The Waterboys, The Best Of The Waterboys ’81-’90 (1991)

I always used to see this album cover about, saw the album in stores – remember print and TV ads from the time – and I didn’t really know what The Waterboys sounded like. I didn’t really care either. But then – a decade on (or so) and I’m in an Irish band, playing around the country – most weekends. A staple of our set is the song Fisherman’s Blues and early on in my time with the band we also played Strange Boat. I picked up the album, Fisherman’s Blues (a really good record) and learned some of the songs. And then I sort of forgot about The Waterboys/got sick of them because my enduring memory is playing a rollercoaster-version of Fisherman’s Blues; one that just gets faster and faster, the mandolin jangle making me think of a wheel. But I also found this compilation in my record collection recently and I’m happy to have it – because I always really liked The Whole Of The Moon – reminds me of the stuff Bob Dylan was doing in the 1980s. Mike Scott would love that!

Sample Track: Don’t Bang The Drum

The Vinyl Countdown is a document of every LP I listen to, brand new discoveries and old-old favourites; extremely pre-loved, previously abandoned or with the shrink-wrap having just been removed it’s all here at The Vinyl Countdown