Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Very interesting, hard to classify. It's got some rock, some bluegrass/country, some 80s sounds, a little jazzy, etc. Good tunes with a little more depth.
I actually liked this album. Not the biggest fan of Irish/Scottish folk music, but the songs were good. Some of the more poppier songs reminded me of 80s U2.
Cool when it cuts between studio and amateur recordings. Sincere music and lyrics bestow hearty emotions. Bloody long
Great title track. Second half of the album is better, country vibe. Some songs overstay their welcome.
Folk. Agradable.
Not my favorite, but still better than the Allman Brothers
A good folk album that has punk influences in its first half, but slows down - much to my disliking - in the second. STANDOUTS: -Fisherman’s Blues -We Will Not Be Lovers -World Party -And a Bang on the Ear
A little long winded but pretty cool sound in general. Irish Bob Dylan? 6/10
Este no me gustó tanto. supongo que el bluesgrass no es lo mío.
Not awful but like ehhhhhhhhhh 2.9
Interesting.
Pretty good, but didn't hook me
Found this to be relatively run of the mill folkish pop. Possibly harder on it than it deserves because of the annoyance of not being able to just play the album as released due to YT Music and it's weird presentation of it's available selections.
More listenable than The Pogues but still doesn't really work for me.
Liked this a bit more than I thought I would. I would say the more coarse/rough vocal stylings help separate it from generic folk/rock. Overall a nice sound. The original edition of the album only spanned the 1st disk so I stopped there. The sounds for the most part sound pretty same-y, but I'm sure if you like it it's perfect that way. Deluxe is a bit too much for one take. 3.5 down to 3 since there weren't any standout tracks for me.
Ontzettend iers, viool geeft goeie vibes
Eh, it's fine. I was distracted while listening.
I’m sure it’s a big hit across the pond
1. Not bad. 2. Really good guitar, I liked the track. 3. Liked it. 4. Piano and bass really shine, like the track a lot. 5. Lead + rhythm guitar is really nice. 6. Pretty nice, chill track. 7. Okay track. I like the Rhodes-ish synth near the end. 8. Nice piano, song is laid back and chill. 9. Starting to kind of get tired of the violin, but not a bad song. The piano sounds really nice. 10. Really cool guitar riff throughout the song, interesting vibrato on the lead guitar in the intro. Like the laid back vibe of the song. 11. Okay track. 12. Really like the intro, nice piano and flute parts. Piano work is amazing throughout. 13. Cool jam track to end the first part of the album. 14. Really cool flute, reminded me of Breath of the Wild. Really nice how the piano and other instruments join in and make the song that much better. 15. Not bad, instrumentation is nice. 16. Horns are nice, really like the instrumentation. 17. Good. 18. Good. 19. Good. 20. Good. 21. Liked it. 22. Good.
Started strong, but it was fine. Solid album, just not amazing to us.
Bit Like Dave Matthews with annoying fiddles
Fav Song: When Will We Be Married - 1987 Version
decent old stuff, sounds good
I liked the folksy aspect and the fact it was very Celtic - felt very at home. However, maybe I've just been oversaturated by Celtic trad that it‘s just not to my taste. Good tho!
really nice, but long and starts to drag by the middle. didn't finish
Meh
I honestly kept on changing my mind about how I felt throughout listening to this album. I liked the traditional Celtic sound towards the end, but the record dragged for me as a whole. This is a bit too weak for me to give it a 4, so I'll give it 3 stars but it is more like a 3.5 than a 3.0.
I mean look, its alright. I personally feel they did amazing with the instruments on this album, and really made it feel alive. However I might not be the biggest fan of Scottish music?? or something idek, its like rocky but also Scottishy on some parts. I love when they just super randomly covered blackbird lmao really cool album but it was extremely long and that's a big problem for me with mediocre albums. Especially like a 12 minute song idk its just not for me unless its completely mind blowing like Pink Floyd.
Very vanilla.
I don't know what it is about the music from this era, late 80s / early 90s, but it really rubs me the wrong way, I just strongly dislike it. I guess it is something to do with the instruments used and maybe the drumming, but I can't define it or point to a certain reason or reasons in the same way that I can't say why I like what I really like. All this to say, I disliked this album from track one for reasons I can't define, a visceral reaction. The later tracks with more folk influence I enjoyed a lot more (although not the mawkish The Stolen Child), but as my enjoyment was previously at rock bottom that's not saying much. Finally, some of these tracks are way too long. The singles from this are 7 and 9 minutes long. Can you imagine hearing that on the radio?
Does this album contain the best song about being a domestic abuser immediately followed by a song in which one glosses over the fact that one's idol may be a domestic abuser and you don't care? Yes, yes it does.
Bit fey
I wanted to like this but it’s kinda bad.
Peaked with “We Will Not Be Lovers”
Being labeled as "Celtic Rock", I was expecting this to sound similar to The Pogues. On the contrary, this was not even remotely as fun as the other band, and basically did nothing for me. Excluding my experience with The Pogues, I'm basically a stranger when it comes to Celtic folk, but if someone asked me how I would describe its sound, I would say it is a very exciting and energetic style of music. This life that I think of is not present at all in this album. Maybe my interpretation of this genre is totally wrong, and most of the time Celtic music is like this. In that case, I'll say that I'm not interested. The album sounds very passive. It lands in a point where the music isn't energetic enough neither it is captivating. As a result, it feels to me very stale. It makes it even more infuriating when there are so many instruments playing, blending elements of rock (like electric guitar and bass) and folk (like the various violins, the mandolin and the flute) and none of them are able to capture my attention. Not that they sound bad, just they don't do anything for me.
