Too Close to Heaven is a collection of outtake

Outtake

An outtake is a portion of a work 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 DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...

s, alternative versions, and unreleased tracks from The Waterboys

The Waterboys

The Waterboys are a band formed in 1983 by Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland and England. Edinburgh, London, Dublin, Spiddal, New York, and Findhorn have all served as homes for the group. The band has played in a...

' Fisherman's Blues

Fisherman's Blues

Fisherman's Blues is the 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the sound of The Waterboys', abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Scottish music, country music and rock and roll. Critics were divided on its release with some disappointed at...

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

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 with five additional tracks in July of that year.

The title track of the album refers to the myth of Icarus

Icarus (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax...

. Dave Simpson writes in The Guardian

The Guardian

The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

, "Quite how Too Close to Heaven - a song that is easily worthy of either John Lennon

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...

 or Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

 - 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

Mike Scott (musician)

Michael 'Mike' Scott is the founding member, lead singer and chief songwriter of rock band The Waterboys. He has also produced two solo albums, Bring 'em All In and Still Burning...

, except as noted.

1. "On My Way to Heaven" (Traditional) – 4:01
2. "Higher in Time" (Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite
   Anthony Thistlethwaite
   Anthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors.After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin...
   
   ) – 5:02
3. "The Ladder" – 2:58
4. "Too Close to Heaven" – 12:29
5. "Good Man Gone" – 5:13
6. "Blues for Your Baby" – 5:42
7. "Custer's Blues" – 5:59
8. "A Home in the Meadow" (Sammy Cahn
   Sammy Cahn
   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 premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
   
   , Alfred Newman
   Alfred Newman
   Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of music for films.In a career which spanned over forty years, Newman composed music for over two hundred films. He was one of the most respected film score composers of his time, and is today regarded as one of the greatest...
   
   ) – 3:13
9. "Tenderfootin'" (Trevor Hutchinson, Scott, Thistlethwaite, Steve Wickham
   Steve Wickham
   Steve Wickham is an Irish musician described by Mike Scott as "the world's greatest rock fiddle player" and by New Musical Express as a "fiddling legend." Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham has appeared on recordings by Elvis Costello, the Hothouse Flowers, Sinéad...
   
   , Kevin Wilkinson
   Kevin Wilkinson
   Kevin Wilkinson was a musician based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England.- Career :Born Kevin Michael Wilkinson in Stoke-on-Trent, he is credited as a former official member of several successful British pop groups, including The League of Gentlemen , The Waterboys , China Crisis and Squeeze...
   
   ) – 5:15
10. "Lonesome Old Wind" – 8:19

Fisherman's Blues, Part 2 track listing

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

External links

• Lyrics at mikescottwaterboys.com
• Official forum Chord requests are often fulfilled at "Musician's Corner"