UPDATES

I've been listening to some of my old albums through headphones over the summer, and I've spotted a few things that weren't as noticeable as when listening through speakers, so I've fixed them and updated the files. 

Penetration - Movement (1979) - The track V.I.P. was only audible through the left channel, with the right just having an intermittent thumping noise, so I've replaced the whole track.

Red Noise - Wonder Toys (1979) - The beginning of 'Substitute Flesh' was slightyl louder than the rest of the track, so I've reduced the volume to match the rest of the recording.

Truly Yours - Truly Smith (1968) - 'I Love Him' was ripped from a very scratchy vinyl single, so I've run it through that de-clicking programme that I found - twice!

...and on guitar - Albert Lee (1974) - 'Make It With You' by B J Arnau was also ripped from a scratchy record, so I've run that through the de-clicking programme as well. 

Redemption Songs - Stevie Wonder (2010) - The ending to the track '(You're My) Dream Come True' was quite sudden, and odd that it changed tempo for just a few seconds before the end, so I've faded it to make it sound better.  

Medicine Jack - The Waterboys (1984) - When I put this album together, for some reason I sequenced all three instrumentals one after the other, whereas it would have been better to have them spread out through the album, which is what I've now done.    

All files are updated, so Soulseekers can download the individual tracks as usual, and the whole Waterboys album if you can't re-tag the tracks yourself, and for people who use Yandex there is a new folder with all of these updates in it, so just take what you want and dump the rest. 

pj

The Waterboys - Medicine Jack (1985)

'This Is the Sea' was released in 1985, and is the last of their 'Big Music' albums, with the band going back to their folk roots for their next release. Considered by critics to be the finest album of their early rock-oriented sound, it was the first Waterboys album to enter the UK charts, peaking at number 37. Steve Wickham made his Waterboys recording debut playing violin on 'The Pan Within' and subsequently joined the band, although this would be the last appearance of Karl Wallinger, who left the group after the album was released to form his own band, World Party. It was one of Scott's personal favourites, describing it as "the record on which I achieved all my youthful musical ambitions, the final, fully realised expression of the early Waterboys sound". After completing the album, Scott felt that he'd finished with that kind of music, achieving whatever it was he was trying to achieve, and didn't need to do it anymore, resulting in the complete change of direction for 'Fisherman's Blues'. As with all the band's previous records, much more material was recorded than was needed, and so we can make up yet another album just from the out-takes and the extended version of one of their b-sides, none of which deserved to be consigned to the vaults at the time.

Track listing

01 Beverley Penn (previously unreleased)

02 Medicine Jack (previously unreleased full length version)

03 Sleek White Schooner (previously unreleased)

04 Even The Trees Are Dancing (previously unreleased)

05 High Far Soon (b-side of re-issue of 'The Whole Of The Moon' 12" single 1991)

06 Then You Hold Me (previously unreleased)

07 Spirit (full length version on b-side of 'The Whole Of The Moon' 12" single 1985)

08 Towers Open Fire (previously unreleased)

09 Miracle (previously unreleased)

10 The Waves (previously unreleased)

11 Sweet Thing (Van Morrison) (previously unreleased) 

 and as a bonus here's a track that you can use as your answer-phone message

12 I Am Not Here

The Waterboys - Another Kind Of Circus (1984)

In 1981 Mike Scott was working in the punk rock band Funhouse, who had recently changed their name from Another Pretty Face, and after signing to Ensign Records the group moved to London to record their music. Scott had been unsatisfied with the group's sound and so in December 1981 decided to use Redshop Studio to record some of his own songs solo, after prompting from Ensign Records to consider a solo career. With the help of a drum machine, Scott sang and played the piano and guitar on five of his songs, and the quality of the session convinced him to leave Funhouse and make further recordings at Redshop in early 1982. In spite of his label's advice of embarking on a solo career, Scott began forming a new band to work with, and recruited Anthony Thistlethwaite for the new project, which became The Waterboys, soon adding Kevin Wilkinson as drummer. In the Spring of 1982 the band recorded 'A Girl Called Johnny' which became their first single, and which was included on the following year's eponymous debut album. Tracks for the album were selected from the London recordings following aborted sessions in New York with Lenny Kaye as producer, and the songs that didn't make the cut were later added to the expanded re-issue of the album in 2019. Recording of the follow-up to 'The Waterboys' was begun before either the band's first single 'A Girl Called Johnny', or the album had been released, and comprised two recording sessions. The first was in November 1982 at Redshop Studio in London, involved Mike Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite and Kevin Wilkinson, and the second was held in September 1983 at Rockfield Studio in Wales, included contributions from Karl Wallinger, who had joined the band that year. 'A Pagan Place' was released in June 1984, sharing a title with the book 'A Pagan Place' by Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, although Scott insists that he'd never read the book. The album was greeted with much acclaim from critics and fans alike, and when 'The Big Music' was released as a single it became a descriptor of the sound of the band's music. As with their first album, a number of songs did not make it to the final track-listing, and were added to the 2019 re-issue, so this album collects all the out-takes from the sessions for both albums, along with a b-side to the 'A Girl Called Johnny' 12" single, so settle back and enjoy some 'big music'. 

