AMG Review of Secret Life of the Waterboys 81-85

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Secret Life of the Waterboys 81-85 collects 14 outtakes, live tracks and demos from the time when Mike Scott was fervently pursuing his concept of "Big Music." These alternate versions and unreleased songs are generally a little more modest than the released takes, which, of course, makes The Secret Life very interesting for diehard fans, but there aren't enough revelations to make it worthwhile for the curious.