This is a record that was and is a bit of an opinion splitter. The Whole Of The Moon was recorded and released in 1985 when Mike Scott and The Waterboys were pursuing The Big Music and then gained a second life a couple of years later as an end of the night crowd pleasing favourite at various dance clubs, it having that widescreen, wide- eyed, anything goes Balearic vibe. It then gained a third life in 1991 when the record company (Chrysalis I think) decided it should be a big hit and indeed it was, crashing the top three in the UK charts. It became a bit ubiquitous at that point and radio stations the world over ensure that Mike Scott's royalty cheques must always be a pleasant surprise. Lots of people I know/ have known love The Whole Of The Moon. Some people, a minority perhaps, are vociferous in their dislike of it- I know some of them too. The sax, the fireworks going off after the 'You came like a comet' line, the dirginess of it, too much, too big.
Me, I love it.
Mike's told an interviewer recently that the song was written when a girl he was with asked him if writing a song was easy or difficult. 'Easy', he replied and came up with the line 'I saw the crescent/ You saw the whole of the moon' on the spot in the back of a taxi. He then finished the lyric back at the hotel. The final section is where he really takes flight, the words becoming a torrent of imagery-
'Unicorns and cannonballs, palaces and piers/ Trumpets, towers and tenements/ Wide oceans full of tears/ Flags, rags ferryboats/ Scimitars and scarves/ Every precious dream and vision/ Underneath the stars, yes, you climbed on the ladder/ With the wind in your sails/ You came like a comet/ Blazing your trail/ Too high/ Too far/ Too soon/ You saw the whole of the moon'
Hearing the band tear into this at the time was nothing short of euphoric. I'm probably more into their raggle-taggle period these days if truth be told, but The Whole of the Moon still sounds great to these ears this morning.
ReplyDeleteThey don't make 'em like this any more, et cetera...
ReplyDeleteA proper classic.
I remember once being told that Scott had written this about John Lennon, how he felt inadequate as a songwriter in comparison (Lennon was able to see the whole of the moon). I've since seen Scott deny this, and I'm kind of glad about that. I'd prefer it if it wasn't about Lennon.
ReplyDeleteI remember it being played at or near the end of nearly every indie disco etc in the late 80s-early 90s. I was never a big fan and the ubiquitous way it was played made me adverse to it, who knows, give it 10 years I might like it again.
ReplyDeleteMy dad had 'Fisherman's Blues' on repeat constantly in the early 90s! Didn't get it at the time, love it now. When I got into krautrock and psych music 'We We Will Not Be Lovers' caught my ear as well
ReplyDeleteThis song was on during an argument I had with my girlfriend in 1987. She never forgot the link, and we ended up married so this album only gets played on headphones or when she is not home. Damn shame but a perfect illustration of how Important a part music can play in our lives.
ReplyDeleteI loved This Is The Sea, the album this is from, and it's indelibly associated with getting National Express coaches in my student days. A mate was drinking in the pub nearest Victoria Coach Station, years later when I could afford trains, and told me 'there was a bloke in there said he was from the Waterboys'. Showed her a picture of Mike Scott and she said 'aye, that's him'.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you SA, I love it. I love The Waterboys' Big Music era. It was unapologetic and that's because they had the goods and pulled it off with no sense of embarrassment, yet an embarrassment of riches in the songs. In A Pagan Place and This Is The Sea are quitessentially 80s, over the top, reaching for the brass ring and capturing it, albums.
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