Where the Action Is (The Waterboys album)

Last updated

Where the Action Is
The Waterboys Where the Action Is 2019 album cover.jpg
Studio album by
Released24 May 2019 [1]
Length43:30
Label Cooking Vinyl
Producer Puck Fingers, Brother Paul
The Waterboys chronology
Out of All This Blue
(2017)
Where the Action Is
(2019)
Good Luck, Seeker
(2020)

Where the Action Is is the thirteenth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Cooking Vinyl on 24 May 2019. [1] It reached No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 3 on the UK Independent Albums Chart. [2] [3]

Contents

Where the Action Is was announced in March 2019, [4] with a lyric video for "Right Side of Heartbreak (Wrong Side of Love)" released the same month. It was followed by music videos for the title track in April and "Ladbroke Grove Symphony" in May. [5] The title track was inspired by the Robert Parker song "Let's Go Baby". [6]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Classic Rock Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Skinny Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Upon release, Timothy Monger of AllMusic felt the album "continued [Scott's] unexpected dalliance with dance and hip-hop-influenced rhythms" like the preceding Out of All This Blue album, but while "also delivering the more straightforward rock bangers and folk-infused introspections that are his bread and butter". He concluded: "Where the Action Is is another reliably interesting and well-written addition to the band's latter-day renewal." [1] Alan O'Hare of The Skinny considered the album to be one of the Waterboys' "best for a while" which "moves the listener in every way a person can be moved". [10]

Guy Oddy of The Arts Desk concluded: "Scott may no longer be the young man who gave us "Don't Bang the Drum" and "A Girl Called Johnny" but he is far from being a Bono-like pompous windbag and on this evidence, he's not only not finished, but he may yet achieve the same mythic status of some of his own great influences." [7] Zara Hedderman of The Irish Times felt the album "fails to inspire" and "already sounds dated", but noted the Waterboys' "familiar charm" on "In My Time On Earth". [9]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Where the Action Is" Robert Parker, Mike Scott, Paul Brown3:24
2."London Mick"Scott3:10
3."Out of All This Blue"Scott3:38
4."Right Side of Heartbreak (Wrong Side of Love)"Scott4:33
5."In My Time On Earth"Scott, Michael Green5:44
6."Ladbroke Grove Symphony"Scott5:14
7."Take Me There I Will Follow You"Scott, Brown3:59
8."And There's Love"Scott, Simon Dine2:35
9."Then She Made The Lasses O"Traditional, Robert Burns 2:14
10."Piper at the Gates of Dawn"Scott, Kenneth Grahame 9:13
Deluxe edition: Disc two
No.TitleLength
1."Where the Action Is" (mash)6:27
2."London Mick" (Jess'n'Zeenie Mix)3:17
3."Out of All This Blue" (soul choir)3:13
4."Right Side of Heartbreak" (Box & Vox)4:13
5."In My Time On Earth" (Scott & Wickham Mix)5:41
6."Ladbroke Grove Coda"3:25
7."I Will Follow You Take Me There"3:52
8."And There's Love" (mashtrumental)3:34
9."Then She Made The Lasses O" (mash)2:10
10."Where The Action Is" (reprise)1:03
11."Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (instrumental)9:03

Personel

Charts

Chart (2019)Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [11] 146
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [12] 65
Irish Albums (IRMA) [13] 31
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [14] 86
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [15] 56
UK Albums (OCC) [2] 21
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [3] 2

Related Research Articles

<i>The Best of The Waterboys 81–90</i> 1991 greatest hits album by The Waterboys

The Best of The Waterboys 81–90 is a compilation album by The Waterboys, released on 29 April 1991.

<i>Dream Harder</i> 1993 studio album by the Waterboys

Dream Harder is the sixth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Geffen Records on 24 May 1993. Led by Scottish singer-songwriter-instrumentalist Mike Scott, the album features none of the earlier UK-based band members and instead finds Scott backed by American session musicians. It was the last Waterboys album before Scott spent seven years pursuing a formal solo career, with Bring 'Em All In (1995) and Still Burning (1997). The album reached position 171 on the Billboard Top 200 charts, surpassing the previous Waterboys album Room to Roam, in spite of a less-than-enthusiastic response from critics to the album's sound.

<i>Fishermans Blues</i> 1988 studio album by the Waterboys

Fisherman's Blues is the fourth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records in October 1988. 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.

<i>Peachtree Road</i> (album) 2004 studio album by Elton John

Peachtree Road is the twenty-seventh studio album by English musician Elton John, released on 9 November 2004. The album was named after Peachtree Road, the northern part of Peachtree Street in Atlanta, where one of John's four homes is located. This is the only album during his long career on which John has sole credit as producer, although on some previous projects he was listed as a co-producer, with Clive Franks, or Greg Penny. It was recorded in January 2004.

<i>Room to Roam</i> 1990 studio album by the Waterboys

Room to Roam is the fifth studio album by the Waterboys, released by Ensign Records on 2 October 1990. 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 October 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.

<i>A Rock in the Weary Land</i> 2000 studio album by the Waterboys

A Rock in the Weary Land is the seventh studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2000 by BMG International. It was their first album after a seven-year break, but mostly continues the hard rock vein of the previous album Dream Harder (1993). The album cover photography is by Steve Gullick.

<i>Universal Hall</i> 2003 studio album by the Waterboys

Universal Hall is the eighth studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2003. 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.

