When former Waterboy Mike Scott wrote "The Whole of the Moon" (it appears on the group's This is the Sea) he assured his place in songwriter heaven. If nothing on Still Burning achieves the grandeur of that masterpiece, there are still gems aplenty here. Scott remains a bastion of passion and honesty. His Dylan-esque delivery tempers near purple prose into songs so seamless that it is easy to miss how good they are. Too, the Arthurian, religious, and romantic imagery is grounded by the soulful grooves of session wizards Pino Palladino and Jim Keltner, and the raw guitar of Chris Bruce. In short, they rock. The Waterboys were never afraid of the grand gesture, and Scott retains that bravado. You want long orchestral codas ("Love Anyway")? Raging leads ripping through a tribute to Hendrix ("King Electric")? A device song like "Open" where each line begins with "Open to..." would be gimmicky in the hands of a lesser songwriter, but Scott's sense of harmony saves the day.--Kevin Cole

Amazon.com's Best of 1998
All the promise of Mike Scott's former band, the Waterboys, is realized on his second solo release. With an open heart and an electric guitar, Scott creates his most personal and impassioned album to date. A disc that displays a complete lack of irony, Still Burning paints him as a natural mystic and spiritual seeker who worships rock & roll. Like fellow traveler Bob Dylan, Scott lords over a full-on rock sound with a timeless quality that proves that after all these years the fire's still burning. --Kevin Cole