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The Waterboys: A Rock in the Weary Land

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Puck Productions
Released: 2000.11.07
Time:
 58:18
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Mike Scott
Rating: *******... (7/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.mikescottwaterboys.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2001.10.29
Price in €: 7,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Let It Happen (M.Scott) - 6:20
[2] My Love Is My Rock in the Weary Land (M.Scott) - 8:16
[3] It's All Gone (M.Scott) - 2:15
[4] Is She Conscious? (M.Scott) - 4:41
[5] We Are Jonah (M.Scott) - 5:08
[6] Malediction (M.Scott) - 4:16
[7] Dumbing Down the World (M.Scott) - 3:06
[8] His Word Is Not His Bond (M.Scott) - 3:59
[9] Night Falls on London (M.Scott) - 0:48
[10] The Charalatan's Lament (M.Scott) - 6:52
[11] The Wind in the Wires (M.Scott) - 5:33
[12] Crown (M.Scott) - 7:04

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


MIKE SCOTT - Organ, Synthesizer, Synthesizer, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Vocals, Bellzouki, Mixing, Roland Synthesizer

JEREMY STACEY - Drums
PAUL BEAVIS - Drums
JODY LINSCOTT - Drums
DAVE RUFFY - Tambourine, Drum Programming
ROBIN SCOTT - Vocals, Background Vocals
MARK SMITH - Bass, Bass
ANTHONY THISTLETHWAITE - Mandolin
KEVIN WILKINSON - Drums
GILAD ATZMON - Saxophone
THIGHPAULSANDRA - Synthesizer, Trumpet, Keyboards, Mellotron

THE LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR - Choir

STEVE ORCHARD - Engineer, Mixing, Echo
NICK WOLLAGE - Engineer, Mixing, Leslie Pedal
CHRIS MADDEN - Engineer
BEN DARLOW - Engineer
ALEX CLARK - Engineer
BEN KAPE - Engineer
CHRIS BLAIR - Mastering
PHIL TENNANT - Management
STEVE GULLICK - Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Through the years, the Waterboys have adopted whatever persona or fancy Mike Scott held at a given point in time. Hence, this band has fluctuated from the pop/rock of the early- to mid-'80s to the ensuing folk period to the aimless early '90s, which yielded Dream Harder. That was their swan song, which alienated Waterboys fans who grew to cherish the previous two releases, Room to Roam and Fisherman's Blues. That apparently didn't concern Scott too much, since he equates the individual (himself) with the band in no uncertain terms: "[T]o me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions." Appropriately, A Rock in the Weary Land fuses the complexity, grandeur, and simplicity that have characterized Scott's music in the past. This is the recording that the homogenous Dream Harder failed to become. It's ambitious, moody, surreal, and relevant. Scott terms the renewed sound of the Waterboys as "sonic rock," in which he incorporates all of the elements and possibilities of modern rock (which he finds compatible) into a uniform, technically updated body of work. Various distorted and synthesized effects are utilized throughout this album, but typically so are the psychedelic tendencies that Scott has always held dear. John Lennon influences seem to surface frequently, both vocally and compositionally, most notably on "Is She Conscious." And, as virtually all Mike Scott projects (both solo and group) will reveal, much of the content revolves around the struggle, confusion, and inspiration that his growing faith elicits.

Dave Sleger - All Music Guide
© 1992 - 2001 AEC One Stop Group, Inc.



Seven years and two Mike Scott solo albums since the Waterboys' previous album, Scott's decision to resuscitate the name of the band that made him famous feels like the decision of a man who is determined to stop running from something at which he excels. The second of his solo albums, 1998's Still Burning, was infused with the epic scope that had characterized the Waterboys at their best; A Rock in the Weary Land feels like a logical progression. There is little trace of the Irish-folk influence that occupied Scott for much of the early 1990s; this is what Scott calls "the big music"--surging rock ballads built from Zeppelinesque drums, backing choirs, strings, and what sounds like dozens of guitars. At its peaks, as on the title track and "We Are Jonah," this CD is vintage Waterboys, which is to say it's altogether exhilarating.