Track listing

01 Something Fantastic (previously unreleased)
02 Ready For The Monkeyhouse (b-side of 'A Boy Called Johnny' 12" single)
03 Another Kind Of Circus (previously unreleased)
04 A Boy In Black Leather (previously unreleased)
05 Jack Of Diamonds (previously unreleased)
06 Some Of My Best Friends Are Trains (previously unreleased)
07 The Late Train To Heaven (previously unreleased)
08 Love That Kills (previously unreleased)
09 The Madness Is Here Again (previously unreleased)
10 Cathy (previously unreleased)
11 Down Through The Dark Streets (previously unreleased)

The Waterboys - Blues For A Fisherman (1988)

The Waterboys are a British/Irish folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott, who 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 and rock and roll. The early Waterboys sound became known as 'The Big Music' after a song on their second album 'A Pagan Place', being defined as an anthemic sound which was 'a metaphor for seeing God's signature in the world'. Before forming The Waterboys, Scott made a number of solo recordings in late 1981 and early 1982 while a member of Another Pretty Face, and during the same period he also formed the short-lived band The Red And The Black, with saxophone player Anthony Thistlethwaite. In 1983, Scott was expected to deliver a solo album to his record label Ensign Records, but he decided to start a new band, naming them The Waterboys after a line in the Lou Reed song 'The Kids', and their first released recording under that name was the single 'A Girl Called Johnny', which was a tribute to Patti Smith. The eponymous debut album followed shortly afterwards, and was compared by critics to Van Morrison and U2 in its cinematic sweep. A second album 'A Pagan Place' came out in June 1984, and 'This Is The Sea' followed in 1985, including the hit single, and their best-known song, 'The Whole Of The Moon'. 

In 1986, at the invitation of new member Steve Wickham, Scott moved to Dublin and quickly became influenced by the traditional Irish music there as well as by country and gospel, and the band's line-up changed to include Scott, Wickham and Thistlethwaite, plus Trevor Hutchinson on bass and Peter McKinney on drums. This new band spent 1986 and 1987 recording in Dublin and touring the UK, Ireland, Europe and Israel, and in 1988 Scott took the band to Spiddal in the west of Ireland where they set up a recording studio in Spiddal House to finish recording their new album. 'Fisherman's Blues' was released in October 1988, and showcased many guest musicians that had played with the band in Dublin and Spiddal. Critics and fans were split between those embracing the new influence of Irish and Scottish folk music, with others being disappointed that it wasn't a continuation of the style of 'This Is the Sea', although over the years it has been re-evaluated and become one of the band's best-loved albums. Owing to the large number of tracks that were recorded in the three years between 'This Is the Sea' and 'Fisherman's Blues', the band released a second album of songs from those sessions, with 'Too Close To Heaven' coming out in 2001, and yet even after releasing two records made up of songs from those extensive sessions, there are still enough unreleased tracks for a third album, and so here it is. I've loved the band through all their incarnations, so to me this is a perfect companion to 'Fisherman's Blues', carrying on their 'Raggle Taggle' sound for a little bit longer, but rest assured that there will be more to come from earlier periods of the band in the future. 

Track listing

01 Carolan's Welcome
02 Killing My Heart
03 You In The Sky
04 When Will I Be Married
05 Nobody 'Cept You
06 Girl Of The North Country
07 Lonesome And A Long Way From Home
08 If I Can't Have You
09 Rattle My Bones And Shiver My Soul
10 Let Me Feel Holy Again
11 Meet Me At The Station
12 The Good Ship Sirius
13 Soon As I Get Home