After releasing the phenomenal album 'Good Luck, Seeker' last year which to widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike, the band is ready to deliver a brand new record. Today, they release their 15th studio album 'All Souls Hill' on Cooking Vinyl.
'All Souls Hill' is nine tracks of Waterboys brilliance, all mixed by Scott himself. Announced off the back of the band’s recent sold out UK tour and latest box set ‘The Magnificent Seven: The Waterboys' Fisherman’s Blues/Room To Roam Band, 1989-1990 ’, 'All Souls Hill' is current, on the money social commentary, but with an air of hope.
"'All Souls Hill' is mysterious, otherworldly, tune-banging and emotional.” comments Mike. “I made it with Waterboys old and new and my co-producer, brilliant sonic guru Simon Dine. Its nine songs tell stories, explore dreamscapes, and cast a cold but hopeful eye on the human drama."
Scott describes the album as "a unique Waterboys record because of the degree of collaboration". Besides Simon Dine, the collaborative spirit stretches backwards to 1948, to country-folk standard Passing Through, now reborn with freshly written verses by Scott as a nine-minute hymnal epic.
The spirit reaches outwards, too, to Robbie Robertson and his song 'Once Were Brothers', and which is here rewritten by Scott, with the permission of the former Band guitarist himself. And it also touches the talents inbuilt within Scott’s own band, with Waterboys keyboard player James Hallawell originating the music for the woozy, elegiac Hollywood Blues – the lyrics for which were inspired by, as Scott describes with precision and imagination, “Dennis Hopper’s long bacchanalia in the American southwest in the '70s”.
As he puts it himself, all this presents as an “unusual” degree of collaboration. “Usually when I'm going to make a record, I've written the song myself, and know how to play it on guitar or piano. But with a lot of these, I don’t actually know the chords yet!” he says cheerfully. For a much-loved artist currently in the 40th anniversary phase of his recording career, this was far from a familiar feeling. But that’s just part of the thrill. Being out of his comfort zone is exactly what Scott was looking for with this album.
The Daily Telegraph hailed The Waterboys phenomenal last record, 'Good Luck, Seeker' as one of their cultural highlights of the summer whilst Uncut, Mojo, Classic Rock, Record Collector and more claimed it as one of the band’s greatest records. The Waterboys are set to top this with there newest album 'All Souls Hill'.
Listen here to 'All Souls Hill'
