The Waterboys – An Appointment With Mr Yeats

The Waterboys – An Appointment With Mr Yeats

A bold and immersive reinterpretation of poetry set to music, An Appointment With Mr Yeats sees The Waterboys, led by Mike Scott, transforming the words of W. B. Yeats into expansive, cinematic compositions. Rather than traditional song structures, the album moves like a cycle - part rock record, part orchestral suite, part mythic storytelling.

Built on richly layered arrangements and a wide palette of instruments, the record blends electric guitars, folk fiddle, brass, organ, and experimental textures into a sound that feels both ancient and contemporary. Long-time collaborator Steve Wickham brings a distinctive Celtic edge on fiddle, while contributions from Katie Kim and others add a spectral vocal presence throughout.

Each track approaches Yeats’ poetry as living material - romantic, political, mystical, and deeply human. Songs like The Hosting of the Shee and The Lake Isle of Innisfree unfold with sweeping atmosphere, while September 1913 and Politics bring sharper rhythmic drive and urgency. The album moves fluidly between intimate reflection and full orchestral intensity.

Rather than simply setting poetry to music, The Waterboys build entire worlds around it - where language, melody, and mythology collide in vivid, shifting forms.

Ambitious, theatrical, and emotionally rich, An Appointment With Mr Yeats stands as one of the most distinctive modern reinterpretations of literary work in popular music.

Tracklist:

1. The Hosting of the Shee
2. Song of Wandering Aengus
3. News for the Delphic Oracle
4. A Full Moon in March
5. Sweet Dancer
6. White Birds
7. The Lake Isle of Innisfree
8. Mad as the Mist and Snow
9. Before the World Was Made
10. September 1913
11. An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
12. Politics
13. Let the Earth Bear Witness
14. The Faery’s Last Song