liner notes for still burning (japanese release)

Mike Scott has come back--I'm not sure how many times I myself wrote this phrase, but he is the one who makes me feel like saying "ah, he has come back" whenever he brings us a new album. This time just two years have passed since that marvelous solo debut album Bring 'em All In, so it was not a long absence at all. However, in his case, every time he showed up he brings us a different purpose, a different expression, and a different musical approach. The eternal nomad of soul; the man who one day changes his residence and relationship suddenly, as if to say "I'm already through that phase;" the one who never submits to anything and pursues his own belief. However, all the more for this attitude, he can convince us that he comes back with the confidence that now is definitely the time to play this music, to make this album. Still Burning is another album which displays his confidence. Just as shown in this brave (and a bit embarrassing) title, I can detect clearly that straight love for burning rock'n roll is "resurrecting" inside of him.

We haven't seen Mike Scott rock'n'roll since Dream Harder, recorded in NY and released as the Waterboys' last album. Before that album, there were Irish days, which produced two masterpieces Firsherman's Blues and Room to Roam. Scott settled himself among many trad/folk musicians and learned to let music flow just as it would go out of him. And, before then, he was a passionate young leader of new wave guitar music, peaked with the album This Is The Sea in 1985. In much earlier days he was a Scottish literary boy who started a band in London, inspired by punk and influenced by songwriters like Bob Dylan, Velvet Underground and Patti Smith. Just looking back thus quickly, it is realized that his career has been truly independent and ever-changing. However, at the heart of his career, there is one thing flowing continuously: inclination to spirituality and the pursuit of soul. It can be said that his former album Bring 'em All In mainly displayed this aspect, putting the other elements aside. Making an album under his own name all by himself, and standing on stage alone with only one acoustic guitar, he was uttering a silent declaration: "Come up all, fear, pain, shadow and light. Now I'm prepared to accept all emotions." This album wasn't released in Japan, but his first Japan tour in January 1996 satisfied his fans more than enough, and I still can recall it so vividly. With only one instrument and human voice, he could produce shadow and light, strength and fragility, vibration and flow of the air. Mike Scott was standing there as the artist who had obtained tremendous expressive ability in the simplest way. That epoch-making album was the result of all his musical wanderings mentioned previously, and it seemed divorce and the stay in a spiritual community Findhorn had greatly affected him.

After going round this circuit--according to Scott's own words, "climbing up a spiral staircase"--he settled down in London again for a new step in his musical activity. I remember what he said at the interview I did for his former album: "In Ireland days, what meant the most for me were things like living a normal life, loving someone, and growing up mentally as a person. In New York days I could recall the excitement and system of music business. This time I made a solo album, toured completely on my own, and learned what I needed as a performer in such an intense, short space of time. Now, at last, I got everything and set out as a commercial artist again. I never wanted to not be successful." That was the moment I realized "why Mike Scott is ever-changing." It all made sense to me why he had followed his life the way he always had. Hearing these words, I was convinced his next step would be going back to his roots, which are guitar rock in the form of a band, and it would certainly be a "hot sound."

Here is Still Burning. My expectations were answered. The first impression is totally contrary to the extreme silence Bring 'em All In contained. The guitar intro, on which we hear Mike absorbedly scratching the guitar strings, kicks off the opening track "Questions," gorgeously featuring brass and a female chorus. A heavy bass line resounds like a heart beat on "My Dark Side." The first single in UK will be "Love Anyway," on which strings back up his strong vocal. "Rare, Precious, and Gone" is a number previously introduced in an acoustic version on the Bring 'em All In tour, along with "My Dark Side," but this time it was rearranged with full instruments for the album. "Dark Man of My Dreams" and "Sunrising" sound as if they were made to play the guitar loud and free to the fullest. Quiet songs like "Open," "Personal," and "Everlasting Arms" are featured here as well. In fact, this album could even have been dominated by this calm tone, if we were to concentrate the contents of lyrics. Setting aside the cheerful fact that no one can stop Mike Scott playing guitar loud now, the theme of this album follows directly from that of Bring 'em All In. What is loving someone, what is loving oneself, what is loving life--these are fundamentally what he has been pursuing in his music. In the course of this pursuit, countless "Questions" are following him persistently. The fear and hope of revealing oneself honestly in the closest of relationships is expressed in "My Dark Side." "Dark Man of My Dreams" is another song focusing on his "dark side." In "Rare, Precious, and Gone" he sings that love is not squeezing someone into the cage as you want. In the style of a beautiful note that a lover left behind, "Personal" tells us not to blame yourself if someone walks away from you. And, in "Love Anyway" he sings: no matter what you do, no matter what fault you commit, no matter how you hurt me, I love you anyway. At first listening, it seems like this song is aimed at a certain person, but I suppose Mike is rather talking to himself. People despise themselves easily, taking themselves as small and worthless. He is just like us in that, and always needs to remind himself, "It's alright, you are OK." I've never heard such a beautiful and gentle song of self-affirmation before.

Now let's take a look at the recording credits. Nico Bolas teamed up with Mike again to produce Still Burning. Great names are lined up here for the band: Jim Keltner on drums, Chris Bruce on guitar, Pino Palladino on bass. In addition, Kick Horns, who played on stage so often with Mike since Fisherman's Blues, joins him too. Taking backing vocals on "Questions" is Denise Johnston, who has worked with such people as Primal Scream and Ian Brown. Mike said he had heard her voice on the radio, and said, "This is the voice!" And, Ian McNabb, who's formed a close friendship with Mike since Glastonbury Festival in 1994, where they played on the same stage together for the first time, provides backing vocals, showing off some excellent falsetto (notice "Rare, Precious, and Gone"). Overall, sound production on Still Burning is commercial and on the slick side, reflecting his present "open aim at worldwide success."

When I saw the concerts at the Garage in London the other day, I could feel directly the vigor and overflowing spirit of Scott in 1997. He played five nights in total: the first three nights were sold out immediately, and two more nights were hastily added. The band, a quintet which consists of a totally different lineup than that on the album, provided a simple and strong sound, contrary to the complex arrangement of the album. Here and there, we could also detect the delicate musical characteristics that Mike Scott always has. Him holding the guitar tightly and scratching the strings, with five of them sparking and vying each other on a small stage --it was such an exciting scene, it was really a "boys' playground." Boys who can't restrain the love of music, rock'n roll and guitars were playing in this innocent playground, and once we step in there we can't stop jumping around too. Crowned with the album Still Burning, Mike will expand this playground bigger and bigger. I hear the dates for the Japan tour has already been confirmed--how exciting!

Lastly, there is one thing I'd like to mention. It is Mike's friendship with Ian McNabb. At the Garage gigs, McNabb showed up, surprisingly, with a bass guitar in his hands. Though known as a versatile artist and multi-instrumentalist since his days in The Icicle Works and progressing as a solo artist now, I bet McNabb has never been called "bassist" before :) However, these two musicians are almost the same age, and their careers are similar. Above all, both are precious songwriters whom British new wave in early 80's brought forth. Besides the fact that they are nicknamed "Bob (Dylan) and Neil (Young) in 90's," they have common musical characteristics, namely romanticism, anthemic-ness and spirituality. So there is no reason to be surprised if they are getting on closer. Nothing surprising, but it was really an exciting situation. For me, Scott and McNabb are the two most favourite artists of all time, and I think it must be destiny that they have established such a close relationship. It may sound over-the-top, but I guess destiny is probably to be realized like this.

Erica Yamashita-- Translated by Noriko Hiratani.
September 1997

Liner notes copyright © 1997, 1998, Erica Yamashita. Reproduced with permission.

Updated 7 August 2001.