<i>Book of Lightning</i> 2007 studio album by the Waterboys

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everybody Takes a Tumble</span> 2007 single by The Waterboys

"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.

<i>Time</i> (Rod Stewart album) 2013 studio album by Rod Stewart

Time is the twenty-eighth studio album by Rod Stewart, it was released on 3 May 2013 in the UK, on 7 May in the US and Canada, and on 8 May in Japan under the title "Time: Toki no Tabibito" (タイム~時の旅人~). In May 2013, Stewart released Time, a rock album of his own original material. It marked a return to songwriting after what Stewart termed "a dark period of twenty years"; he said that writing his autobiography gave him the impetus to write music again. The album entered the top 10 in the US and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 1, setting a new British record for the longest gap between chart-topping albums by an artist, as his last studio album to reach the top spot was A Night on the Town in 1976. The album was certified platinum in the UK on 16 August 2013 and double-platinum on 29 December 2017. Overall, the album was the No. 7 best-selling album of 2013 in the UK. In the United States, the album has sold 141,000 copies as of September 2015.

<i>Pleasure</i> (Feist album) 2017 studio album by Feist

Pleasure is the fifth studio album by the Canadian singer-songwriter Feist, released on 28 April 2017, through Universal Music Canada. Thematically, the album is said to explore "emotional limits ... loneliness, private ritual, secrets, shame, mounting pressures, disconnect, tenderness, rejection, care and the lack thereof." All of the songs on the album are actually raw takes, as Feist explained on her Twitter: "Our desire was to record that state without guile or go-to's and to pin the songs down with conviction and our straight up human bodies."

<i>Out of All This Blue</i> 2017 studio album by the Waterboys

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.

<i>Speak Your Mind</i> 2018 studio album by Anne-Marie

Speak Your Mind is the debut studio album by English singer Anne-Marie, released on 27 April 2018 by Major Tom's and Asylum Records. Anne-Marie announced the album on 21 November 2016 and it was made available for pre-order two days later. The album was preceded by the release of six singles and features collaborations with Marshmello, Clean Bandit, David Guetta and Sean Paul.

<i>Feral Roots</i> 2019 studio album by Rival Sons

Feral Roots is the sixth studio album by American rock band Rival Sons. It was released on January 25, 2019, through Low Country Sound and Atlantic Records. It is the band's first album since Hollow Bones (2016), and their first release on Atlantic Records. It was preceded by the lead single "Do Your Worst", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart in March 2019.

<i>Modern Blues</i> 2015 studio album by the Waterboys

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.

<i>Rocketman: Music from the Motion Picture</i> 2019 soundtrack album by Taron Egerton

Rocketman: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack album released by Virgin EMI (UK) and Interscope Records (US) on CD and digital formats on 24 May 2019 and is the official soundtrack album to the 2019 biographical musical film of English musician Elton John entitled Rocketman. The album contains 22 tracks of several hits performed by the cast of the film and a newly written track "(I'm Gonna) Love Me Again" featuring vocals by Taron Egerton and John together. This is the only song featuring Elton. The song won the 2019 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song & the 2020 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack was also released by Interscope Records on vinyl on 23 August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Building the City of Light</span> 1995 single by Mike Scott

"Building the City of Light" is a song from Scottish singer-songwriter Mike Scott, which was released as the second and final single from his first solo album Bring 'Em All In. It was written by Mike Scott, and produced by Scott and Niko Bolas. The song reached No. 60 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for two weeks.

<i>In a Special Place – The Piano Demos for This Is the Sea</i> 2011 compilation album by The Waterboys

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.

<i>Good Luck, Seeker</i> 2020 studio album by the Waterboys

Good Luck, Seeker is the fourteenth studio album by the Waterboys, which was released by Cooking Vinyl on 21 August 2020.

<i>Last Night in the Bittersweet</i> 2022 studio album by Paolo Nutini

Last Night in the Bittersweet is the fourth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini, released on 1 July 2022 by Atlantic Records. Two songs from the album, "Through the Echoes" and "Lose It", were jointly released on 11 May 2022. Last Night in the Bittersweet is Nutini's first release in eight years, following his third studio album, Caustic Love (2014).

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Timothy Monger (24 May 2019). "Where the Action Is - The Waterboys | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. 1 2 "WATERBOYS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  4. Mark Millar (8 March 2019). "The Waterboys Announce New Album 'Where The Action Is'". XS Noize. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  5. "The Waterboys". Mikescottwaterboys.com. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  6. Billboard (18 April 2019). "The Waterboys' 'Where the Action Is' Video: Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  7. 1 2 Guy Oddy (18 May 2019). "CD: The Waterboys - Where the Action Is". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "Where the Action Is by The Waterboys Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  9. 1 2 "The Waterboys: Where The Action Is review – An unlucky 13th record". Irishtimes.com. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  10. 1 2 Alan O'Hare (28 May 2019). "The Waterboys album review: Where the Action Is". The Skinny. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  11. "Ultratop.be – The Waterboys – Out of All This Blue" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  12. "Offiziellecharts.de – The Waterboys – Where the Action Is" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  13. "Irish-charts.com – Discography The Waterboys". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  14. "Spanishcharts.com – The Waterboys – Where the Action Is". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  15. "Swisscharts.com – The Waterboys – Where the Action Is". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 June 2019.