"Everybody Takes a Tumble" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Waterboys | ||||
from the album Book of Lightning | ||||
B-side | "Ain't Doin' Too Bad" | |||
Released | 2007 | |||
Length | 4:25 (single version) 7:08 (album version) | |||
Label | W14 Music | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Scott Anthony Thistlethwaite | |||
Producer(s) | Mike Scott Phil Tennant | |||
The Waterboys singles chronology | ||||
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"Everybody Takes a Tumble" is a song from Scottish-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys, released as the only single from their ninth studio album Book of Lightning . It was written by Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite, and produced by Scott and Phil Tennant.
"Everybody Takes a Tumble" was written in early 1986, [1] when Scott moved to Dublin. The song was not recorded at the time, but retained for possible future use alongside Scott's other unreleased songs. [2] The Waterboys began performing the song live as early as 2005 before recording it for Book of Lightning. [3] [4]
Speaking of the song, Scott told Terry Staunton of Record Collector in 2007: "Everybody Takes a Tumble" is pretty much a snapshot of what the music scene was like in Dublin when I went to live there. The first line mentions Phil Lynott, who died the day I moved to Ireland. Sinéad O'Connor was just starting at that time, so she's namechecked, and Van Morrison had this song at the time where he was singing about other artists copying his style, so I included a line about that." The song's also references Brush Shiels and The Blades. [4]
In a review of Book of Lightning, James Christopher Monger of AllMusic felt "Everybody Takes a Tumble" was "nearly a carbon copy" of "Fisherman's Blues" and added that it "feels like a campfire full of good-natured charlatans on a stormy night, just waiting to talk the ear off of some lucky (or unlucky) traveler". [5] Dave Simpson of The Guardian described it as a "delirious, heady waltz" and "possibly the best song [Scott's] completed since "The Whole of the Moon"." [6] Fiona Jerome of musicOMH commented: "There are songs that would slot straight into their late '80s repertoire, particularly the lengthy "Everybody Takes a Tumble"." [7]
Lee Davis of inthenews.co.uk wrote: "The album runs the full gamut of emotions before catapulting into the blissful 'kiss-and-make-up' moment writ large in the vibrant, fiddle-fuelled "Everybody Takes a Tumble"." [8] Finbarr Bermingham of The Skinny felt the song was "welcomed as one of the more upbeat numbers". [9] Michael Keefe of PopMatters described it as a "deceptively sunny-sounding song of revenge". [10] Ian Abrahams of Record Collector considered the song to "musically resemble" "Fisherman's Blues" and also thought it had the same "centred honesty". [11]
Ed Condran of The Record described the song as "one of the most charming tracks from Book of Lightning". [12] Karl Leslie of St. Cloud Times noted: "...by the time you get to the end of the disc and "Everybody Takes a Tumble" kicks in, it sounds like he's searching to recreate the acoustic magic of the band's 1987 masterpiece "Fisherman's Blues"." [13] Kevin O'Hare of the Star Tribune considered the song one of the best on the album and added that it "name-drops Sinéad O'Connor and Van Morrison while skipping around Wickham's fiddle and Naiff's organ." [14]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Everybody Takes a Tumble" (Single Version) | 4:25 |
2. | "Ain't Doin' Too Bad" | 2:20 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Everybody Takes a Tumble" (Single Version) | 4:25 |
2. | "Killing My Heart" (Live) | 4:18 |
3. | "All Things Must Pass" (Live) | 3:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Everybody Takes a Tumble" (Single Version) | 4:25 |
Everybody Takes a Tumble
Ain't Doing Too Bad
Killing My Heart
| All Things Must Pass
Production
|
Chart (2007) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles Chart [15] | 125 |
The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott 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 with rock and roll. They dissolved in 1993 when Scott departed to pursue a solo career. The group reformed in 2000, and continue to release albums and to tour worldwide. Scott emphasises a continuity between The Waterboys and his solo work, saying that "To me there's no difference between Mike Scott and the Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions."
This eponymously named debut album from The Waterboys was recorded in several studio sessions between December 1981 and November 1982. Allmusic describes the sound of the album as "part Van Morrison, part U2".
A Pagan Place is an album released in June 1984 by The Waterboys. It was the first Waterboys record with Karl Wallinger as part of the band and also includes Roddy Lorimer's first trumpet solo for the band on the track "A Pagan Place".
