Fisherman's Blues

Zzzzz...

Started out decent but lost my interest throughout the listen. In the end I felt it was just average. 2/5

Read that this one was divisive, and can see why. Some songs could be played in steerage class of the Titanic; others feel like we're at a medieval banquet as a jousting match is about to start. But none of them are like the Whole of the Moon, and that puts me on the thumbs down side of listeners.

It’s like Dylan without the good bits

Lame

Its fine, bit boring

Meh... that's about all I have to say. I could try to get more detailed, but it would be the equivalent of just saying meh.

I was on board fully by “We Will Not Be Lovers” which absolutely SUHLAPPED. When they sang “the touch of your fish is hard to resist,” I was buckled in and ready to go, feeling a jolt of excitement with every Michael Jackson woo. That is one ecstatic celtic violin and boy does it go hard at the end. Sadly the rest of the album had no nutritional value to me even as meme music.

I feel like this band would be way more fun to play in than to listen to. Also interesting how Scottish folk music can sound so much like American folk music. Lots of fiddle…too much fiddle 2/5

The second song has an INSANE instrumental breakdown. I was schmoovin on my walk through the subway station. Unfortunately the rest of the album is basically Scottish Bruce Springsteen with fiddle and a smattering of bagpipes. Gross.

These waterboys could use a little something else in their cups. The music is duller than dull, it’s completely uninspired pub-swilling music. I’m bored.

It's too long... The first half is alright but afterwards it just gets really boring and annoying. And some songs simply don't deserve being 12 minutes long

It was fine. Did not care for it too much, to be honest. I however thought it was too long, and got slightly bored at the end

Allt í lagi plata. Enginn banger.

Fisherman’s blues- Nice lively track to start off 👍 We will not be lovers- The violin does so much work here, great melding of folk and rock 👍 Strange boat- Fairly unmemorable song World Party- didn’t really grab me Sweet thing- This is like a dual cover? Idk vocals feel a bit tryhard at times Jimmy Hickey’s waltz- Background music for dwarven pub or something And a bang on the ear- This is fairly lively but not compelling enough for such a lengthy song The songs from here are very folk focused, favourite was when ye go away Started off promising before diving headfirst into oldfashioned folk. 2/5

Eh….

For some reason I was feeling drop kick Murphey vibes. Also, there was a fiddle player and it was the most annoying thing in the entire world. Just because you CAN play doesn't mean you should.

Not 100% my style and didn’t get through the entirety of the record. But, for the songs I did hear, it was interesting to hear the folk and Irish influences. Perhaps I’ll listen again in full sometime Favorite Tracks: 1) We Will Not Be Lovers

I don’t know if I have anything to say about this. It was pretty unremarkable and kind of long (at least it felt that way). None of the songs really stood out to me.

I was really enjoying the first few songs, but it just kinda of slowly went down hill.

bravo à eux pour la perf (impro totale)

Upbeat album; title track brings in instant energy. Album gave me some Tom Cochrane & Red Rider meets the Pogues vibes. But as a whole, the music’s died down as the album progressed and didn’t knock my socks off as much as I was expecting out of the gate. It’s a decent listen for a mellow night or part of some sort of St. Patrick’s Day festivities though.

Some of these albums are so susprising to me in many ways, and one of those facets that continues to surprise me is in the play counts. On this record, the first track has 37 million plays (per Spotify). All of the remaining ~20 or so tracks combined don't even come close to that. It makes me wonder if people bought this album, put it on, and then didn't get too far past the first track in both a positive and negative way? Like they enjoyed the track SO much that it was the sole reason for them coming back to re-playing the album, and/or the rest of the album doesn't even come close to comparing to track 1? Other then that not a ton stood out to me. I wonder if this is a cultural folk album that people love? Almost like "Come on Eileen"? I thought the singer had a pretty nice voice but at times it was a little cheesy for me. The drummer had some nice moments as well. Overall I think this might be one of the more forgetful ones on the list for me. Might have caught me at the wrong time / listening mood.

I don't like fishermen (long story). I don't like the blues (shorter story - trigger for disproportionate melancholy). Back in the day when a written review could be (and very often, had to be) enough information to buy an album on, Q really pushed The Waterboys, World Party and Karl Wallinger. (Incidentally, I just acquired a complete set of Q, 1-100. Still trying to figure out what to do with them next. Watch this space). However, the only places outside Berwick St where I brought records were blissfully aware of the existence of the Anointed One. And the dirty look I got from one of the guys at Reckless Records discouraged me permanently. Fortunate, that. Everyone likes The Whole of the Moon. Everyone who has heard it lies Glastonbury Song. Neither are on this rustic, heartfelt, but thoroughly unmoving collection of authentic folk-pop songs. And, truth be told, I doubt it'll do anything for an outsider coming to it cold.