Bueno este album lo miré por encima antes, y dije "se escucha bueno" pero parece que elegí una parte muy buena porque en general, no me gustó. Me aburrí al escucharlo, no tenia mucha gracia, algunas canciones igual eran en cierto punto "disfrutables" pero fuera de eso, no destaca en nada para mi, tiene una esencia muy antigua, o eso pienso yo, y la verdad es que seria un 2.3 de puntaje, tan malo no fue tampoco.
When to listen: at a barn? In Ireland? Unclear. This album was... overwhelming. A lot of instruments. A lot of styles. A lot of dissonant chords. A lot of tracks. I see the vision in moments but not the whole time.
I didn't really care for this album, it seemed mostly OK if a bit over-busy and not terribly exceptional to my ears. But then again, it's not to my taste. I played this twice, and ultimately found it rather irritating. As an aside, when I was a student in Edinburgh in the mid to late 1970s, every billboard seemed to be advertising Scott's earlier band Another Pretty Face. Never heard them!
what the heck is going on around here
2.5
sin pena ni gloria...
this album was just not my dig but they did do a beatles tribute with blackbird which i thought was nice. the lead singer just needs to clear his throat and his vocals might pass
I liked maybe 4 songs and the rest bored me rigid. Like a limper version of The Pogues.
Bien, no estuvo mal. Solo que me pareció un disco de fondo
Background Irish noises with a random Beatles jumpscare in the middle
Fisherman's Blues And a Bang on the Ear
It's perfectly pleasant Celtic-inflected folk rock, and I already knew I liked Mike Scott's voice from the "Whole Of The Moon" single (which isn't on this album). But perfectly pleasant doesn't strike me as anywhere near essential listening for a list of 1001 albums to hear before you die.
I only know that 'whole of the moon' song by this lot but it's not on here. Mostly pretty samey bland folk-pop-rock with a bit of an Irish lilt. It sounds like it wants to be stadium rock but have these guys got a stadiumful of fans? I won't be listening to it again.
Folk rock is just never as good as straight folk. I’ve heard better, and it’s so self-serious, even though it’s good and has some standout tracks. Bookended by the best, the middle I could take or leave… actually, mostly leave.
A tale of two. The more upbeat songs are easy to get into and real highs. However, I hated 'Has Anybody Here Seen Hank?' That's when I really started to feel like it should end and "Am I stuck in an Irish purgatory pub?" A similar theme with a lot of these albums is they end up going on far too long.
Meh
I thought this was going to be decent at moments early in, but it just got more and more boring
The fusion of genres/sound was fun for a few song, but got a bit much.
Sorry, but I don’t like this kind of music.
Not for me. Just kinda meh. Way too long. A LOT of fiddle. "We Will Not Be Lovers" was the only one I sort of enjoyed.
kinda bland with only one notable song, didnt finish
It's not a bad album, it's just not for me
It was ok. I don’t know this band. I liked the song We Will Not Be Lovers. The songs were all a little long though.
Didn’t give it a full listen but what I heard didn’t do it for me. In fact it wasn’t really good
Not really my thing but it was kind of interesting
I find this very hard to describe but this feels something like what would have happened had Echo and the Bunnymen played the Braveheart soundtrack.
The Irish jig vibe going on in this album is interesting and sounds fun. However, it's almost 2 hours long and I do not have the time to listen to practically the same song for that long.
The length of both an album and its individual songs is something I’ve always made out to be really important when it comes to how cohesive and enjoyable an album is… When an album has too many songs, it can start to feel repetitive or drawn out and when a song is too long, it feels the same way. Sometimes a song can justify itself being long, but there’s also a point where it can just be too long. There’s no exact length that’s used as a benchmark, as sometimes a 5 minute song can become boring while a 7 minute song keeps you hooked, but the longer the song is, the more you have to do to keep the listener interested All that being said, this album really pushed the limit for me Okay, rant over… Fisherman’s Blues is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard so far and I had a good time listening to some of its songs, but by the time I got through And a Bang on the Ear,I felt like I had enough I had a decent enough experience to where I don’t think it deserves one star but anything more than two feels like too much
Only one of these songs is Fisherman's Blues, unfortunately. Not a bad album though.
It's alright, there's some good-but-not-memorable tracks, and some boring shite. Nothing stands out particularly. It's not bad by any means. Some fun songs. Didn't dislike it but wouldn't listen again. Solid 5/10.
Fisherman’s Blues has grit, heart, and enough ragged charm and musical personality to honk your metaphorical horn...or at least at first. Unfortunately, the record never manages to get passed tickling the genies, slowly revealing itself to be an exhaustive trip to nowhere. It’s the sound of very talented musicians having a great time...ignoring the concept of editing. Decent soundtrack to getting day-hammered and passing out in the sun on the patio of your favorite local drinking establishment!
Oh! Another generic, boring 80s folk/rock album? Ohhh but it has a mediocre violinist and some horns… surely must be the greatest album ever. But for real. It's so long. It's so repetitive. It's so boring.
too much folk for me
There were some songs I really liked, but I agree with most others that this went on for a bit too long.
I really tried with this one.
It had some decent songs, but for the most part, I wanted to pull my hair out... and it was sooo loooong!
