After 2003’s comfortable but introverted Universal Hall, Mike Scott returns with a major label contract and a full-on rock album representing another twist in his musical journey. In addition to regular Waterboys Steve Wickham, Roddy Lorimer and Richard Naiff, Scott has sought out new collaborators, recording in Vancouver with Canadian artrockers Great Aunt Ida on the haunting Sustain, and swapping files across the internet with guitarist Leo Abrahams.
Book Of Lightning sits comfortably in the pantheon of great Waterboys albums, employing many of Scott’s traditional metaphors of storms and rivers. Hazy, 60s-style arrangements mix with very personal lyrics musing upon emotional chains and constraints. Everybody Takes A Tumble has the centred honesty of Fisherman’s Blues, which it also musically resembles. The country-flavoured She Tried To Hold Me is the reflective counterpoint to Scott’s famous litany of past loves, A Bang On The Ear, and, overall, the tone is of coiled energy springing into life.
Though Scott devotees will find much of the work familiar, having been worked-out in Waterboys set lists these past few years, his wider audience will delight in an offering that has resonance with his classic work and offers accessible and mature rock music.