Favourite track(s): Has Anybody Here Seen Hank So this is my introduction into British / Irish Folk. Sadly, the songs seem to be new compositions rather than songs sang at the campfire for centuries. The fiddle does also annoy at times. Most of the tracks seem somewhat forgettable and I just don't like double albums, unless they tell two different stories (which this does not).

Good music but such a long album

Not bad, bluegrass\folk not really my jam. "This is the Sea" ,1985 album that youtube fed me next, I like better.

wOw, DaS IsT Ja mAl eChT NeTt. UnD So iNnOvAtIv uNd iNtErEsSaNt!

Not gonna lie, couldn’t get through this one all the way. It was nice for a little while but I’ve had my fill.

I was hoping for something more interesting when I first read the description of this album. Despite its Irish and Scottish influences, much of this album sounded like generic, forgettable radio rock to me. The portions that weren't as generic were better but still not great. The lyrics and music were fine and nothing I need to hear again.

had its moments, overall not a fan of the style or voice. Lyrics didn’t really Impact at all

Too much fiddle for me or should i say fiddling hehe

For me, being a Waterboys fan since my teens and comparing this album to The Waterboys, A Pagan Place and This is the sea (which are all stunning) Fisherman’s Blues is areal let down. I find the change immense and too much for me! It’s ok, is all I can say really.

Just couldn't get into this.

Fisherman's Blues marked a change of The Waterboys, as the started pulling from their cultural roots to make more Celtic music than standard arena rock. In a way, though, it still sounds like the same brand of arena rock that U2 was producing. It's a shame because I don't care for arena rock at all. Arena rock has a way of feeling disconnected and empty for my liking. Relying too much on reverb and deferring to boring songwriting makes for boring music, no matter how much Celtic inspiration you sprinkle in. Some of the few bright spots on this album are Jimmy Hickey's Waltz and When Will We Be Married?, which are whimsical Celtic folk tunes that I genuinely enjoyed despite it seeming out of place in between the arena rock. Truthfully, most of the songs on the b-side are worth your time, more than side a anyway. Perhaps overly long and marred by the arena rock that they're so familiar with, but Fisherman's Blues isn't all bad. I am, perhaps, biased towards the Celtic folk given my own heritage. Regardless, I don't see myself going back to the Waterboys anytime soon.

First song was very good. The rest was decent.

Some nice influences but not the strongest.

I liked the title track on this, but not much afterwards tbh other than Sweet Thing. 2/5. I like the type of music that this almost is, when it has a bit more energy like Dropkick Murphys or a bit more soul like the Pogues, but this doesn't quite reach the heights of either except in the odd place.

Is this Irish Arcade Fire?

2.5/5

Pah

Wiffly piffly rinkerty tink

den första låten är kanon. kanske den andra också. sen är det inte så bra längre så långt jag orkat lyssna iaf.

British isle folk rock... At times it felt like a UK version of Stringsteen, just not nearly as good. Then there were the flutes.

This guy is definitely Irish

Started strong, ended extremely weak. Forgettable is the word I would use to describe this album best

Happy St Patty’s Day

It was fine

“The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, and rock and roll.”

Not awful but really not for me

Really unique great vocals, this could only be the Waterboys. Mike Scott from Edinburgh but he now lives in Dublin. Folky, sounds mid Atlantic somewhere between Ireland & America this was released in 1988 U2 Joshua Tree period. It’s really warm uplifting music violins, harmonica and bonhomie. The singer’s voice creates an atmosphere of uplifting energy and togetherness, I love the Waterboys when I hear them in pubs. It’s a bit middle of the road for me after a while though. I think the rhythm section is weak. I think I prefer side 2 actually some great stuff hidden away there.

Meh

Aight 2

Promising start. Goes downhill from there

Olis kaivannut ennemmän folkkia folk-rockin sijaan. Ei tää nyt ihan turha ollut, mutta vähän etäinen ehkä!

Ihan jees, mut ei mikään biisi erityisemmin iskenyt.

Aika jees tunnelmointia. Toivoisin että olis menny vielä enemmän kansanmusasuuntaan, nyt jää liian rock-tyylin johdosta vähän kädenlämpöiseksi. On tässä hyviäkin biisejä toki. Välihuomiona monissa näissä levyissä harmittaa, että Spotifyssa on lähinnä näitä remastered-deluxe-kokoelmia. Tässäkin levyllä 2 on vähemmän kiinnostavia biisejä ja uudelleenlämmittelyjä.