Best Track - "We Will Not Be Lovers"
I can't say I overly enjoyed this, and a few of these tracks are in need of a radio edit, but compared to most of the albums we've had over the last few weeks, this was tolerable. If I were forced to listen to a second disc of this, I'd likely have given it a resentful 1, though.* Side note, I had heard their 'The Whole of the Moon' before today, and I do enjoy that song. I just listened to it again, and it's very clear that this album was a less commercial change of direction for them. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is up to the listener, but it certainly lowers its accessibility. *I believe the album pic needs to be updated on this one. Collector's editions should NEVER be your introduction to any band. Thankfully, I was able to listen to the original one-disc version on YouTube.
All filler very little killer
Barely made it through the first album
The original version ends at song 13 "this land is your land", so that's where I plan to finish too. Starts with a bang with Fisherman's Blues Enjoyed We will Not be Lovers, though it is the same song again. The rest of the album is kinda mediocre
I've heard better Irish/Scottish. And it was too long.
Enjoyed the opening track, but wasn't captivated by anything else, including the Van Morrison cover.
I mean it's not terrible, but I really didn't think it was that great either Don't know if it deserves 2, but here we go for now
I imagine this goes really hard in those traditional pubs. Favourite Track(s): We Will Not Be Lovers Least Favourite Track(s): Sweet Thing
My first listen to anything by Mike Scott and the Waterboys, and I can see the vision- more approachable Rock with a healthy dose of Celtic folk music and some trappings of Country and Americana, done grandiose, with a large band of mixed instrumentation, similar to Springsteen. I'm sorry to say, that similar to my takes on Springsteen, it often falls short of the ambition. While the arrangements are often full and complex, there are several detriments to the project overall that make it unenticing to my ears. First off, Mike Scott isn't really all that compelling as a vocalist, with his stylings ranging from somewhat catatonic and subdued to shaky and shrill (my god, did the "wooooooo"'s on "We Will Not Be Lovers" start to grate over the song's length). Second, while the arrangements are often very full and lush, the engineering is also equally as subdued, making the full band sound not-so-wall of sound and more washed out. The track that stands out as this not being the case is "Stolen Child", capping off the original tracks on the album, where the Celtic instrumentation is really finally allowed to stand on its own and influence the music. This is immediately followed by a washed out, poorly sung, live-sounding rendition of Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" that goes back to the lackluster half-Celtic stylings and promptly pulls the teeth of the previous track- an incredibly strange way to end off the album. Several of the tracks that attempt to let the traditional instruments stand on their own are too compositionally simplistic or repetitive- again "When Will We Be Lovers" and it's incredibly repetitive fiddle line and 7 minute runtime come to mind. Strangely, the highlights across the album generally tend to be the gaelicized country tracks - "A Bang On The Ear" and "Sweet Thing" - or the tracks that lean more into the traditional Celtic stylings, like "When Will We Be Married" or instrumentals like "Dunford's Fancy" and "Jimmy Hickey's Waltz". Overall, a listen let down by consistent failings in attempt to reach a tangible vision it meets on only a handful of tracks. Favorite Track: "Stolen Child" Least Favorite Track: "We Will Not Be Lovers"
I'm trying to tease out exactly why this doesn't land for me like other folk rock hybrids (ie The Band). I think it comes down to the fairly uninteresting base melodies/beats. Like, there's all this window dressing of fun instrumentation, but behind the cool accordion solo or ripping harmonica is just another relatively flat and repetitive high hat. And, sometimes that cool instrumentation doesn't feel properly integrated with the rest of the track, as if hard hitting fiddles were forcibly attached to existing melodies or what have you. I may be reading too much into it, but it just feels like Mike Scott just went through phases and used sounds and styles he liked at the time by attaching them onto more familiar bones. The result of which feels like some Frankenstein where beautiful instrumentation is somehow less than the sum of its parts. And I don't want to present this like there wasn't anything on the almost 2hr album I didn't enjoy, there absolutely was. It's just the gems like Sweet Thing, or the gorgeous fiddle on When Will We Be Married, feel like they're obscured in an amalgamation of lesser pieces that don't compliment them well. To use another food analogy, it's like eating a series of plates of boiled chicken with really exciting sauces and sides that may or may not make you forget you're eating boiled chicken.
Lots of variety, but unfortunately most of it is still boring or annoying, and the album itself is 25 minutes too long. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing
I just wanted to turn it off loads so I did
не блюз, а фолк рок с шотландскими традиционными мотивами. очень длинный альбом, но не прям сильно скучный
irischer country folk .. weniger meins.
Good album better than I expected good ol' country folk witha little rock. Very repetitive but still enjoyable
Yeah fine I guess
This album was a little bit all over the place for me, and too country for my taste. My favorite moments were definitely the parts that leaned Scottish/Irish, with flute, violin, heavy accent, etc. I also thought a lot of the album was very "noisy," not necessarily in a bad way, but not in a way I really enjoyed. I didn't hear anything particularly special about the production or mixing. If anything, I thought it could have used a little more tweaking to be less noisy. Vocals and instrumentals were about average, but I particularly enjoyed the violin performance. The Stolen Child was by far my favorite track, and one of the only ones that really stood out to me. Really beautiful melodies, lyrics, and instrumentals. I think my overall dislike for this album came from just how country it leaned. I enjoy folk and some bluegrass, but not this kind of *country.* It's not a bad album, just really not my thing at all. It's a 2.5/5, but I'm going to round down because I just do not see myself ever coming back to this.
