The Waterboys will open the vault on the Fisherman’s Blues era with Atlantic Rain, a newly compiled set of previously unheard recordings from the band’s pivotal late 1980s sessions.
by Paul Cashmere
The Waterboys have announced Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings, a 25-track collection of previously unreleased material drawn from the sessions that produced the band’s landmark 1988 album Fisherman’s Blues. The set, issued through Chrysalis Records on July 17, arrives in 3CD, 3LP and digital formats and coincides with a new round of Fisherman’s Blues Revue live dates across the UK and Ireland.
The release revisits one of the most transformative periods in The Waterboys’ catalogue. Between 1986 and 1988, band leader Mike Scott and an evolving line-up recorded hundreds of hours of music while shifting away from the expansive alternative rock sound of early albums such as This Is The Sea and towards a hybrid of Irish folk, country, gospel and roots music.
According to the band, almost 400 multi-track reels were recorded during the Fisherman’s Blues sessions. Many tapes were poorly labelled, carrying only vague descriptions such as “jam”, “instrumental” or “soundcheck”. Scott returned to those archives in 2024 and 2025, uncovering performances that had remained unheard for nearly four decades.
Among the newly revealed recordings are original songs including Come Back To Galway, Light Shine On Me and Endless Store, alongside covers of songs associated with Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Woody Guthrie and Willie Nelson. The compilation also includes extended improvisations and alternate versions that further document the breadth of the sessions.
The first preview from the collection, Too Close To Heaven (Soul Version), has been released to streaming services.
A newly remixed version of We Will Not Be Lovers has also been issued following renewed attention for the song after its inclusion in the Netflix series Something Very Bad Is Going To Happen.
When Fisherman’s Blues was originally released in October 1988, the album divided critics and fans. Some followers of the band’s earlier “Big Music” sound viewed the move into Celtic and roots traditions as a sharp departure, while others regarded it as the moment The Waterboys found a more distinctive musical identity.
The album ultimately became the group’s commercial breakthrough. Fisherman’s Blues reached No. 13 in the UK and entered the Billboard 200 in the United States. The title track became a staple of alternative and folk rock radio and later featured in films including Good Will Hunting and Waking Ned Devine.
The sessions behind the album have since become part of Waterboys lore. Recording began at Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios in early 1986 before continuing through Galway, Spiddal and San Francisco over a two-year period. Scott later described the process as creatively overwhelming, with the band exploring blues, gospel, country, traditional Irish music and rock simultaneously.
Atlantic Rain extends a long-running archival examination of the era. In 2002, material from the same sessions surfaced on Too Close To Heaven, marketed in the United States as Fisherman’s Blues Part 2. In 2013, the expansive Fisherman’s Box documented the sessions across seven discs and 121 tracks. At the time, many observers assumed the archive had been exhausted.
This latest discovery suggests otherwise. Scott’s trawl through the unmarked tapes has revealed further recordings that deepen the understanding of the period and highlight the scale of the band’s experimentation. The collection also reinforces the central role of musicians including Steve Wickham, whose violin work became fundamental to the Waterboys’ reinvention, and Colin Blakey, whose flute playing helped shape the album’s pastoral textures.
The renewed focus on Fisherman’s Blues also arrives amid continued reassessment of the album’s place in late 1980s music history. While some contemporary reviews criticised the stylistic pivot, the record has since been included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die and is now widely regarded as one of the defining folk-rock releases of its era.
The Waterboys are currently touring Australia and New Zealand ahead of the Fisherman’s Blues Revue concerts in Europe. Those forthcoming arena shows will feature Steve Earle performing alongside the group, with returning Waterboys alumni Steve Wickham and Colin Blakey also part of the ensemble.
Atlantic Rain: The Lost Fisherman’s Blues Recordings will include a 54-page book featuring contextual notes and track-by-track commentary by Mike Scott.
Atlantic Rain Tracklisting:
Too Close To Heaven (Soul Version) (5.32)
Come Back To Galway (8.51)
The Man With The Wind At His Heels (7.15)
And Then The Gods (2.47)
Light Shine On Me (3.14)
Endless Store (5.39)
This Land Is Your Land (Studio Version) (4.55)
Saints And Angels (1988 Version) (4.41)
I Can’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore (2.35)
Knockin’ On Heavens Door (3.54)
Honky Tonkin’ (2.04)
No Expectations (3.03)
When Doves Cry (3.16)
Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground (4.59)
Killing My Heart (Full Length) (5.27)
Bob And Anto’s Soundcheck (1.07)
We Will Not Be Lovers (Live Take) (7.58)
Lost Highway (Double Version) (7.59)
The Good Ship Sirius / The Ship In Full Sail (2.31)
Mister Saxman (4.11)
The Waves (6.36)
The Last Jam (Long Version) (6.12)
Night Falls On Windmill Lane (1.18)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (13.27)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (6.54)
Australia and New Zealand remaining dates:
14 May 2026, Sydney, State Theatre
15 May 2026, Sydney, State Theatre
16 May 2026, Melbourne, Palais Theatre
18 May 2026, Brisbane, The Tivoli
20 May 2026, Wellington, Meow Nui
21 May 2026, Auckland, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre
23 May 2026, Christchurch, Christchurch Town Hall
Tickets: https://www.destroyalllines.com/tours/the-waterboys
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