THE WATERBOYS
Atlantic Rain (Chrysalis)
After trawling through the Fisherman’s Blues recording sessions for a 2013 six-CD release of the original 1988 folk-rock classic, it’s a wonder that head Waterboy Mike Scott has found more material from those days for this latest collection.
Lost for decades, the tracks on Atlantic Rain are a mix of complete songs, instrumental jams and cover versions, and a great find for the band’s sole remaining original member. The energy captured in these sessions is palpable and some songs, like Light Shine On Me, are real gems that hint toward Scott’s later writing style.
But with so many extended jams, and cover versions of everyone from Willie Nelson to Prince, you can’t help think Scott has missed a trick – especially after the extensive Magnificent Seven five-disc release that captured this same lineup in all its ramshackle glory just five years ago.
Atlantic Rain is a completist’s collection piece that would have worked better as a leaner, alternate album: a what-if, one-record curio, rather than this three-disc, warts-and-all deep dive.
words JOHN-PAUL DAVIES