It's fine. Not bad, just didn't excite me. 2/5

* bits sound like Razorlight. It was fine, I didn't hate it.

Irsk folkrock, masser af stryger, lidt for landligt

För gubbigt för min smak.

The Waterboys' fourth album and best selling album. This album was a change in music for the band, from classic rock sound to traditional folk rock (more specifically Scottish folk rock based on the band's country of origin). This change divided critics over the album, but the music still holds up as a good listen. Not personally my type of music, but I enjoyed it while working.

Still listening

Sembra un live senza esserlo. We will not be lovers pieno di virtuosismi inutili Sonorità Irlandesi, qualcosa di Fiorella Mannoia, molto che non mi convince. Si avverte in ogni canzone la sensazione che stia per accadere qualcosa, ma l'aspettativa non viene mai soddisfatta. Non male When we will be married, forse perché il folk me lo aspetto esasperato

Bits of it were OK, but folk music and rock drumming don't really mix. The singer also trying a bit to hard to sound like Bob Dylan. Some nice quiet nice songs, but not enough to save it.

A lot like listening to a soundtrack.

Some ok music in there, but as is often the case they’re all too similar; as the album went on and on, I was getting sick of it.

Didn’t like…. A little Bob Dylanish

Upon first blush, I see a bunch of boys just trying to fish. That’s probably why they are blue. But when you have ten people in your band (one more than slipknot) and your music sounds like this, I’d say there’s some rotten fish in the barrel. If I’m trying to fish, I would never listen to this band. I wish id have casted and caught a different group cause I’m tossing these tossers back out to sea. Makes me sad that ten men can just decide to start a band and get by sounding like this. I had a biggun on the line but turns out all I caught was a boot.

Até se identifica como um pop de qualidade. Só não me agradou.

Their "big" song was okay.

Esta bueno el disco pero no me mato Igualmente a la banda no la conocía. 2 efes

First song is a classic. Rest of the album just ok.

Flotter Folk Rock. Kinda gud

Couldn’t get through it

No estuvo mal pero tampoco lo encontré destacable. 2/5

Stats strong....

Meh album but fishermans blues a very good song. Might have to relisten

cant even finnish i hat eit Final Thoughts: 2/5

I enjoy folk and folk-influenced music -- "folk" in the sense of the term meaning music particular to or reflective of a culture or geographic region -- and this album has some good tracks on it. I've listened to a fair amount of Irish and Scottish folk music, so it's hard for this album to stand out very much for me (not the album's fault; just happens to be a style of music I've heard a lot).

Meh. Doesn't stick with me at all, I remember literally none of the songs

🤠

Stem deed me in de verte aan Finn Andrews van The Veils. Buiten dat vond ik het maar een matige plaat en de viool een stoorzender

At first me be like “na” then me be like “ah ok this isn’t so bad” then me be like “too much”. Didn’t even have The Whole of the Moon on there. Wtf?

Irlantilaishenkistä kansanmusiikkia. Olisin halunnut tykätä enemmän, mutta olihan tämä aika pitkäpiimäinen setti. Levy tuntui todella pitkältä, vaikka ei tuo mitään ihan kuraakaan ollut. Ei vaan oikein ollut tarttuvia ralleja tai oikeastaan mitään muutakaan mikä olisi erityisesti jäänyt mieleen.

Didn't find this very exciting, really not a folk person tbh. It was kinda rocky at some points and I quite liked "The Stolen Child" at the end. Don't really get the significance of it either. 5/10

Got sick of it but it did have some things which were palatable

4

Este no va a ser mi disco de cabecera. Tiene un par de temas que me han gustado, pero en conjunto :(

Just generic Scottish pop rock. 5/10.

Started off so promising and then fell off a cliff

Jam band - not really my thing

Fine. Unremarkable.

Started ok, but got boring and that odd 70's & 80's easy listening near the end

Not really for me, but the music was good.

I found this... quaint? Idk, I didn't really enjoy it much.

I've listened to this album and really liked it before, but I couldn't get into it this time.

Felt like it had potential but didn't get there

hated it

Kaksijakoinen levy - alkupää oli oikein miellyttävää ja helposti lähestyttävää irkkufolkia, kun taas loppu meni vähän enemmän kikkailuksi. Alkupään kappaleista pidin kovasti, mutta ei tätä kokonaisuutena jaksa moneen kertaan kuunnella. Genre ei ole muutenkaan ihan itselleni läheisin ainakaan tällä tavoin toteutettuna. Levyn alkupäälle 3,5, kokonaisuudelle alaspäin pyöristyvä 2,5.

