Mike Scott talks the return of The Waterboys

"I think the period from about '55 to '75/'76 and the beginning of punk was an incredible time for the evolution of culture and art and, above all, music," says Waterboys frontman Mike Scott. He continues, "I don't think we live in times that are anything as significant now. It's like we live 40 years after a golden age. It's a weird thing because there's good music being made now and some great music. However, it doesn't have the power and significance that it had culturally back then.
Scott, who was weaned on the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, T-Rex and Led Zeppelin, and whose own career began in the 70s, has certainly earned the right to talk music.
We had a sit-down with Mr. Scott and talked about the new Waterboys album Modern Blues, an equal parts rocky, folky and soulful outing that was recorded in Nashville.
"If I try to record in the UK, and to a lesser extent Ireland, there just aren't engineers who are trained to record a full band all at once," Scott says. "Certainly in the UK they know how to do programming and overdubbing but if I say, 'There are six of us and we're going to record everything including drums and vocals', they look at me as if I'm from Mars. In Nashville they go, 'OK, where do you want to sit?' and bang - we're off."
"I'm very pleased with this selection of songs," Scott continues. "'November Tale' was one that changed the recording process. It was a folk-rock kind of number; our lead guitar player came in and played it pure Memphis, like Cornell Dupree or someone like that. I thought, 'That's the way we'll do it.'"
You can see much more from Mr. Scott on his musical upbringing, his new album, and the highs and lows of his storied career in the new issue of Hot Press, on newsstands now!