The Waterboys: A Pagan Place 1984 (Remastered 2002)

 

The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The

band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained as the only constant member throughout the band's career.
                                                          

They have explored a number of different styles, but their music is mainly a mix of folk music with

rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."
                                       

With their cross-pollination of literate, soulful rock & roll and folk traditions of the British Isles, the

Waterboys have tread a multitude of musical paths since singer/songwriter Mike Scott formed the group in London in the early '80s. From the grandiose "Big Music" of their early classic, This Is the Sea through the rich Celtic-inspired folk-rock of their 1988 highlight, Fisherman's Blues, the mercurial Scotsman has made dramatic sea changes a regular occurrence, swapping lineups and chasing stylistic whims on an almost album-to-album basis.
                                 

Across nearly four decades of work, Scott's sonic and spiritual explorations have been shared by

literally dozens of bandmembers, though only fiddler Steve Wickham (and to some extent early mainstay Antony Thistlethwaite) has maintained his post as a Waterboy for a significant portion of the group's existence.
                                  

In his dual role as restless seeker and wily rock & roll romantic, Scott has consistently steered the band toward interesting projects -- like 2003's Universal Hall, recorded at a remote Scottish commune, and

2011's An Appointment with Mr. Yeats, which featured eclectic, almost Baroque-rock adaptations of W.B. Yeats' poetry -- with each new album adding another layer to the Waterboys' distinctive patina. Scott's musical wanderings continued with vigor into the next decade with the release of 2022's All Souls Hill as he experimented with electronics and production that showed the influence of hip-hop and funk.
                                       

Over 85 musicians have performed live as a Waterboy. Some have spent only a short time with the

band, contributing to a single tour or album, while others have been long-term members with significant contributions. Scott has stated that "We’ve had more members I believe than any other band in rock history" and believes that the nearest challengers are Santana and The Fall.
                                             

A Pagan Place is an album released in June 1984 by The Waterboys. It was the first Waterboys record with Karl Wallinger as part of the band and also includes Roddy Lorimer's first trumpet solo for the

band on the track "A Pagan Place". Recording for A Pagan Place was begun before either the band's first single, "A Girl Called Johnny", or album, The Waterboys, were released. The album comprises two recording sessions. The first, in November 1982 at Redshop Studio in London, involved Mike Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite and Kevin Wilkinson. The second session, held September 1983 at Rockfield Studio in Wales, included contributions from Wallinger, who had joined the band that year. The four, the early band's core membership, were joined by Lorimer, Tim Blanthorn, and Eddi Reader, among others, for later overdubbing of the sessions to add full instrumentation to the recordings.  
                                            

The Waterboys – A Pagan Place
Label: Chrysalis – 7243 5 37704 2 6
Format:    CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered 2002
Country:UK & Europe
Released: 1984
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock

TRACKS

                                       

01. Church Not Made With Hands    6:02
02. All The Things She Gave Me (Unedited)
(Backing Vocals – Karl Wallinger, TV Smith/Trumpet – Barbara Snow)  5:32
03. The Thrill Is Gone (Unedited)    5:30
04. Rags
(Organ [Hammond] – Karl Wallinger)   5:20
05. Some Of My Best Friends Are Trains
(Mixed By – Mark Smith)   6:01
06. Somebody Might Wave Back
(Congas – Karl Wallinger   2:43
07. The Big Music
(Backing Vocals – Eddi Reader)   4:46
08. Red Army Blues
(Mandolin – Anthony Thistlethwaite)   8:03
09. A Pagan Place   5:14

BONUS SONGS       
    
10. The Late Train To Heaven (Rockfield Mix)    3:30
11. Love That Kills (Instrumental)
(Organ [Hammond] – Karl Wallinger)   6:20
12. The Madness Is Here Again    3:59
13. Cathy  
(Backing Vocals – Anthony Thistlethwaite, Max Edie/Producer – Nikki Sudden/Producer, Piano, Backing Vocals – John A. Rivers/Written-By – Nikki Sudden)   2:35
14. Down Through The Dark Streets  
(Mandolin – Anthony Thistlethwaite)   9:03

NOTES

                                       

Mike Scott – vocals, guitar, Danelectro Bellzouki electric 12-string guitar, piano, bass
Anthony Thistlethwaite – saxophone, bass, mandolin
Kevin Wilkinson – drums
Karl Wallinger – piano, organ, percussion, backing vocals
Roddy Lorimer – trumpet
Tim Blanthorn – violin
Barbara Snow
Eddi Reader
T.V. Smith
Ingrid Schroeder - Backing Vocals (tracks: 2, 5, 8)
Nick Linden - Bass (tracks: 2, 5, 10)

RED ARMY BLUES LYRICS

 
                

When I left my home and my family
my mother said to me
"Son, it's not how many Germans you kill that counts
it's how many people you set free"

So I packed my bags
brushed my cap
Walked out into the world
seventeen years old
Never kissed a girl

Took the train to Voronezh
that was as far as it would go
Changed my sacks for a uniform
bit my lip against the snow
I prayed for mother Russia
in the summer of '43
And as we drove the Germans back
I really believed
That God was listening to me

We howled into Berlin
tore the smoking buildings down
Raised the red flag high
burnt the reichstag brown
I saw my first American
and he looked a lot like me
He had the same kinda farmer's face
said he'd come from some place called Hazzard, Tennessee

   

Then the war was over
my discharge papers came
Me and twenty hundred others
went to Stettiner for the train
Kiev! said the commissar
from there your own way home
But I never got to Kiev
we never came by home
Train went north to the Taiga
we were stripped and marched in file
Up the great siberian road
for miles and miles and miles and miles
Dressed in stripes and tatters
in a gulag left to die
All because Comrade Stalin was scared that
we'd become too westernized!

Used to love my country
used to be so young
Used to believe that life was
the best song ever sung
I would have died for my country
in 1945
But now only one thing remains
but now only one thing remains
But now only one thing remains
but now only one thing remains
THE BRUTE WILL TO SURVIVE!

MP3 @ 320 Size: 174 MB
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