I wanted to like this one, but found it incredibly boring and tedious to sit through (though it's probably a personal taste thing). Not for me, though I acknowledge some musical talent throughout. 2/5
I would love to know how this list got put together. I don't get why this is here. The first few tracks were in an interesting mix of big 80s production and instrumentation mixed with traditional Celtic folk sounds, but then it just drifted into traditional Celtic music player reasonably well. The songs weren't all that interesting and some were interminably long and droning. I zoned out a few times during the listen.
Got to the last song and realized it was a double album. I remember this band from years ago. They had 1 hit. I've had enough of Maritime music now. Not braving disc 2.
It was.... fine. Irish folk jam band? Not really hitting with me, not terrible.
Okay, this is nice enough folk music, more Irish folk than Scottish (the band is from Scotland). But it's not very exciting and the late 80s production bothered me here and there. It's not something I will revisit though. 2.5 stars.
Hot, dry days, and no bait.
Nothing special about this. It just exists.
5.8/10 Not much to say about this one. There are a few solid tracks, but the overall sound and vibe never really clicked with me, and it just feels like this album isn’t for me. Favorite song: when will we be married Least favorite: the stolen child
I suffered through the first disk but I can't make myself listen to the second. It's not TERRIBLE just....terribly boring. The singer sounds a bit like Bob Dylan (derogatory).
Disco de rock, medio country, con influencias de música escocesa e irlandesa, lugar de origen de la banda. Con violines bien presentes que a veces suenan casi como una gaita. Es un disco regular sin muchos puntos bajos, pero tampoco altos. No me parece repetitivo pero si largo y difícil de escuchar
Boring
I was really hoping I’d like this. Oh well
Comes out of the gate swinging with the title track, but then just kind of hangs around from there. (2.5)
Good lord this is long… so many waltzes and jigs. Look, I love me some Irish music. But I’ve heard more interesting Irish music in a pub on open mic night. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Waterboys. The music is nice. But completely and utterly devoid of any originality, excitement, or passion. Give me the Pogues, or shit, even the Irish Tenors! This music is the definition of mid. Sorry ‘boys.
Nice folk music but at over an hour it becomes a bit too much after a while
Felt like something I’d hear at a local church festival.
Im a pretty big fan of folk and this was so boring
I think it’s cool that they’re sticking to their Irish roots to make a sort of modern Celtic music record however, Celtic music sort of gives me a migraine and I prefer the songs that are less Celtic and more rock. The song about Hank Williams is terrible but maybe this just isn’t my thing.
1st track good but lost interest after
Yeah, not really for me on this specific day. When I sat down to listen to it, the songs just didn't come through. I know people really like this, but I never really got on with it. Maybe it's because I had a stressful day.
Started out well amd was into it. But after awhile.it just felt the same and unoriginal.
I'm not Irish or Scottish so respectfully I don't like this. There's something off about it to me. God there's two discs? 😓😒 So obnoxious.
First Listen; 2.5; On first listen, I didn't really enjoy this album much at all. It sounded like most other Irish sounding folk music, but pretty sterile and not very interesting. On second listen, it was a little more enjoyable and I liked some of the folky aspects of the music. Still not something I will probably come back to.
Wanted to give it three stars because even though it is a bit boring, it is a good vibe. But then I saw that their upcoming album uses ai art for their cover, so fuck them lmao
It didn't really sound like rock; not a fan.
Waaaaay too long for it's own good. Provides some melodies that are pleasant here and there but my goodness how did we not leave a bit more on the cutting room floor??
Some good noises, but mostly aimless jams
This just isnt something I'll ever like in any universe or any timeline. The music is really fun but I just cannot get into the lyrics or vocalist at all. I don't often stop these albums but "And a Bang on the Ear" was my out.
I have a soft spot for Irish rock - but I have always struggled a bit with the Waterboys. I find them lacking joy and a bit po faced and the vocals overwrought.
I’ve never heard anything like this
Is this country or Irish music? I guess I’m not the intended audience.
There are plenty of interesting ideas across this, and some really unique problems too. In short, this kind of has Dexys Midnight Runners Don't Stand Me Down syndrome to my ears. To clarify, I thought that album was very ambitious, very messy, and pretty interesting, but it was no where near interesting or out-there enough to justify how messy it was (I honestly had quite a few problems with that album, and I do think this one was a little better, but the point stands). The Waterboys were a London based-band fronted and formed by a Scottish man. And, if what I'm reading is true, Fisherman's Blues was inspired by a stint living in Ireland. Prior to this, they had some commercial success releasing a few new wavier albums. However, it seems that contemporarily, Fisherman's Blues was a little too big and weird for the public, and the critics were mixed. It re-centered their sound on Celtic folk, dense, traditional arrangements, and some pub rock influences. But, there are also 9 minute long songs, fiddle-dissonance solos, and a brief Woody Guthrie cover. It *is* messy, and it *is* ambitious, and it *is*, at least cursorily, interesting. I think a lot of the best ideas here are towards the front. The title track puts their best foot forward, with a compelling, original Celtic folk-rock song. And We Will Not Be Lovers is the most successful experiment with what I'm going to dub, "Jam-Folk". It's 7 minutes long, and it has no real chorus, but it *does* have several fiddle solos and the kind of meandering, interesting, song-long half-verse thing going on that reminds me of early Modest Mouse. And, miraculously, it works: mostly due to the song keeping up some really steady momentum. It is always going *somewhere*, even if you don't exactly know where. This also sort of works on World Party, but after this point, things fall apart a little. Sweet Thing is another 7 minute long song, but I don't think it keeps it together nearly as well, even though it has cool moments. And, unfortunately, And A Bang On The Ear is one of the low points of the album to me. It's 9 minutes long, and it feels like a war of attrition. The fiddle melody feels cheesy, and the song doesn't feel like it's going anywhere. And after this, The Waterboys can never capture the promise seen in the first couple of songs. When Will We Be Married is a neat interpretation of a folk tune, but aside from that, there's little else that does much for me (although The Stolen Child also has a couple of moments). I'm also notably not into their attempts to veer into Americana, of which there are a good few. This all together leaves me cold to a pretty substantial part of this album. I will say, there's enough here that I'm not going to write off The Waterboys fully, I get the sense they have other cool stuff. But the interesting to messy to spotty ratio on Fisherman's Blues is all off.
