"…In Search Of Rose…"
The Waterboys much-loved and acclaimed fifth album from 1990 gets a
proper overhaul on this 2008 2CD ‘Collector’s Edition’ - and typically this
superb reissue yields just as much goodies in the outtakes on Disc 2 - with the
original album given a much-needed Audio upgrade on Disc 1. Here are the Raggle
Taggle details…
UK and EUROPE released 11 August 2008 - "Room To Roam: Collector’s
Edition" by THE WATERBOYS on EMI/Chrysalis 228 4092 (Barcode 5099922840929)
is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster with Seventeen Previously Unreleased Additional
Recordings that breaks down as follows:
Disc 1 - Original Album (42:43 minutes):
1. In Search Of Rose [Side 1]
2. Song From The End of The World
3. A Man In Love
4. Kaliope House
5. Bigger Picture
6. Natural Bridge Blues
7. Something That Is Gone
8. The Star And The Sea
9. A Life Of Sundays
10. Islandman [Side 2]
11. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy
12. How Long Will I Love You?
13. Upon The Wind And Waves
14. Spring Comes To Spiddal
15. The Trip To Broadford
16. Further Up, Further In
17. Room To Roam
Tracks 1 to 17 are the album "Room To Roam" released September
1990 in the UK on Ensign Records CHEN 16
Disc 2 - Additional Recordings (49:03 minutes):
1. In Search Of
A Rose (Full Band)
2. My Morag (The
Exile’s Dream)
3. A Man In Love
(including Calliope House) (Alternate)
4. The Wyndy
Wyndy Road
5. Three Ships
6. Sunny Sailor
Boy
7. Sponsored
Pedal Pusher’s Blues
8. The Wayward
Wind
9. Danny
Murphy/Florence
10. The Raggle
Taggle Gypsy (Live)
11. Custer’s
Blues (Live)
12. TWA Recruitin’
Sergeants (Live)
13. A Reel And A
Stomp In The Kitchen
14. Down By The
Sally Gardens
15. A Strathspey
In The Rain At Dawn
16. A Song For
The Life
17. The Kings Of
Kerry (Outdoors)
Tracks 1 to 17 include 14 studio outtakes and 3 live recordings
Mike Scott has overseen the booklet, the first half
produces the original album credits, lyrics etc - the second half does the same
for Disc 2 - including full session details and lyrics - a nice touch. A well
thought out re-issue.
The WATERBOYS Band and Session Players for the LP
were:
MIKE SCOTT on Lead Vocals, Guitars & Keyboards
(principal songwriter)
ANTO THISLETHWAITE on Baritone Saxophone, Mandolin
COLIN BLAKEY on Whistle, Flute, Hammond Organ and
Piano
STEVE WICKHAM on Fiddle, Hammond Organ and Backing
Vocals
TREVOR HUTCHINSON on Double Bass and Bouzouki
NOEL BRIDGEMAN on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals
SHARON SHANNON guest player on Accordion and Fiddle
Recorded in Galway in the West of Ireland over many
months, "Room..." follows on from the `Traditional Irish Folk Meets
Rock' of "Fisherman's Blues" in 1988; it's simply more of the same.
But what's improved most here is the SOUND. The remaster is beautiful, clean
and clear - loads of space and warmth around the instruments - my 1990 original
CD is a bit haggard compared to this. Steve Wickham's lovely fiddle playing on
"A Man Is In Love" sails out of the speakers. The bass on all tracks
is warm and backdrops everything with a real sweetness. A team has attacked the
tapes – PHILIP TENNANT, TIM CHACKSFIELD, ROBBIE ADAMS and DICK BEETHAM.
Many of the songs are now LOUD too, but not in that
overbearing way, more live-in-your-living-room - and wonderful for it.
Improvements would include the fiddle jaunt of "Natural Bridge Blues"
which is now so clear - the sax break on "Something That I Lost" -
the whack of the drums on the Traditional Irish Air made famous by Planxty,
"The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" - all fabulous work done with the master
tapes. And the album's best track "A Life Of Sundays" with Noel Bridgeman's
great backing vocals is now just HUGE - a wow!
But the biggest surprise is DISC 2, which I feared
would be rammed full of worthy but dull filler. It isn't. It does of course
have some clinkers - the 3 live tracks are ok, but full of drunken crowd shouts
that detract too much and could have been dropped, while the cassette quality
of "Florence" in "Danny Murphy/Florence" is unlistenable.
But the rest of it is excellent - proper studio out-takes - and some that would
make you wonder why they didn't make the finished album. "Three
Ships" sounds like something that came off "This Is The Sea" - a
trippy instrumental jaunt with Celtic overtones - excellent stuff. "Sunny
Sailor Boy" is gorgeous - a genuine bonus track. "A Strathspey In The
Rain At Dawn" is simply SHARON SHANNON and her accordion with Irish
rainfall and birds tweeting as her backdrop - very pretty. A real rarity,
however, is the lovely Irish-Only 1989 single release of "Down By The
Sally Gardens" which features the wizened and emotive lead vocals of TOMAS
MacEOIN. And as the slow air of "A Song For The Life" draws Disc 2 to
a close, it's hard not to be moved.
MIKE SCOTT has always been a magical songwriter to me
- an artist who pens a tune that nails you - moves you impossibly - and then
you find yourself backtracking - buying up everything that he and his band have
ever done and waiting for the new stuff with the thrill of a child running into
Daddy's arms as he comes up the driveway from work!
To sum up, I've come back to this album not expecting
much, but this great re-issue is making me love it all over again. Sure with a
bit of judicious pruning on Disc 2, it would have made an excellent single CD
and saved us punters a few bob, but I won't begrudge THE WATERBOYS a sausage-
anything new by them is good news in my book and worth paying for.
"Room To Roam" COLLECTOR'S EDITION is a nice
album made a whole lot better - and a top REMASTER too. Highly, highly
recommended...
