's voice is perfect here and shows just how much these traditional songs were not a stretch for this rocker at all.



Man is in Love alternate: not as effective as Rose, perhaps because the sparse song then suddenly gets Wick's fiddle tossed on it from nowhere, but a useful example of how tunes changed.



Wyndy Wyndy Road: excellent example of Mike's dexterity in taking tunes and applying words - not top notch but a nice addition and helps with context.



Three Ships: "She's All That I Need" tune expanded and wordless, which is slightly long but ends in absolute beauty - that these are just a few instruments producing this otherworldly sound is amazing - true for all the songs, really.



Sunny Sailor Boy: synth? what?? This song seems like something from years later, completely out of place. It is interesting in itself, a nice tune and a departure for Mike, but it doesn't belong here. Maybe I'll warm to it over time...



Sponsored Pedal-Pusher's Blues: Mike has written into his songs much of his tribulations with fame, which is difficult out of context; occasionally it works, even on Lightning, but not really here. It's okay but that's all.



Wayward Wind: I was disappointed first hearing, since I was used to the strong vocal on Live Adventures, but a few listenings reversed that. This is perhaps the best example of what Mike once described as the Waterboys at its best being the blend of his voice and Wick's fiddle - his voice just melts into the instruments perfectly. It doesn't have the ragged tumbling of the live version, but is a wonderful complement to that. Another gem.



Danny Murphy/Florence: the two tunes don't mesh at all - I don't get it at all. Why not Florence separate? The two are okay, but together they are jarring opposites. Danny Murphy is nice enough, though only as filler, though it shows Mike's dexterity in writing music for others' words, as if other examples (Yeats poems) didn't suffice.



Raggle Taggle live: shows the band in great, strong performance - a great addition.

Custer's Blues live: I'm not a fan of this song generally, but live it is much better, for Mike's vocals are not lost as they are on the studio version. Most of the 'blues' songs from the period don't appeal much to me, so don't take it too seriously.

Twa Recruiting Sergeants: priceless vocals from Mike - how did he pull this off?? It may be useful only to show how comfortable he was with traditional music, but that it does spectacularly! It's a fun song, but that's all, nothing great except for context.



Reel and Stomp in the Kitchen: a nice short instrumental, not as good as some (Natural Bridge Blues) but a decent segue



Down by the Sally Gardens: We knew from Stolen Child that Yeats/Scott/Mac Eoin was a deadly force, but this puts the full weight of the Yeats' pathos into the music. The music is gorgeous and perfectly matched for the lyric, everything about it being perfectly rendered. My only complaint is the music should have gone a bit beyond the end of the vocal, for it could have added to the intensity - maybe. In any case, this is the highlight of the album (but that might be because I've had Song for the Life for years...)



Strathspey: Nice enough, sound isn't great or terrible, though it sounds a bit like a nature CD...though that the birds are real is stunning- I think you'd have to be there...



Song for the Life: released on a compilation, this song is a real gem, worth the cost of that album and this. A lovely tune rendered perfectly, with a sense of hope exiting the album...



Kings of Kerry: how could you not like it?



So overall the album is a treasure, with a few to forget. From here the band split, and the Waterboys have not regained this strength. The current lineup is great, but something about this time, with Mike evolving musically at breakneck pace, can't be matched. Over the years, Mike seems to have grown happy with his life calmed, and so I am happy for that and the musical gems that have come about...but this whirlwind of joy is something else completely, a world unto itself of which I'm happy to have recorded here.



"