Knockoff Dylan/Springsteen. Boring.

Decent Celtic-tinged folk. May want to re-visit at some point, but not immediately drawn to it.

Zero space in my life for sea shanties, cheers anyway

Hmmm, I made it to 8, Has anybody seen Hank? I didn't - and I didn't listen to this whole 1 hour and 42 minutes. 8 was enough.

Great.. 10 members, a mandolin, and an accordion. I could tell from the picture on the cover that I was going to hate this. I was right.

Ok! Ok! I’m liking the variety of instruments and the vocals. Strong opening track! I’m not sure if the album as a whole really cuts the mustard, but a couple of tracks perked my ears up. Then I got lost in the polka party, and now all of a sudden we’re at a bluegrassy Irish county fair? By the end of disc one I kinda hated it, and by the end of disc 2 I knew I did.

Way too long. Bland

interesting

This was way too long for being such an obscure pick. I couldn’t take it serious enough to consider this anything more than a one for wasting my time

Im starting to think these 1001 albums were selected by some middle aged white guy with a not so diverse taste and also maybe be likes the exact type of music I don’t like. This album is some utmost white ppl shit. And not in a good way. The sound, once again, wasn’t for me. I am determined to find a good album on this challenge!! Wtf are these old white men albums bruh where’s the soul and diversityyyy 😫

Could not finish this one. Was bored to tears half way through the first disc. Could nit imagine sitting through two discs of it. Easy listening dad rock trying to do Celtic rock but without any of the fun energy.

No lo escuché, solo dos canciones, no me gustó...pero es por una preferencia muy personal, simplemente no me gusta estetipo de musica, el acompañamiento musical es increible, pero nada mas

1.5 - Bad

Did not enjoy this album much, not many blues tunes there either.

It's folk and country music, doesn't do much for me.

Forgettable. Just a bit of rambling along with a fiddle.

Not for me. The biases of the individuals who contributed to this list are pretty evident here. My biases go in a different direction.

One really good song. Not much I haven’t heard done better on other folk records.

Flinke folk, men blir for kjedelig

Groupe inconnu. Aucun intérêt. Trop folk et pas assez rock. Et terriblement long ... je n'ai pas pu aller au bout. =>1/5

Doesn't have Whole of the Moon, minus 3 stars

Jesus Christ this is bad. And almost 2 hours of it as well! Just endless saccharine noise and Poundshop U2 ballads from a band that sounded worse than most open mic acts I’ve seen. This was really quite dreadful, but not even in an interesting way. Found this an utter slog to get through and was none the wiser about its inclusion on the list by the end.

Not gonna pretend I like this type of music.

1. bluez - 1 2. loverz - 1 3. ztrange - 1.5 4. party - 1 5. zuueet - 1.5 6. uualtz - 1.5 7. bang - 1.5 8. hank - 1.5 9. married - 1 10. uuhen - 1.5 11. fancy - 2 12. child - 1.5 13. land - 1 1. carolan - 2 2. heart - 1 3. zky - 1.5 4. married - 1.5 5. bluez - 1.5 6. bonez - 1 7. holy - 0 8. meet - 1 9. home - 1

Doesn't resonate with me at all. Not one for me - don't mind Trad/Irish Trad, but this was just dull.

boring in extensive measure. worse news, on Apple music we have a lot of extended versions of those songs. a lot of songs sound like background music in a US tavern. the song "sweet thing" takes lyrics from "blackbird" from The Beatles and it sucks, horrible hommage.

Kinda wack

This sounds like an REM album if REM sucked

Too long. 1 star for torture.

I heard a song or two of this album. Straight ass. I am not listening to almost 2 hours of that.

Live for the violin. But that's pretty much the only thing this album has to offer. Not good, definitely very repetitive.

I didn’t listen

Sounded good, just not for me

Piss and shit, next …

not my vibe

Not good.

Folk. (I turned it) off. Not my thing.

I'm tired of listening to this album, it's exhausting from the first track, 1/5

Ok

This was fine until "Has Anybody Here Seen Hank?" where they channeled one of the worst sounds - Bob Dylan.

irlandzki nudny rock jak z polskiego radia

Grandfather of the Sons of Mumford. This music makes me feel...nothing at all. I recognize it as instruments playing notes in rhythm, but it has the emotional weight of a feather. And it's double album?!? Gimme a break, already. Buncha generic, boring, Bob Dylan wannabes.

It was not good. Very folksy. I finished it and did not skip any songs. Not sure how this was designated as "Rock." I will round down.