This Is the Sea is the third The Waterboys album, and the last of their "Big Music" albums. Considered by critics to be the finest album of their early rock-oriented sound, described as "epic" and "a defining moment", it was the first Waterboys album to enter the United Kingdom charts, peaking at number 37. Steve Wickham makes his Waterboys recording debut playing violin on 'The Pan Within' and subsequently joined the band, appearing on the video of "The Whole of the Moon". This Is the Sea is the last album with contributions from Karl Wallinger, who left the group to form his own band, World Party.
Fisherman's Blues is a 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish 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 was the Waterboys' best selling album, reaching a number 13 placing on the U.K. charts on release, and 76 on the Billboard 200.
Michael Scott is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician. He is the founding member, lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In and Still Burning. Scott is a vocalist, guitarist and pianist, and has played a large range of other instruments, including the bouzouki, drums, and Hammond organ on his albums. Scott is also a published writer, having released his autobiography, Adventures of a Waterboy, in 2012.
Room to Roam is the fifth studio album by The Waterboys; it continued the folk rock sound of 1988's Fisherman's Blues, but was less of a commercial success, reaching #180 on the Billboard Top 200 after its release in September 1990. Critical response continues to be mixed. Allmusic describes it both as "not quite as [musically] successful" as Fisherman's Blues, but also as a "Celtic rock classic". The front and back covers were designed by Simon Fowler based upon photography by Stefano Giovannini and Sean Jackson.
Universal Hall is a 2003 album released by The Waterboys. It is named after the theatre and performance hall at the Findhorn Foundation, which is pictured on the album cover. The album shows much more influence from folk music than its predecessor, A Rock in the Weary Land. It is the first Waterboys album to feature Steve Wickham since Room to Roam, and therefore the first Waterboys album with all three core members of the post-reunion band.
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua and played violin on the classic U2 song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", as well as recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad O'Connor, and World Party. He is a long-standing member of The Waterboys. Wickham plays both rock and roll and traditional Irish music, and has developed a rock music technique for violin he calls the "fuzz fiddle".
"Fisherman's Blues" is a song from folk rock band The Waterboys, which was released in 1988 as the lead single from their fourth studio album of the same name. It was written by Mike Scott and Steve Wickham, and produced by Scott. The song reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 13 in Ireland and No. 32 in the UK. A re-issue of the single in 1991 saw the song return to the Top 20 in Ireland, reaching No. 17.
"And a Bang on the Ear" is a song from Scottish-Irish folk rock band the Waterboys, released as the second single from their fourth studio album Fisherman's Blues. It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by John Dunford and Scott. The song reached No. 1 in the Republic of Ireland and No. 51 in the United Kingdom.
"Glastonbury Song" is a song from Scottish-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys, which was released in 1993 as the second single from their sixth studio album Dream Harder. It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by Scott and Bill Price. The song reached No. 29 in the UK and No. 12 in Ireland.
Book of Lightning is the ninth studio album by The Waterboys, released on 2 April 2007 through W14/Universal Records. The album contains ten tracks, produced by Mike Scott and Philip Tennant, with musical contributions from Steve Wickham (fiddle), Richard Naiff (keyboards), Brady Blade (drums), Mark Smith (bass), Leo Abrahams, Jeremy Stacey (drums) plus long-time Waterboys alumni Roddy Lorimer (trumpet), Chris Bruce and Thighpaulsandra (keyboards). Book of Lightning was recorded in London with the exceptions of one song recorded in Vancouver with members of Canadian art-pop band Great Aunt Ida, and another in Scott's home studio.
Vinnie Kilduff is an Irish multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter, primarily known for his work with U2, The Waterboys, Clannad and Sinéad O'Connor. He plays tin whistle, uilleann pipes, guitar, mandolin, piano, harmonica, bodhrán and flute. He is described as one of Ireland's best known contemporary tin whistle players.
Discography of releases by The Waterboys and Mike Scott.
Out of All This Blue is the twelfth studio album by The Waterboys, released by BMG in 2017 and produced by Mike Scott. The album reached No. 8 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
Modern Blues is the eleventh studio album by The Waterboys, released on the independent label Harlequin and Clown in 2015. It was produced by Mike Scott, with two tracks being co-produced with Paul Brown. Modern Blues reached No. 14 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 2 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
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In a Special Place – The Piano Demos for This Is the Sea is a compilation album by Scottish-Irish folk rock band The Waterboys. It was released in 2011 by Chrysalis and Capitol (US). The album reached No. 196 in the UK Top 200 Albums Chart.