And a half
Couple of great tracks that really hit, but a lot of filler in between. ★★½
The title track is overrated, some goodies on here though but plenty of filler too
It was ok…nothing spectacular here
what starts out as a promising album, especially listening to the grand "We Will Not Be Lovers", slowly but steadily turns into an mediocre folk album. at the beginning of disc 2, the allergic reaction kicks in and i had to stop. sad!
I don’t like Irish music or country, so this did not do much for me.
eh
Fisherman's Blues
Ugh, I hate celtic type sounds. But the 2nd song wasn't bad. And country sounding ones, and anytime a fiddle gets involved are ugh to me too...
This really should be a one, but the dudes at least know how to play instruments, so let's go for two. There's truly no reason to include this album on a list like this. Nothing these guys do have not been done better by other artists.
Better than I expected, but this fell off quickly.
Some songs I really liked, especially the start. Didn't feel like it was worth the length though
Folkrock, 1988 -> 2
pretty lame, not going to lie. The first song was cool, but it devolved from there. Also the new album that's coming out here in late 2025 looks to have AI art. Lame!
Nothing grabbed my attention. Didn't hate it, but won't remember anything about it at all.
#140/1001. I don't know how many days it took to finish this album. It was a busy week, and I tried to sqeeze in a bit of waterboys every now and then. Still it seemed like ages when I finally had time to sit down and listen it to the end. Perhaps the music didn't really inspire either. Some quite basic celtic rock and some quite beautiful numbers. But I could have lived the rest of my life happily without listening to this.
Who told these guys they can include multiple 7+ minute songs?!
4/10
Some interesting songs but most turned into jam band drivel.
Title track great. Dunsford's Fancy is nice. The rest is either like The Pogues but boring or worse (Sweet Thing, and especially The Stolen Child). Didn't enjoy it once the first track was over.
Starts off with a bang, which gave me high hopes. Unfortunately I don't dig the vocals and while the music is often great on the first half, it eventually starts to sort of blend in and drag as the album goes on.
Started off great. Got repetitive
Good background noise 2 star
Fiddly diddly music. Cool if you are a hobbit in a tavern. But nothing I'd listen to on a daily.
Started strong but got worse and worse
Fully expected to despise this album due to me mostly avoiding anything folk tinged like the plague. But it was...fine? A bit more on the rock side of folk rock, which helps. Yes, it is way too long. Yes, it becomes quite repetitive. But the first half of the first disc did not offend me. I am quite surprised. "We Will Not Be Lovers" and "World Party" are my standouts. 2/5
Not bad, the “irishness” of the album wasn’t too overwhelming so that kept it listenable. Nothing stood out though and unlikely to go back to any of it.
The length of both an album and its individual songs is something I’ve always made out to be really important when it comes to how cohesive and enjoyable an album is… When an album has too many songs, it can start to feel repetitive or drawn out and when a song is too long, it feels the same way Sometimes a song can justify itself being long, but there’s also a point where it can just be too long. There’s no exact length that’s used as a benchmark, as sometimes a 5 minute song can become boring while a 7 minute song keeps you hooked, but the longer the song is, the more you have to do to keep the listener interested All that being said, this album really pushed the limit for me When I listened to “Physical Graffiti” (Led Zeppelin), some of the longer tracks like “Trampled Under Foot” and “Kashmir” were interesting enough to justify being 5 and a half and 8 and a half minutes respectively But when this album throws songs at you that are that long (including one that is over 9 minutes!), I got tired of it quick Okay, rant over… “Fisherman’s Blues” is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard so far and I had a good time listening to some of its songs (especially “World Party”), but by the time I got through “And a Bang on the Ear”, I felt like I had enough I had a decent enough experience to where I don’t think it deserves one star but anything more than two feels like too much Favorites: None Honorable Mentions: World Party
First song, I'm into this vibe. Then I saw the album length and this is going to have to be really special to keep my attention for that long. I do like Strange Boat, but it reminds me of another song. It's good but it overstays its welcome.
I cant place why i didnt like this, but i didnt On the plus side they seem to have an ear for a tune, the playing was good and there is a lot of ideas here However, it seemed like a pastiche of too many things thrown together that didnt have much authenticity, the lyrics were not great and the vocal was a sub-springsteen drawl that grated.
I don’t know man. Not particularly enjoyable.
Gick inte hem hos mig, och alldeles för lång :(
I’m typically a fan of mixing rock with folk roots music, but this feels just a bit too shambolic to work. After listening to a little bit of their earlier music I feel like they should’ve stuck with where they were in a beautiful swirling pagan rock vibe. That’s not to say this is all bad; it’s coherent and sounds fantastic, especially for 1988. But it brings to mind too many bands that did this sound better: The Pogues, Big Country, The Mekons, and on and on.
