Totally psyched up from yesterday's Retro Spin, which was the 1983 self-titled debut from The Waterboys, today I'm diving into their 1984 follow-up, A Pagan Place.
The Waterboys have a rich history of rotating musicians, but the one consistent factor in it all was founder, lead vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, Mike Scott. The music he'd usher in throughout the eighties would become known as, The Big Music, a name given to describe bands specializing in an anthemic sound and taken from the song of the same name from their second album. As a comparison, think of U2, Simple Minds, In Tua Nua, Big Country and Hothouse Flowers.
Scott was initially signed as a solo act with Ensign, but opted instead to form a band, choosing The Waterboys as their name. They'd release their 1983 debut, but unfortunately, it would fail to make any waves. In between touring, they'd return to the studio to record new material, and overdub previously recorded tracks. This would become their second album, 1984's A Pagan Place. While it would become a top forty hit in New Zealand, and peak at number one hundred in the UK, the remainder of the world took little notice.
While I too missed out on them the first time around, I'm very happy to have found them now. I'm really enjoying their music, and yes, I'd even call myself a fan. I daresay, this is a band I'd like to see live.
The album kicks off with Church Not Made With Hands, a track which immediately grabbed my attention and set the bar quite high for everything to come. Fortunately, Mike Scott and the boys (and girls) didn't disappoint. I found multiple shuffle worth songs, which included, All The Things She Gave Me, Rags, Somebody Might Wave Back, Red Army Blues, and A Pagan Place (the song).
What surprised me most was that I didn't think they could get bigger and better than what I had already heard on their debut, and 1985 album, This Is The Sea. Boy, was I wrong. The whole album just feels epic with its twelve-string rhythm guitars, rolling piano and judicious use of reverb to form a shimmering wall of music. This is all added to by saxophone, occasional violins and trumpets.
I'm telling you, if you haven't heard The Waterboys, you're missing out.
As I noted in yesterday's post, my introduction to them came with their aforementioned 1985 album, albeit in 2022, which I picked up and already did a Retro Spin on. As such, my next stop on this journey will be 1988's Fisherman's Blue, which is sadly also their last album from the decade.
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