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Album reviews: A Pagan Place, by The Waterboys

which we worship it. A bit hippy? Maybe. A bit Pagan? Certainly. But then Scott always had an environmental soul and a spirituality running through his music. Here it combines into a happy opening track of reverence and celebration. From here there is a change for the time being and a trilogy of numbers explores more human themes.

The big issues are put away for a moment and he examines the failure of relationships in "All the Things She Gave Me", a more moderate, slightly darker mid paced guitar led number. Here he is still managing to combine the big choruses with the sharp interplays of piano, guitar, saxophone and keyboards, but managing to deliver a more introspective and moody song. Scott has some interesting turns of phrase in his writing. Wandering the nighttime city looking to burn all the memorabilia of his last relationship he describes his surroundings:

"Its dark as hell here, this cities grown cold,
The devils in drag, playing poker with souls,
The lots are all empty; the last man is out,
The moons made of cheese and god is a boy scout"

Relationships are continued on "The Thrill is Gone", even more downbeat, a mournful violin backs up his weary singing. The realisation that things are over drips from his voice and a the bass and piano hammer home the basic root notes, leaving lots of space in the song for the other instruments to comment and disappears again. The song fades away to just that violin and the emotional lows and musical highs drifts off to be replaced by something more determined. "Rags" is the last act of the piece, but here the beat is up, a cutting guitar chops through the wallowing and the song explodes into a pounding brass accompanied driving number. Even though we are still in the post-mortem of a fail relationship, the music, especially the occasional brass stabbing through, returns us to the positive start to the song. Two worlds, never meant to collide, move on and rebuild their life, remembering only good things. The song breaks into a punchy finally, drums accentuating the words. Remember that this was recorded in the age of vinyl and this would have been the big finish to side one. It rounds off the sub plot of emotions nicely in a big, positive style allowing Scott, and us to return to a better place.

Thistlethwaite opens this song, not on the saxophone, his instrument of choice, but on the mandolin, backed with Scott's bouzouki, an interesting combination of sounds. The piano creates the building blocks of "Somebody Might


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