Walmart Bruce Springsteen goes on for almost 2 hours. Dear God no.

Absolutely not.

Load of carp 🎣

Not a fan

Sounds like an annoying barn dance you wish you never agreed to go to, so you pretend to have a headache and leave early.

The songs are good, not exeptional, the celtic folk vibe is cool but not great and its generaly that overall in the album.

It tried very hard and failed

A collection of dull, folk-lite dirges. Every ceilidh cliche is here, but wrapped in 80s angst. Avoid.

The 80s buttfucks Celtic music while Van Morrison and the Beatles hug one another and weep in shame.

Not my cup o' tea. I think they're British or Irish or somewhere overseas

Not for me

Title Track is Good but the rest is boring at best, while other tracks are actively annoying. 2/10

Scottish folk music. I just didn't enjoy this at all. Bored the whole way through. Did not listen to the Collectors Edition tracks. 1/5

7 minutes songs? annoying as fuck

At least now when I say I don't like the Waterboys I know it's based on fact rather than a vague suspicion..

I listened once…..that’s enough.

Too long

"well it's got nothing to do with anything that is real" a lot of empty love songs, the music isn't bad tho

How is this sub pub folk crap in the top 1001 albums you must listen to before you die? Are you supposed to put it on immediately before the death, so that the death is a welcome relief? It's the aural equivalent of that wee you do when you're dehydrated. It's 100 minutes long. None of the tracks are the tolerable Whole of the Moon. 270 albums in, this is the first time I've given up on one before the end. Unless the second disc pivots to drum and bass, I'm well aware that it will sound like the Waterboys. Honestly, whoever fought for this to be included should be nowhere near music.

He sings with the strained anguish of a man with terrible hemorrhoids.

a bang on the ear all right

I'm not gonna lie, this album sucked. it had all the grandiose overblown rock sound of U2 combined with the worst parts of folk music. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, there was a slow sappy country song.

ewwww folk rock no thank you

Ray Donovan did this

Boring crap

Shiiit et langt album. Og så ret meget halbals/øltelt stenning.

Kolejny wyspiarski pick, waterboys brzmi jak nazwa diskowej bandy rodem z hameryki, dodatkowo zastanawiajcy tytul plyty, fishermans blues, pierwsze skojarzenie nawiazuje do nazwy bandy i okresla jaki material bedzie na tapecie, nic bardziej mylnego, jedynie eponimowy song ma w sobie cos z bluesa, natomiast reszta plyty to folk, nie jest to zadna tragedia, ale tez niczym nie potrafi zaskoczyc, 4 kawalki to covery znanych juz trakow, jak this land is your land woodiego guthriego, ktory zamyka cala plyte, oczywiscie song zawiera twisty irlandzkie, bo to jest motyw przewodni albumu pod wzgledem muzycznym, mozna uslyszec instrumenty bardzo typowe dla szkocko irlandzkich klimatow, wiec smyczki, dudy o dziwacznych nazwac i dziwne trabki, niby wszystko fajnie na bogato, ale jednak czuc bardziej jarmarczna atmosfere gdy sa one laczone z synthami na tym samym traku, jak w przypadku world party, tak samo ma sie z wokalem, ktory jest piescia do nosa tej plyty, chcialbym uslyszec tylko pierwszy trak i takie zostawic sobie wspomnienie o tym krazku, ale pozostale 13 trakow, z wyjatkami jak the stolen child, ktory jest raczej poezja na instruentalnym podkladzie, a nie songiem, czy chocby wolniejszymi balladami typu has anybody here seen hank, za duzo tutaj niespojnosci i sztucznosci w granej muzyce, to moje pierwsze sluchanie tej bandy, ale ich poprzednie materialy nie brzmia w ogole jak nic z tej plyty, wiec to byl ogromny skok na komercyjne sprzedanie sie, bo to ich najlepiej sprzedana plyta, tak randomowa, ze musiala przypasc komus do gustu, akurat nie w moim wypadku, na plejke leci jedynie tytulowy kawalek, ktory naprawde robi robote jako hajp na plyte, niestety hajp nie dozyl do konca 54 minutowego odsluchu

Demasiado pantano de New Orleans. No me gustó. Dos discos de ésto ademas? No se como hice para terminarlo.

I bailed out after the first song.

Not my cup of tea I'm afraid. So much going on at once through most of the songs and it's hard to enjoy for me.

jajaja. ¿es una broma esto?

:/

I tried but at one point I just had to turn it off I got busy n it just sounded like noise

Not for me.

I don’t care for them

Naaa