All Souls Hill


All Souls Hill is the fifteenth studio album by British folk rock group The Waterboys, released by Cooking Vinyl on 6 April 2022. It has received positive reviews from critics.

Reception

At AnyDecentMusic?, editors scored this album a 6.5 out of 10, aggregating five reviews.
Editors at AllMusic rated this album 3.5 out of 5 stars, with critic Mark Deming writing that "this is fun, thoughtful, expressive music from a man whose inspiration has yet to run dry". In American Songwriter, Hal Horowitz scored All Souls Hill 3 out of 5 stars, praising the lyrics and vocals: " has plenty to say and isn't shy about spewing out a constant stream of verses to make his points: all in his distinctive Scottish brogue and with a propulsive attitude leaving subtlety for others". Writing for The Arts Desk, Joe Muggs rated this work 3 out of 5 stars, characterizing it a "mixed success" criticizing the production choices, but praising Mike Scott's songwriting. Classic Rocks Chris Roberts scored this album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that it "feels like a reset, a detour probing new directions, as befits an album written and produced mostly in collaboration with Simon Dine, who recharged Paul Weller's career". In Glide Magazine, Jim Hynes called this "a bit of both sonic worlds" that mixes the band's classic sound with their hip hop and electronic music trio of studio albums released before this. In Hot Press, Lucy O'Toole wrote that this music finds the group "leaping between genres and ideas as if journeying through a fever dream".

Track listing

All songs written by Simon Dine and Mike Scott, except where noted.
  1. "All Souls Hill" – 2:54
  2. "The Liar" – 3:28
  3. "The Southern Moon" – 4:23
  4. "Blackberry Girl" – 2:36
  5. "Hollywood Blues" – 5:26
  6. "In My Dreams" – 3:19
  7. "Once Were Brothers" – 5:30
  8. "Here We Go Again" – 4:02
  9. "Passing Through" – 9:16
Bonus edition tracks
  1. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" – 3:52
  2. "Painting America White" – 2:36
  3. "Glastonbury Fayre" – 4:33
  4. "The Liar" – 3:28
  5. "Blackberry Girl" – 2:16
  6. "In My Dreams" – 3:05
  7. "Once Were Brothers" – 5:34

Personnel

  • Mike Scott – vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, sound effects, soundscaping, production
  • "Brother" Paul Brown – keyboards, synthesizer, sound effects, guitar on "The Liar", backing vocals on "All Souls Hill", mixing on "Passing Through" at Ocean Soul Studios, production on "Passing Through"
  • James Hallawell – piano, organ, Mellotron, guitar, Marxophone, backing vocals, sound effects on "Once Were Brothers", production on "Hollywood Blues" and "Once Were Brothers"
  • Simon Dine – sound effects; lead guitar on "The Liar"; production on "All Souls Hill", "The Liar", "The Southern Moon", "Blackberry Girl", "In My Dreams", and "Here We Go Again"
  • Mike Brignardello and Aongus Ralston – bass guitar
  • Ralph Salmins and Greg Morrow – drums
  • Pee Wee Ellis – saxophone on "Hollywood Blues"
  • Melvin Duffy – pedal steel guitar on "All Souls Hill"
  • Ian McNabb – backing vocals on "Blackberry Girl"
  • Barny Fletcher – backing vocals on "Here We Go Again"
  • Rob D. Cureton – choir vocals on "Passing Through", choir arrangement on "Passing Through"
  • Jason Eskridge – choir vocals on "Passing Through", engineering at Rustic Souls, production on "Passing Through"
  • Niki Conley and Kiley Phillips – choir vocals on "Passing Through"
  • Charlotte Annand – photography
  • Ciaron Bell – engineering at Nabby Road
  • Don Jackson – mastering
  • Kahn & Selesnik – photography
  • Howard Rankin – photography
  • Ian James Ross – design

Chart performance

All Souls Hill reached tenth place on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts and was number 94 in its sole week on the UK Albums Chart.