''Too Close to Heaven'' is a collection of

outtake An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and D ...

s, alternative versions, and unreleased tracks from

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

' ''

Fisherman's Blues ''Fisherman's Blues'' is a 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, an ...

'' period, released September 2001. The album was released as ''Fisherman's Blues, Part 2'' in the

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with five additional tracks in July of that year. The title track of the album refers to the myth of Icarus. Dave Simpson writes in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', "Quite how Too Close to Heaven – a song that is easily worthy of either

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

- languished in the vaults for 12 years is a matter for Scott's conscience (and his accountants)". The song has become a favourite at Waterboys concerts.

Track listing

All songs written by Mike Scott, except as noted. # "On My Way to Heaven" (Traditional) – 4:01 # "Higher in Time" (Scott,

Anthony Thistlethwaite Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite (born 31 August 1955, Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England) is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founding member (with guitarist Mike Scott) of the folk rock group, The Waterboys and later as a long ...

) – 5:02 # "The Ladder" – 2:58 # "Too Close to Heaven" – 12:29 # "Good Man Gone" – 5:13 # "Blues for Your Baby" – 5:42 # "Custer's Blues" – 5:59 # "A Home in the Meadow" (

Sammy Cahn Samuel Cohen (June 18, 1913 – January 15, 1993), known professionally as Sammy Cahn, was an American lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premi ...

, Alfred Newman) (includes "Patch and MacHugh at the Puck Fair") – 3:13 # "Tenderfootin'" (Trevor Hutchinson, Scott, Thistlethwaite, Steve Wickham,

Kevin Wilkinson Kevin Michael Wilkinson (11 June 1958 – 17 July 1999) was an English drummer, who was based in Baydon, Wiltshire, England. Career Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, he is credited as a former official member of s ...

) – 5:15 # "Lonesome Old Wind" – 8:19

Fisherman's Blues, Part 2 track listing

# "On My Way to Heaven" (Traditional) – 4:01 # "Higher in Time" (Scott, Thistlethwaite) – 5:02 # "The Ladder" – 2:58 # "Too Close to Heaven" – 12:29 # "Good Man Gone" – 5:13 # "Blues for Your Baby" – 5:42 # "Custer's Blues" – 5:59 # "A Home in the Meadow" (Cahn, Newman) – 3:13 # "Tenderfootin'" (Hutchinson, Scott, Thistlethwaite, Wickham, Kevin Wilkinson) – 5:15 # "Lonesome Old Wind" – 8:19 # "Higher in Time" (Scott, Thistlethwaite) – 3:39 # "Ain't Leaving, I'm Gone" (Scott, Thistlethwaite) – 4:24 # "Lonesome and a Long Way From Home" (Scott, Thistlethwaite) – 3:20 # "The Good Ship Sirius" (Wickham) – 0:36 # "Too Close to Heaven" (Live) – 13:16

Personnel

*Mike Scott - vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10), electric guitar (2, 10), piano (1, 3, 4, 7), electric piano (2, 6, 9, 10), fuzz bass guitar (1), intro/outro bass guitar (7), bouzouki (1), RD500 organ (5), phased organ (6), organ (10), Native American rattle (7) *Anthony Thistlethwaite - saxophone (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 ,10), acoustic mandolin (1), electric mandolin (3), mandolins (8), bass (2), electric piano (7), acoustic guitar (8) *Steve Wickham - fiddle (1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10), electric fiddle (2), fuzz mandolin (7), lilting vocal (8 - "Patch..." section) *Trevor Hutchinson - bass (1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9) *Eoghan O'Neill - bass (5) *John Patitucci - bass (6, 10) *James Delaney - piano (5) *Noel Bridgeman - drums (1, 5, 8) *Peter McKinney - drums (2, 7) *Kevin Wilkinson - drums (4, 9) *Jim Keltner - drums (6, 10) *Jay Dee Daugherty - drums (8 - "Patch..." section) *Roddy Lorimer - trumpet (1, 9), solo trumpet (7) *Vinnie Kilduff - uilleann pipes (1), tin whistle (8) *The Little Big Horns - brass section (7) *Essie, Sam & Michelle of the London Community Gospel Choir - backing vocals (1)

Notes and references

External links

Lyrics at mikescottwaterboys.comOfficial forum
Chord requests are often fulfilled at "Musician's Corner" {{DEFAULTSORT:Too Close To Heaven The Waterboys albums 2001 compilation albums