SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE WATERBOYS – LIFE, DEATH AND DENNIS HOPPER

THE WATERBOYS
LIFE, DEATH AND DENNIS HOPPER
SUN RECORDS

From the moment Mike Scott and his The Waterboys appeared back in 1983 and through 16 albums so far, you immediately realized that you are listening to something quite special. From their early ‘big music’ sound, through explorations of folk and anything that can fall in between the two, Scott and his revolving band seem to have not made a single wrong step or a record that didn’t
come up with something substantial.

On Life, Death & Dennis Hopper, his 16th offering, Scott goes to legendary Sun Records for a concept album that explores the life and work of another mercurial artist—Dennis Hopper, touching upon the span of modern pop culture as such. It is a wide-spanning, 25-song cycle, that also includes a series of stellar guests from Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle to Fiona Apple and Patti Palladin among others.

With such an ambitious project, the chances of a misstep and failure lured at every corner, but Scott and all involved masterfully dealt with every possible trap, coming up with incredible results that musically span the vast space of modern music and practically everything Scott and The Waterboys did in their 40 or so years of being on the music scene.

SPILL FEATURE: EVERYBODY LOVES DENNIS HOPPER – A CONVERSATION WITH MIKE SCOTT OF THE WATERBOYS

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