On this, the final album of The Waterboys, Mike Scott delivers some amazing songs. Critics have heaped a lot of flak on this album, very unjustly in my opinion. By this time, The Waterboys were essentially Mike Scott and session musicians. So much so that Scott dropped the group name and went solo for his next album. But back to Dream Harder: I have always felt Mike Scott's lyrics. They always describe the world with wide-eyed wonder and are very heartfelt. I bought this album when it was first released; I was a grad student going through some very hard times. I still cry when _The New Life_ plays through my speakers, especially the part that says: "I've burned my bridges and I'm free at last. All my pains are in the past." The best song about moving forward, not looking back. _The Return Of Pan_ is one of those wide-eyed wonder songs that contains one of the most soul-wrenching guitar solos I know of. _Glastonbury Song_ is very spiritual and _Good News_ is a tremendous closer. These four songs are all of 10 star, stratospheric quality. Too bad that the rest is mediocre at best. But these four songs are so good that words just cannot describe them.

The Return Of Pan
Pop music: what a fickle, bizarre universe. Just think of all the beautiful songs you have loved and forgotten. They lived for a moment in your excited consciousness, and then faded away.

How many bands must come and go before the perfect song is written? Well, we all have a few candidates.

I think Mike Scott captured it in "The Return Of Pan." It is elemental, rambunctious, Druidic, Bacchanalian, headbanging, and just plain cool. How many rock songs compare Greek legend with Christianity? Yeah, go ahead, start counting.

I am reluctant to put on this music. "The Return Of Pan" always gets me amped up and dancing like some stupid hippie. Okay, maybe I am a stupid hippie.

Thank you, Mike, for reminding me of what I knew before.

Another change in direction
It is now several years since I first purchased this disk - and with the perspective of histroy it is easier to put into some kind of context.

It was a few years between "Room-to-Roam" and this album and thus when it first appeared it was grabbed at with some delight -Mike Scott had actually put out another album! The first few listens were hugely disappointing - after his definitive "Big Music" and journey into fun "Irish Folk/Pop" this turn in the road was, at first, a disappointment. It was relegated to the unlistened to pile for a few weeks. Then out of curiosity I put it on again one day - suddenly it grabbed me and I really began to like it. Skip track one - and just relax into the rest of it - it is simply fun tuneful pop - don't even bother thinking about it! Who wants to get intellectual about the Waterboys anyhow!

A stand-alone Waterboys' album - but certainly one that should be in the collection.

Not very good
While these guy's have enjoyed success in their career, they do come out with duds every so often, and this my friends is a dud. I tried to like this but after a while you realize that if it's no good, it's just no good. Every second hand shop has tons of this copy, which tells you something. This is a Rock & roll disc with no flavor.