Andrew Mueller - Amazon.com



The Waterboys, das war von vornherein immer vor allem Projektname und Pseudonym für einen Musiker, der bald für viele viel mehr war als das: Mike Scott, Schotte, Rockmusiker und Weltreisender, der nach sieben Jahren das erste neue Waterboys-Album veröffentlicht. Von seinen alten Mitstreitern noch dabei ist Gitarrist Anthony Thistlethwaite, neu dabei der Mellotronspieler Thighpaulsandra, bekannt durch seine prägnanten Beiträge bei Spiritualized und vor allem Julian Cope. Wie Copes Band The Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen, Wah!Heat und The Sound veröffentlichte Scott die ersten Waterboys-Alben in den frühen Achtzigern und war mit ihnen Vertreter einer Popmusik, die - vollkommen überdreht auf der einen Seite - sich musikalisch auf traditionell grenzüberschreitende ästhetische Tugenden besann und ein spirituelles Moment besaß. Genau der Stoff also, aus dem Kulte enstehen, und bald war Scotts Person (freiwillig oder nicht) zur Integrationsfigur einer gläubigen Gemeinde von Fans geworden. Diese mit gleichen Mitteln zu reaktivieren, darauf legt Scott es zum Glück nicht an. Denn wenn die Songs auf A Rock In The Weary Land natürlich seine Handschrift tragen, von seiner unverwechselbaren Stimme und den ebenso simplen wie effektiven Gitarrenriffs dominiert werden, käut Scott trotzdem nicht wieder. Episches in der Form, wie es auf frühen Alben wie dem '83er Debüt oder This Is The Sea (1985) stattfand, findet man ebensowenig wie den Folk von Room To Roam (1990) oder gar einen Über-Hit wie "A Girl Called Johnny". Hier greift all das mehr ineinander und streicht - nicht nur durch die häufigen Gospel-Bezüge - die Spiritualität von Scotts Musik klarer heraus als bisher. Der Sound ist frisch, ohne dass der Waterboys-typische Soundtrack-Charakter vollends verschwindet; Samples, zeitgemäße Effekte und Stilzitate (Hip Hop!) passen sich hervorragend ein. Sein bestes Album, findet Mike. Was zwar nicht überraschend ist, aber womöglich wahr.

Rolf Jäger - Amazon.de



If nothing else, you should applaud his timing. In a year when the shores are awash with bands striving to capture the Big Music, Mike Scott has returned with the first Waterboys album for seven years - a record of vaunting ambition that dispenses with his recent folk past in favour of monumental rock soundscapes.

Of course, his work with The Waterboys has always been synonymous with such epic gesturing. Scott's questing spirit has continually driven him to make music both rich in melodrama and pretension and - after two commercially disastrous solo albums - it's no surprise to see him returning to that blueprint.

Constructed with original member Anthony Thistlewaite and current Spiritualized associate Thighpaulsandra, 'A Rock In The Weary Land' starts and finishes brilliantly. The first two songs - 'Let It Happen' and 'My Love Is My Rock In The Weary Land' - dwarf anything attempted by the class of 2000. The latter song, in particular, with its vast crescendos of Crazy Horse guitar noise and choral interludes, is magnificent. It's a shame then that after scaling such a peak, Scott only matches it with the closing 'Crown' (a song that ends in a haze of panning guitar effects and free-form sax). There might be moments in between that come close (the piano throb of 'Is She Conscious?', for instance), but the hollow bombast of 'We Are Jonah' and the sludgy 'Dumbing Down The World' undermine what, otherwise, would have been a masterpiece.

As it is, this remains a welcome reminder of an almost forgotten talent, as well as an object lesson in the art of production (the whole record sounds amazing). Even if this album occasionally spins way off into the ether, there's still more than enough to justify The Waterboys' re-emergence. JJ72 should take note.



Seven, unless you happen to be in a serial killer movie, or have just broken a mirror, usually bodes nothing but good.

Whether Mike Scott, a man whose music is steeped in folklore and spirituality, waited that number of years to revive the Waterboys moniker in hope of a positive omen, we don't know. Whatever, 'A Rock In The Weary Land' easily breaks the curse of disappointing albums - two solo after two as The Waterboys - which have dogged him over the last decade.

Once more including original member Anthony Thistlewaite, this is the sound of a band returning to their roots, to the dramatic Celtic infused epics of their early records. 'My Love Is My Rock In The Weary Land' (which deserves an arrest from the Pretentious New Age Title Police) is a magnificent, arm-waving anthem, all momentous piano and gospel choir, that recalls both Tom Petty and The Beatles.

'Is She Conscious', while having misleadingly lower key verses, builds up to the sort of chorus which threatens to overwhelm you bodily, while the enchanting, Scott Walker-tinged 'The Wind In The Wires' has a less flamboyant majesty.