Not bad. Not really my style, but I liked a good amount of things from it. Just way too much of it
Very, I mean, VERY folky. Way more melancholic (and less diddlydeediddlydoo) than The Pogues. Still not for me
World Party was pretty solid, but otherwise this sounds like a top notch band at an Irish bar. Fun, but not remarkable.
Not sure if I disliked being bored by the long tracks or suffering the shorter tracks more.
Reason No. 1,076 why this list sucks.
Ok, not great but I understand why they had a career.
Easy to to listen to but didn't really appeal to me.
Generic
It's ok
Nothing inherently bad about this, although I had some “the band” vibes getting into this (must be the cover picture). I like all instrumentals used in this thigmng but the irish folk/rock/country blend just doesn’t do it for me. Making this thing almost two hours doesn’t help
the first few tracks are really strong, but this album long overstays its welcome and becomes derivative
All over the place and way too long. Was did they start singing "this land is your land" and "blackbird?" I do have to admit that the second disc was a lot better
Weak effort
Meh
Unlike what I would normally listen to for sure. Good instrumentals. I think you have to be in a specific mood to listen.
Pleasantly surprised by the start of this! Then the next song begins and eh. That about sums up my reaction to the rest of the album.
Not really my taste. Probably some tunes I'd enjoy, but a bit long for me
Kinda fun, not really my thing overall. Too long. And a Bang on the Ear was my favorite.
My Irish uncs let me down 😔
theres like 3 good songs on here in the beginning that i really loved so i was hopeful but there's a lot of ren faire bull shit in here
Yawn
Too fucking long man. Ain't no one got time to listen to an album for 2 hours.
Boring!
Mezcla de rock, country y músicas tradicionales de Irlanda y Escocia. Aunque me parezca que ya hay demasiados álbumes de folk-rock irlandés y derivados en esta lista, este álbum me ha parecido de los mejores que he escuchado hasta ahora dentro de su estilo, al menos su primera mitad. Es rápido, alegre y enérgico en su justa medida, a la vez que bucólico y melódico. Los instrumentos tradicionales (más que nada el violín y la gaita) no llegan a resultar irritantes como suele pasar en este género. Un álbum que sabe fusionar muy bien ambos géneros sin llegar a los excesos de The Pogues, Dropkick Murphys y compañía, aunque va girando más hacia el puro folk conforme va avanzando. Sin embargo, lo tengo que dejar en dos estrellas porque la cara B es bastante muermo. Canciones lentas, largas y muy repetitivas, que hacen poco probable que vuelva a escuchar el álbum en su totalidad.
Basically Irish Springsteen/Arcade Fire! Good energy and songwriting, but just not really my bag and songs quite long. Feels like a slog, somehow. Just with the pace and keeping up and amount of things going on in a song.
This album sucks leprechaun balls.
No. DNF
I meaaannn.... this album would be fine...... if it weren't so long... there is no need for ~a third of the songs on this album to be 7+ minutes long. I've decided I just don't really like traditional Celtic influences/fusion in modern music. Pick a lane. I dunno.
**An ok album
It's ok but no song is my favorite
There are good songs on here, and some good musicianship, but it suffers from largely ridiculous lyrics and often obnoxious vocals. I do like varied albums, but somehow this one just feels disjointed. It's just too much in about every way. If this could be trimmed down by about an hour it would do so much better. At least I got to laugh/cry at The Stolen Child.
I know the band name, but was too young to be listening to them back in '88. First time listening to this album. I like his voice but I don't hear anything groundbreaking or overly memorable to include it on the T1001 playlist. Impressive listen count for the title track (66M+) and for the album in general so it's got the popular vote. Too much shanty sound for my liking but good background or Irish Pub type music. Favorite tracks - "Strange Boat" and "World Party". Enjoyable but not worthy, would not have made my Top 1001 or 2001. 3 stars since it's all good but it doesn't check the necessary boxes to make this list.
Way too long and this type of music is better in a pub than on vinyl. Didn't click with me.
Nah. One album is enough. 3 because it’s good. But this isn’t the album. -1 because it shouldn’t be here.
Started off pretty strong but it seems like they lost their way of things by the end of the album, becoming largely forgettable.
thank goodness i read the reviews and it saying i only needed to listen to the first 13 songs. it drags... great ideas and playing a game like Red Dead would make it much better, or at like a campfire setting, however a natural car listen home... not sure about that one. good stuff tho
The first half is great, jammy rock that combines the best tendencies of R.E.M. and Dave Matthews Band with the already decent pub rock sounds of the Waterboys. Despite longer songs, I was entranced. At the halfway point, there is a shift; it's much more folk song inspired, and it just sucks the energy out of the record. Not only is it not essential, but it kinda feels like a betrayal. I would rate it a 3/5, but the string of feeling tricked costs a point.
From the album cover I thought this was going to be something very traditional, proper Irish or sea shanty folk stuff. I did not expect it to be the band who did whole of the moon. It was okay I guess but the mish mash of styles was less than the sum of its parts I'd say. Was very happy to see the 1 hour 50 run time included a special edition disc 3 I could ignore, so I'd definitely reached my limit.
Really long, really boring.
A tweener. Not bluegrass
Kinda balls
Don't get me wrong, I love visiting Scotland...but this isn't why. Not horrible, but too much folk influence for my tastes.
