There's a limited amout of fiddle you can support on an album. My limit is pretty high, but they're over 9000. That being said, it's an honest (Irish) folk rock album, but it's just a bit too much. I guess I could enjoy it with a pint in a pub, but no really more than that.
There was a brief fad for Celtic folk rock in the 80s and the Waterboys were a prime example with their biggest hit being The Whole of the Moon in 1985. For this album a couple of years later, they leaned back towards a more traditional, folkier sound with violins, mandolins and flutes coming to the fore. I’m guessing this may have put off some of their earlier fans, but it sounds like they’re having a lot of fun with this, especially on the final live burst of Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land at the end.