Customer Reviews

Too Close to Heaven

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the Waterboys at their best - free and creative, full of life and energy, Fisherman's Blues was only a hint. In a word, I'd call this release no less than breathtaking. The fiddle is piercing and beautiful, playing in time with the soul, and I have never heard a more heartfelt sax in my life. As always, Mike Scott rips the vocals from the bottom of his open soul. Mike seems to have let the music have its full life, a life of its own, born from him but free to run wild. All the energy and moments of that precious period in the Waterboys history are in evidence, shouting out "Thank you God for life, love and music!!!"

This is what fans of the "Fisherman's Blues" album have been waiting for: more tracks from those sessions. We get a dozen unreleased tracks recorded with the same band that made the 1988 classic (with one exception, a track recorded in 1991 that Scott wrote at the time of "Fisherman's Blues." A great document. The only thing that keeps me from rating this 5 stars is that Scott seems to have picked tracks that sound less Irish than the songs on the original. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean less trad-style fiddle from Steve Wickham.

For a period of time Mike Scott and the Waterboys (this particular incarnation) were exactly as the tile says, Too Close to Heaven. The chemistry generated shines through on these tracks just as they do on Fisherman's Blues. If you liked (loved) Fisherman's Blues you'll do the same with this CD. If you liked their earlier music, try A Rock In the Weary Land, their latest, also highly recommended.
These outtakes of the Fisherman's Blues sessions are like the second disk that should have been released with Fisherman's Blues. The liner notes contain information on what was going on at that time and why it's taken so long for this to be released. All I can say is, how much longer until we see more material from these sessions.

This album was released in the US under the misleading title "Fisherman's Blues Part 2" with a bonus disc which includes a superb slow-burning live version of "Too Close to Heaven". I would recommend that edition rather than this single disc set.

As Fisherman's Blues is my favorite album by this band I ordered this album via Amazon and have listened to it a couple times so far. My main criticism with this release is that several songs seemed unfinished, tentative and not as cohesive as FB. Granted, the bar is set high but so is this bands ability.

Fav albums by this band are, in order: Fisherman's Blues, The Waterboys, The Best of The waterboys 1981-90, This Is The Sea, The Whole of The Moon: Best of Mike Scott and The Waterboys, and finally Too Close To Heaven.