Wiki
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Release Date
1 July 1988
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Length
22 tracks
Fisherman's Blues is the 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the sound of The Waterboys', abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, country music and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at the change of direction and others ranking it among The Waterboys' best work. The album went on to become the Waterboys' best selling album, despite reaching only number thirteen in the U.K. charts on release, and position seventy-six on the Billboard 200.
The history behind Fisherman's Blues begins with Steve Wickham's contribution to "The Pan Within" on the preceding Waterboys album This Is the Sea. Wickham joined the group officially in 1985 after This Is the Sea had been released. Mike Scott, The Waterboys' leader, spent time in Dublin with Wickham, and moved to Ireland in 1986. That year The Waterboys performed "Fisherman's Blues" on The Tube, which was the first time the new musical direction the band was taking was demonstrated.
The recording sessions for the album were lengthy and produced a great deal of music. The sessions began at Windmill Lane Studio in Dublin and lasted from January through March 1986. An additional session took place that December in San Francisco. From March to August 1987 The Waterboys were recording in Windmill Lane again. Scott moved to Galway and another year passed as the band recorded at Spiddal House, where Scott was living. The entire second side of the original record is made up of recordings from this 1988 session. The album was released that October (see 1988 in music). Scott describes the process; "We started recording our fourth album in early '86 and completed it 100 songs and 2 years later".
More songs from the album's recording sessions were released on Too Close to Heaven, or Fisherman's Blues, Part 2 as it was titled in the United States, in 2002 by BMG and Razor and Tie Entertainment, respectively. Other songs from the sessions remain unreleased, including a cover of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", "The Man With the Wind at His Heels", "Stranger to Me", "Saints and Angels", and "Born To Be Together". A remastered "Collector's Edition" with additional tracks was released in May 2006.
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