Customer Reviews

Whole of the Moon - Music of

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wow! I'll tell you what, wow! This is the first Waterboys CD I have, and let me tell you that Mike Scott is a major talent! The diversity of his music is amazing! My personal favorites are The Pan Within--it starts out slow, and then builds to an awesome climax *put your face in my window...* and then calms back down to where it was in the beginning. Wonderful use of the violin. It makes the song so eerie. Glastonbury Song--Terrific lyrics, and great melody. The Fishermans Blues--spectacular combination of Irish and a little rock. Love Anyways--I love the lyrics to that song, as well as the instrumental part at the end. This is the Sea--The guitar in that song is amazing! 'Rich' is the only word to describe it. This is a must-buy for all people who think the world is going to bubble gum pop and boy bands. The Waterboys make their music art.

I discovered The Waterboys by chance. I caught half of the Romantic march, "The Whole of the Moon" on a program of Eighties pop during lunch in the car one day, and was impressed enough to go buy this best-of package. After playing it through several times, I'd say I like it a lot, but I wouldn't say this music is the most original that decade had to offer. Mike Scott is a better poet and storyteller than he is a lyricist, and he is a better lyricist than he is a composer. "Red Army Blues" is the most telling example of that hierarchy of gifts.

The closest to an American hit they ever had was "The Whole of the Moon." It's a glorious stab at transcendence, an ode to an artist-who could be anyone from Shelley to Rimbaud to Sid Barrett--overwhelmed by the gods with too many gifts. The song contains a great burst of poetic images, Scott's most successful welding of poetry and rock on this collection:

Unicorns and cannonballs
Palaces and piers
Trumpets towers and tenements
Wide oceans full of tears
Flags rags ferryboats
Scimitars and scarves
Every precious dream and vision
Underneath the stars

It's a wonderfully ingenuous song, as unlike anything else on the radio in the Eighties as The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" was unique in the Nineties. Yet even here I was left wanting more. Karl Wallinger's frigid, "Prince"-ly digital synths may have given it a contemporary feel when it was released in 1985, but I found myself mentally substituting an orchestral woodwinds section and a rack of tubular bells for his parts. Maybe on the Muzak version...

The album covers in the liner notes show Mike Scott's evolution from an Arcadian Adonis to a ramshackle village folkie, mirroring his musical evolution. Indeed, part of the entertainment value of _The Whole of the Moon_ is discerning The Waterboys' roots. Mike Scott sometimes sounds like a nasal Todd Rundgren, and sometimes like one of The Hollies, and, on "She Is So Beautiful", like Bob Dylan. A few of the best songs sound a lot like other songs. "She Is So Beautiful" sounds like Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman". "This is the Sea" could be a speeded-up rewrite of Van Morrison's "Listen to the Lion."

It's great that he has such good taste, and it's great that these echoes of those great artists emanated from The Spandex Years. This is a good collection of songs from what was by then a unique band. But given the derivative quality of the music, it's hard to see how The Waterboys could ever have been in the running for Next Big Thing. I'm content to enjoy this as being a reverent musical disciple at his peak, instead.

Just picked this up on a whim. Unbelievably moving! Both the solo stuff and Waterboys works are powerfula and thought provoking. I cant get enough of this album. I recommend Human Drama a band that turned me on to Waterboys if your looking for more of this style of deep moving rock/folk poetry.

Overall, a very fine collection of songs. Thw Whole of the Moon is as haunting and stirring as ever - it still sends chills up my spine. The only shortfall of this collection is the glaring omission of Church Not Made With Hands - this is not only one of the best Waterboys songs, it's one of the most moving songs by any artist. If not for that, this would rank 5 stars. This disc provides a great summary of a brilliant group - a great listen!

The Waterboys are only a recent fetish of mine. A teacher I used to have recommended the CD to me, and I haven't looked back since. "Whole of the Moon", "Medicine Bow", "She Is So Beautiful", "Red Army Blues", and "Love You Anyway" are just a handful of the plethora of amazing tracks on this record. Pick it up, you won't regret it!

The item is as described. shipment was on time and I am very pleased with this purchase and with this seller.

Fantastique song!
Can someone please help m. Find the movie from the 90,s/early 2000 possibly British about a band and two groupies kidnap the other band member to make a comeback themain song in the film is whole of the moon I appreciate any help so tremendously thanks

This is one of those albums, that is so not what I normally listen to, and everytime I put it on, I love it even more. It's so refreshingly different from what's on the radio. I'm not sure where these guys are exactly from, but I can close my eyes and see them rocking some Irish/Scottish pub. The singers voice matches the music well, and it's all just a great mix of folk and rock, with traditional instruments. The song "Fishermans Blues" was in the opening scene of the movie "Waking Ned Devine", and fits well there and here. Another favorite is "This is the Sea". It's so good, as is the rest of the collection. "Whole Of The Moon" might be their biggest "hit". It's one I do hear on radio, though rarely. I don't agree with one review here, that the early Waterboys are too noisy. But then again this isn't the Chieftains either. I suggest fishing for this cd, you might get hooked.

I was thrilled to find this album as it brings back lots of warm and happy memories of my boyfriend in Scotland in the late 90's. Mike Scott's passionate lyrics bring tears to my eyes. Fantastic album.

I always think of certain bands--King's X, The Violet Burning, and the Waterboys, in particular--with the question in mind, "Why haven't they become huge yet?" In metal, alternative rock, and folk/Celtic rock (respectively), they seem miles above the other stuff in their categories, and not even in the same musical world as the Top 40 sludge.

This is a fine introduction to the Waterboys, and a good selection of hits. My only complaint is that for a "best of" package, it could have been a double CD. Where is "December"? Where is "Be My Enemy"? Where is "The Stolen Child"? And above all, where is "World Party"?

Anyway, strong CD from a great band. Highly recommended.