Sadly there are some clangers here too - on 'Dumbing Down The World' Scott has clearly listened to too many Fall records and sounds like he's singing through a tea cosy. But that's nothing next to the execrable 'We Are Jonah' which comes complete with a "Grandma we are Jonah" refrain and seems to have walked in off a terrible seventies musical.

So, 'A Rock In The Weary Land' isn't perfect. But as comebacks go, it's pretty close.

Mary MacIan - © dotmusic.com
 

 L y r i c s


LET IT HAPPEN

Such a sad procession
winding down the lane
What a strange impression
was branded on my brain
A band was playing endless mindless
It was like a hooligan's lament
It was dumb but it was timeless
I still wonder what it meant

But whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

"Behold the lights of London"
the skipper said as his hands shook,
his aura eaten by his jealousy
and all the drugs he took
He said "This is the real world, Buddy
Toughen up your ass or it'll break"
I said "I'm not your buddy, Buddy
and your real world is a fake"

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

The D.J. took his vengeance
as the wedding guests arrived
There was malice in his handshake,
quicksand in his eyes
As he slunk across the courtyard
from far-off I heard a horn
Somewhere in the bleak mid-distance
something beautiful is born

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

I stumbled down a street of shadows
a black hallelujah split the night
anarchists and priests were playing stripjack
underneath the crude lamplight
I came upon a weeping soldier
he said "I'm all washed up now hush !"
But when I glanced across his shoulder
he held the royal flush

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

I'm still here, I'm still breathing
I'm who I thought I was or just about
I'll be walking down this boulevard
until my legs give out
Thoughts like storms and seas are raging
I know it is a matter of degree
but it's not the world outside that's changing
it's me

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me
Whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me


MY LOVE IS MY ROCK IN THE WEARY LAND

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
Yes my love is my rock in the long low weary land

None of this moves me
I should be weeping but it only hurts when I yawn
I let it blow through me and it's gone

I'm dressed like a scarecrow
stripped of all my power as if some judge in judgement said
"Off with his greatcoat and his head !"

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land

Meaningless movies
on the screen behind the band that's blowing, throwing shapes
Half of the music is on tape

My mentor and champion
is busy tilting at the windmills of his stately home
The demon he's grappling is his own

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land

His letter lies open
His accusations flow like poison from his every word
My heart would be broken but for Her

The fag-end of winter
I'm in shock, I'm on the ropes, I don't know what's to come
She plucks the splinter from my thumb

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
Yes my love is my rock in the long low weary land
In the weary land...


IT'S ALL GONE

It's all gone
so send the rain


IS SHE CONSCIOUS?

Is she conscious
Is she really wide awake
Is she conscious
of her beautiful mistake
Is she conscious
as she moves among the crowd

She's got the world upon a piece of string
She's got the world upon a piece of string, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
Is she asleep or just afloat
Is she conscious
of the letter that she wrote
Is she conscious
of the muzak in her ears

The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
as she sways across the room
Is she conscious
of the weeping of the moon
Is she conscious
as she leaves the door ajar
Is she conscious
as she gets into the car

I don't even want to say her name
I don't even want to say her name, that's all
I want to sing it from the toppest top
I want to sing it from the toppest top, that's all
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
of the chauffeur as he drives
Is she conscious
as the ambulance arrives


WE ARE JONAH

And the well known fox
stepped up to make his speech
His ship was on the rocks
and rescue out of reach
spotlit he stood
said what he thought he should

Half the crowd did laugh
though there was no joke
and soon the other half
were swallowed up in smoke
a robber on the wing
could be heard to sing
the strangest thing...

Grandma
We are Jonah
rolling along
in the teeth of the whale

Then the plane did land
for some it did not crash
From it emerged a man
in trainers and moustache
down he laid his load
upon the hated road

Then the road did part
and the tar did melt
he loosened up his heart
he tightened up his belt
like a piece of string
then he began to sing
like a pearly king !

Grandma
We are Jonah
rolling along
in the teeth of the whale

Then the scene did shift
to a sunkissed sea
there was Montgomery Clift,
Jonah, the whale and me
as the sun it set
Montgomery placed his bet

Then the whale did yawn
and fell asleep in four
from dusk till dawn
you should have heard him snore
from Tierra Del Fuego
to the Alaskan snows...
There she blows...

Grandma
We are Jonah
rolling along
in the teeth of the whale
My dear old Grandma
We are Jonah
rolling along
in the teeth of the whale !