First song was good. All down hill from there
I'd like to give this a 2.5 but I actually just can't because of how this site is set up, it wasn't bad but then again, when the best song on the LP is a cover, that's not a great look. I'll take The Chieftains any day of the week over these guys.
gostei não viu
rock para papais irlandeses! as duas primeiras musicas são bem legais até. a segunda metade é bem chatinha. no mais, paia.
Long.
I tried. It had its moments, but it's too long and annoying.
Jesus Christ just because someone in your little band learns how to play the fiddle doesn’t mean you’re all the sudden good or interesting. This is way too long of a milk toast album to be such a god damn bore.
They all sound a bit like that one single don't they?
I was not a fan of their pompous, overblown 'Whole of the Moon' era. This sounds more like the Pogues, but without the edge, which I guess was the aim? Pleasant enough and slightly more enjoyable than I expected.
Not something I'd listen to on a daily basis but a couple songs could be worth another listen
I listened to a bit of each track and they’re all a bit samey: The Pogues meets Coldplay playing covers in an Irish pub and The Chieftains walk in for a bit of the craic and for a guest appearance. Nice, but iconic? No.
Not really my bag. The Irish elements feel very surface level and the album overall is just kinda saccharine.
hello what
Not my style, Everything sounded great but I didn't like it
Not sure what to say about this but I didn’t like it and it was far too long.
This is music for the pub, on its own it’s rather hokey.
Not keen. Too earnest.
This being my first time listening to the Waterboys, I genuinely enjoyed elements of their music, notably the big, magnificent Celtic sound. As other reviewers noted, it almost feels like a Scottish crossover between Bob Dylan and DMB. I'll add that the repetitiveness of the vox and instrumentals at times reminds me a bit of the style of The War on Drugs. However, this American can only take so much big magnificent Celtic music at one time, and being a 90+ minute double album I fear this record gives the listener too much of a good thing. I'll note that my headphones died about halfway through the first side, and I used that as a worthy enough excuse to say "OK I think that's enough of that, moving on with my day"
I don't really like folk rock. If you like it that's coo Will I listen to again: 0%
A fine album but so something didn't quite hit for me. The opening track is amazing - love it. The rest of the album failed to live up to it in my opinion. And A Bang On The Ear is beautiful. Unfortunately it's a 2*. Not because it's bad in anyway, just that I can think of other albums I would rather see in this list.
pas mon style
Wasn't bad, wouldn't listen to it if I had the choice
Quite long and a bit bland - 2.6
unfortunately i don’t live in a farming video game and im not an english fisherman so this really didn’t do anything for me. probably the worst an album can be without being a 1 star
Didn't do anything special for me. Didn't make it through the first disc.
Too damn long
Ok, not too interesting
This *should* be an album I really like. But in reality, after the first song (which was great) this was a pretty tough listen.
couldn't get through the whole album. Started sounding somewhat repetitive and wasn't my cup of tea.
Sounds like the background music from TRON. Interesting for what it is but not some am going to sit down and actively listen to.
First song was pretty good, but I got a bit tired of the format quickly. Maybe I was just not in the mood for this type of folk music, not sure. It felt like the first half of the record was more rock oriented, and then it turned more folk at the end. Nothing really to write home, strong 2.
Very Irish. Why do I like the Pogues but not this?
Couple of decent songs like fishermans blues, strange boat and stolen child. Overall, the album was absolutely way too long. Ultimately making me lose interest and concentration. I wanted to come back to this one but the length really puts me off.
didn't finish, too long with songs that kinda sounded samesy. i liked the f]trad folk aspect of it tho, i enjoyed a few of the songs that were like that 5.5/10
I was deeply scarred by Come On Eileen, so any fiddlers on pop music need to be Charlie Daniels or I'm instantly dismissing them as dungaree wearing ejeets. This is fine, and you can see how some people love the arse off of it. Not me though. Too many fucking fiddles.
Starts well but wears thin by the end. *Maybe need a repeat listen*. 5/10.
A bit of 1980s for the synth pop beat, jangly guitars, and big U2 sounding production and a lot of 1880s for the industrial era invention of tradition folk music. Alt country, but the country is Ireland.
2.5. Started off well enough, I was bored by the end. But nothing offensively awful.
First few tracks are amazing, then it starts to slowly become more and more repetitive. More of the beginning of the album and cutting out some of the filler would make this a lot better.
Struggled to get to the end of this one
This album would be worth hearing if it was ~1/4 the length
All the songs kinda blended together.
Folksy and fun, trad rock. Not exactly my jam, but I enjoyed it.
Folk! Não é blues não...não gostei muito
The song about a bang on the ear wants me to bang out my ear. Not even to the second disc yet and I desperately want this album to be over. I really don't like this.
I’m okay with this album. This is in the same genre as the Cheiftans and I liked them better. I wouldn’t likely come back to this album.
I found only one really good song here. The rest was very generic. Too bad since I thought that this could be a great record.
Meh. The ubiquitous violin gets tedious pretty quickly and as the album droned on I became more impatient for it to be over.
could i write poetry to this? n
This is never not interesting. Kind of Celtic folk-psyche in places, unfortunately U2-esque in others, utterly mediocre and boring in its quieter moments. "It started up in Fife, it ended up in tears," are genius lyrics, "The Stolen Child" is awful and weird. Felt like it lasted forever.
For whatever reason, this sort of music never really speaks to me. Didn’t hate this, would have liked it more if it leaned a bit more towards traditional folk (maybe it’s the rock drums superimposed on folk music that makes it not speak to me). Also a bit tough to be a singer who sounds like he’s doing a Bob Dylan thing.
