The 'Boys Do Yeats Proud

The Waterboys’ 2011 release, An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, was a heartfelt – if hit or miss – reinterpretation of several of the famed Irish writer’s verses (the poet himself referred to his poems as “songs” for they were, in fact, lyrical). In honor of what would be the poet’s 147th birthday, here’s a stripped down version of “Mad as the Mist and Snow” – one of the strongest tunes on Mike Scott and the ’boys’ Yeats collection – recorded live in France earlier this spring.



Dig the masks, too – another Yeats fascination.

Recalling the Sound of a Special Place

A portrait of the artist’s perspective on lyric composition, songwriting and recording processes from a classic “big music” endeavor 26 years ago ... Some interesting stuff from The Waterboys’ leader Scotsman Mike Scott:

Demos for The Waterboys’ classic 1985 This Is the Sea album are the focus of a new release of mostly piano and vocal demos called In a Special Place, which is what Scott is discussing in this recent interview at EMI offices in London.

It’s Raining Sounds of The Waterboys

Waterboys main man Mike Scott has been posting some interesting sounds on his SoundCloud page (under his Twitter nom de keys, MickPuck). The music ranges from his own mash-ups of familiar and unfamiliar music from the last half century, as well as demos and live cuts from Scott’s solo career and his work with The Waterboys.

Two recent additions really struck my fancy and are worth checking out: The first being a solo piano and vocal demo of “Don’t Bang the Drum” (click here to listen), from 1985’s This Is the Sea album. As Scott explains, it was recorded at a London studio in March 1985 during demo sessions for all the songs in consideration for The Waterboys’ next album. It’s a raw and spartan rendition. While certainly no comparison to the epic final version – with its lengthy Roddy Lorimer trumpet intro, frenzied sax playing of Anto Thistlethwaite and generally bombastic climax – the core essence of the song remains evident in the simple chords and solitary, impassioned vocal of this demo.

The second outstanding recent post is a rousing live version of “When Ye Go Away” (click here to listen), which first appeared on 1986’s Fisherman’s Blues album. This version was performed by the “Water-Trio,” comprising past and present Waterboys Mike Scott (vocals and guitar), Steve Wickham (fiddle) and Sharon Shannon (accordian). It was recorded at Dean Crow Theatre in Athlone, Ireland in 2004.

Slainté!

The “Water-Trio” of Sharon Shannon, Steve Wickham and

Mike Scott in Cambridge, England, 2007.