MALEDICTION

I am walking in the last rays of the setting sun
whistling a hangman's tune with head held high,
swinging my gun
I say this little boy is angry
I say this little boy is mad
This little boy comes to destroy, stone eyed, hard faced,
in swathes of vengeance clad

And the black cock crows
and a dead wind blows

In my wake are seven women who tried to steal my soul
In my belly six wild wolves curse and howl
from their foul hole
I say no earthly will may stop me
I say no earthly will may try
No earthly will may halt the spill of blood from wounds
and tears from grieving eyes

And the black cock crows
and a dead wind blows

Below me burn the city lights like fires of pearls and jewels
I'm climbing down the city walls, unseen, unfussed -
the sentries must be fools
I say all pleasantries are over
I say all pleasantries are past
My enemies you pimps and thieves prepare to meet
your nemesis at last !


DUMBING DOWN THE WORLD

I'm dumbing down the world
Yes, I'm dumbing down the world

And my head is held high
and the glint in my eye
and my arrogance rumbles before me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my thoughts are banal
like a stagnant canal
and my sycophants shamble behind me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my hour is come around, is come around !
Yes my hour is come around, it's come around...
Look around !

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my works are designed
to suck blood from your mind
for your energy feeds and sustains me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world and I love it !


HIS WORD IS NOT HIS BOND

"Just let me tell you what a liar will do
He's always comin' with something new
He'll steal your heart with false pretensions
makin' out like he's your bosom friend"
(Rev Isaiah Shelton 1927 "The Liar")

He lives in a waste
void of culture and taste
his eye on a prize beyond
His every word
is in the right place
but his word is not his bond

His face is comely
his heart it bleeds
yet it's but a mantle he has donned
Mark him only
by his deeds
for his word is not his bond

I'd love to take him
out of his room
and gently break him
I'd love to see him dance !

His protege deals
in confusion and fog
Of power he is fond
Wheels within wheels -
like master, like dog
His word is not his bond

I'm trying to swim
but I'm caught in the shallows
and I sense that I've been conned
Deliver him
...to the gallows !
His word is not his bond


NIGHT FALLS ON LONDON

The Charlatan's Lament

At long weary last
this game is over
The sins of the past
have fled from my shoulder
The sleep that I need
is all I ask
In thought and in deed
I have burned the mask
Here I am...
Here I am...

Enchantment is broken
I merge with the crowd
Oaths have been spoken
inside and out loud
Emerging from under
notions of god
In tears
and in wonder
I venture abroad
Here I am...
Here I am...

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me

Encountered a loathly hag
Blood on the snow
She said "I've a burden to drag
and leagues to go"
I left her down by the seaside
in someone's hall
By dawn's empty light I cried
for no one at all
Here I am...
Here I am...

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me

I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
tears and wonder !

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me
Harder for me


THE WIND IN THE WIRES

Wake lady wake
the hills are in flood
and the road we must take
is a river of blood
and the wind in the wires
and your heart like a cup
and I'm down in the war
and you've got to get up
for mercy's sake
wake lady wake

Dress lady dress
put on your skullcap and boots
for the priest has confessed
and the chase is afoot
and the hounds are behind
gunmen around every tree
and if it's all in our minds -
well where else would it be ?
I suggest
you dress lady dress

This is the day, this is the day, this is,
this is the day, this is,
this is the day, the day, this is the day
This is the day, this is the day, this is,
this is the day, this is,
this is the day, the day, this is the day
our kingdom will crash
like a poor piece of trash

Swim lady swim
lady don't refuse
though our chances are slim
and we're totally confused
there are clues to be found
and I'd ask my peers
but they're all dumbing down
till this bad weather clears
we're out on a limb
so swim lady swim

This is the day....


CROWN

I've had money
and I lost it
seen an ocean
nearly crossed it
I have been to another world
and I have returned
and for every high joy
a hard lesson learned
but when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown

I've had power
I've used and abused it
tasted glory
I have wooed and refused it
tried to live in a sacred way -
I did and I did not
and for everything I lost
there's been something else I got
and when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown

I've been up and I've been down
sometimes almost level with the ground
once in every hundred years I can
still remember who I am

Been in danger
tried to face it
saw a mirage
and for seven years I chased it
I'm not through with my changes
I've got a long way still to run
I'm gonna play this show
even if nobody comes
and when love comes tumbling down
when love comes tumbling down
when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown
 

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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