Not bad, all the songs sounded the same really
I actually quite like the title track. The rest of it is competently performed, but utterly uninspiring Oirish guff. So many skips that it met the threshold for giving up on it.
Ive got through disc 1. I don’t think I’ll continue on with disc 2 as it was all a bit samey and bland, with the exception of We Will Not Be Lovers which felt like it sneaked in from a much darker album.
Wikipedia has explained to me why mid-album I was getting such strong Van Morrisson vibes. Overall, this rock album with traditional influences feels like it is neither rock nor traditional - tries to do too much and doesn't succeed at any for me.
overall...meh. there were some that i liked, i get it. i do love strings. its giving red dead redemption thats for sure
It was okay, but 2 hours on one album is a bit much.
This sounds like something Bilbo Baggins would enjoy. Not me, though.
there were four songs i really liked, and the rest was boring.
Wasn't bad, just really boring. Every song seem very similar. I really hope they find hank but I won't be helping them .
jeez it was a slog getting through this album
Not my thing. The more folks/traditional songs are the strongest, but very pots and pans type rock. A bit too artsy for me.
nah
Non offensive, traditional music you'd find at a folk festival while trying to find the nearest bathroom. This grew tired quickly but then Sweet Thing came on and I was somewhat satisfied. Because Sweet Thing was different and I then I realized why ... because it wasn't a Waterboys song. It was a cover of Van Morrison (duh).
ugh i cannot stand this shit
Haven’t heard of this, Rock album from 1988 - almost sounds a bit Country-ish. Not bad straight away. Didn’t really enjoy after a while, not bad but was a bit grating.
Really hard to know what to think of that. It was ok. Worth a 3 until that last track, which was really really tedious. So down to 2 it goes.
It was fine background music. 2/5
I do love some Irish fiddle, but I felt like most of the actual songwriting here was not interesting, and there were several songs that were longer than their worth. But it was enjoyable at times so I’m a bit torn between 2 and 3 Favorite was probably stolen child, I actually liked the mood on that one
Solid, not my favorite. Not super bluesy
It was fundamentally not that bad, just bored me to tears.
Not very good.
Not terrible but nothing memorable at all
Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Mix (2006 Remaster): nur ein Glück, dass die Streicher perfekt klingen (es sind nämlich definitiv zu viele) Musik: von allem ein bisschen zu viel für mich 🤯 Wertung: 🎻🎻(🎻)/5
Zips along under the power of its own songwriting before getting bogged down in what seems to be a never-ending parade of already well-worn covers. An edited re-release containing just the original tracks would be a much more compact and powerful listen than the currently bloated form of this LP
Fine
Didn't finish, almost 2hrs album. Nothing to write home about. 2/5
Top 3 Songs: 1 - Fisherman's Blues (1) 2 - Sweet Thing (5) 3 - Carolan's Welcome (14)
Generic rock with a celtic edge. Pretty forgettable.
It was alright.
Sucked
Gets old pretty quick sorry ☘️
The first song was pretty okay, I thought it would be a "smoother" Pogues. It was not. I got bored pretty quickly with this. I feel bad giving it a 2 because its not really a terrible album but I just couldn't get into this at all.
The sort of music that would be much better to hear live than on an an album. Would enjoy this at a pub or beer festival or whatever, in its natural habitat.
Started out strong enough but got old quickly. The Van Morrison cover was dire
Het voelt een beetje als een ongepolijste U2 met een wat intrusief viooltje. Ik merk dat het me een beetje verveelt. Een paar langere nummers waarvan ik ook niet goed weet wat ik er mee moet. Het is zeker niet slecht, maar ik word er gewoon niet heel enthousiast van.
Boring.
Interesting but not my jam, very close, but not quite stawberry.
I was expecting something with a bit more oomph to it, this just feels a bit run-of-the-mill
I think I've tried to rate it 5 times already. I start this album and I easily forget about it. It's not that it's bad... It's just soooo repetitive & boring.
un embole
Rather dull, very "fiddly". The first half was bland and the second half was grating. Not my kind of music.
It wasn’t bad, just not for me. I loved the concept though, and would find it enjoyable with different lyrics & chords
This is the album where the Waterboys became watered down lol. Their previous stuff was good solid blues rock with a hint of folk.... and then they had a wee trip to Ireland and created this album that was highly influenced by Irish folk music. First few tracks weren't bad, in fact on Spotify you get the alternative version of Fisherman's Blues, which I think is a better arrangement to kick back and chill out to. Unfortunately the album falls apart from track 5, where the Irish folk song influence has robbed the album of the Waterboys previous success.
Not for me
Hyvän kuuloista soittoa, ja juu, hyvän kuuloista laulua. Musiikista en valitettavasti saanut kunnolla kiinni - hienovaraisuuteen perustuvassa genressä saa tehdä töitä geneerisyyden välttämiseksi. Toinen piste siitä, että voisin ehkä yrittää uudelleen.
Why is this so long?? I don't know I got some Bob Dylan vibes at one point and I liked a few parts but to me this is like the dark side of folk music haha! They include a little version of This Land is Your Land which to me is a coloniser's anthem... I want to hear victory stories of old from women and other oppressed people groups in my folk music not the opposite story. Also it's kinda boring.
Good beats and grooves, but the pop Irish sound doesn't do it for me.
It was fine, nothing awful and nothing special
Ok
meh
Meh, pleasing but nothing to shout about
Talented band, just not my favorite stle of music. Kinda boring. 2.5
Tuli kyllä tunnissa taas kantriannostus enemmän ku täyteen