Light Shine on Me: The Waterboys Revisit “Fisherman’s Blues” with New “Atlantic Rain” Box
Since bursting onto the post-punk scene with 1983’s self-titled album The Waterboys, the band led by Scottish singer-songwriter Mike Scott has lived up to its moniker as “the big music.” The Waterboys’ sound has taken in rock, folk, rhythm and blues, soul, pop, country, classical, jazz, and beyond. Perhaps no album in the band’s catalogue, however, was more expansive than their fourth album, 1988’s Fisherman’s Blues.
Recorded over two years in Dublin and Galway by Scott, saxophonist/mandolinist Anthony “Anto” Thistlethwaite, violinist Steve Wickham, bassist Trevor Hutchinson, and many others, Fisherman’s Blues found the band trading electric rock for earthier, rootsier sounds. Though both of its singles, the title track and “And a Bang on the Ear,” were only moderate U.K. chart hits, Fisherman’s Blues remains The Waterboys’ best-selling LP…and also its most reissued, culminating in the recent release by Chrysalis of the 3CD box, Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings.
The history of the Fisherman’s Blues ones is an expansive one. A European compilation, Too Close to Heaven, arrived in 2001 with a bounty of previously unreleased outtakes; that disc was issued in the U.S. with another EP’s worth of material as Fisherman’s Blues Part 2. Five years later, it was remastered and reissued with yet another bonus disc of extra session material.
Then, in 2013, Fisherman’s Box: The Complete Fisherman’s Blues Sessions 1986-1988(opens in new tab) was an even larger set. Its six CDs comprised all of the music previously released on albums, singles and compilations plus another 85 previously unheard tracks. The deluxe version of the box added a seventh CD of tracks that influenced the band from such artists as American country and folk greats The Carter Family, Hank Williams, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Woody Guthrie.
Now, with Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings, Mike Scott has revisited the sessions once more and unearthed more than two hours’ worth of “new” music: 24 recordings – 17 of which are previously unreleased and seven of which are presented in extended versions. Scott writes in the thick booklet enclosed in the package, “How is this possible? Because of the volume of material…We often recorded hours of new music in a single session. I was writing songs almost as fast as I could sing ‘em and my bandmates Anto, Steve, and Trevor were brilliant improvisers…When I counted them, I was shocked to discover 80 of the nearly 400 multitrack reels we recorded between 1986 and ’88 had no song titles on their labels. The music they contained – unlisted, unmixed, unlistened to – had been forgotten…In 2024-25, I went through this material and this three-part set is the result.” (And no, this still isn’t all from the sessions… Scott writes that these tracks were culled down from a possible one hundred, and lists the remaining songs recorded – though many are incomplete – in the booklet. These additional outtakes include stabs at the eclectic likes of “The Lonely Goatherd,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “Mull of Kintyre,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Born to Run,” and the theme to Steptoe and Son!
Though it’s essentially an appendix to an album not included here (not to mention that whopping 6CD box set from 2013!) Atlantic Rain stands comfortably on its own merits…even if by design it’s aimed at hardcore collectors rather than those unfamiliar with the band’s discography. Those collectors and new listeners alike, though, should find much to enjoy. The opening disc, also titled Atlantic Rain after a lyric in the tender “Come Back to Galway,” features stomping northern soul (“Too Close to Heaven”), joyful folk (a rollicking take on Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land”), sweeping, cinematic rock (“The Man with the Wind at His Heels”), and atmospheric instrumentals (“And Then the Gods”). Scott shares details of new writing and recording which took place to complete certain tracks (“Come Back to Galway,” the effervescent “Light Shine on Me”).
The second disc, Indian Summer, opens with “I Can’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,” a jubilant gospel rave-up featuring Pete Thomas of The Attractions and The Imposters on drums. But much of the disc is devoted to The Waterboys as interpretive artists, reinventing a number of familiar staples. A moody “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” incorporates the additional verse sung by Bob Dylan on his 1974 Before the Flood live album with The Band. This disc also has an appropriately twangy revival of Hank Williams’ “Honky Tonkin’,” and a spare, skeletal reimagining of Prince’s “When Doves Cry.” The Rolling Stones’ ballad “No Expectations” benefits from Anto’s vivid saxophone. Scott has added new vocals to Willie Nelson’s “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” while Leon Payne’s “Lost Highway” is greatly extended from past appearances. “Killing My Heart,” too, will be familiar from past releases but is included here to showcase Anto’s swirling Hammond organ and Steve Wickham’s fiddle in full-blown musical revelry. A brief, fun soundcheck with Anto and producer Bob Johnston (Dylan, Johnny Cash) adds a bit of fly-on-the-wall ambiance.
Fisherman’s Jam, the third and final disc, is the loosest and least meaty of the three discs. It kicks off with “The Good Ship Sirius/The Ship in Full Sail,” two jigs put together to showcase the band’s immersion into traditional Irish sounds. “Mister Saxman” (with Anto wailing away, naturally) developed into “Blues for Your Baby,” which can be heard on Fisherman’s Box. This potpourri-style disc also finds “The Waves,” a piece edited from a longer instrumental jam to spotlight the deft interplay between fiddle and mandolin (Steve and Anto). The propulsive “The Last Jam” is longer than the version on Fisherman’s Box and newly mixed for inclusion here. Fisherman’s Jam builds to the ominous, evocative “Night Falls” (sounding much like a score cue for an imaginary film) and an epic, 13-minute “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” with nods to “Hey Jude” and “She Loves You.” The final track, a reprise of “Pepper’s,” has session veteran Jim Keltner on drums and makes for a barnstorming coda to this sprawling collection.
Felix Davis has mastered this collection at Metropolis in London, and the booklet includes lyrics and personnel credits as well as Mike Scott’s track-by-track notes, commentary on the many studios in which Fisherman’s Blues was recorded, and a “session gazetteer” detailing which songs were performed on which dates in which venues. It all adds up to an enjoyably deep dive into the waters that created this long-beloved record from a genre-bending band.
Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings is available now from Amazon U.S.(opens in new tab) / Amazon U.K.(opens in new tab) / Amazon Canada(opens in new tab). (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.)
Question for hardcore fans: I have the original album, the 8 CD box, and now Atlantic Rain. Is there anything I’m still missing that’s exclusive to earlier releases?