Mike Scott was the lead singer, chief songwriter, and undisputed decision-maker for the Waterboys from the time the band came together in London in 1981 until it reconstituted with new personnel in Dublin in 1987, and finally fell apart in New York in 1991. Scott has a knack for thinking up pop melodies and evocative lyrics and singing them in a roughened, personal voice, but his musical skills are limited. He relied heavily on bandmates such as Anthony Thistlethwaite, Steve Wickham, and future World Party founder Karl Wallinger to flesh out his bare-bones songs with Celtic-folk and Celtic-rock textures. That's obvious from Bring 'Em All In, Scott's debut solo album, which is full of marvelous songs but which leaves them sounding like drab, undeveloped home demos--which is precisely what they are. Many of the album's songs were inspired by Scott's return to his homeland of Scotland. "Iona's Song" is a metaphoric description of crawling back "like a beggar at a feast," begging the ancient hills to "heal my black heart," while "Edinburgh Castle" is a more literal autobiography of visiting his old school and still feeling intimidated. Both are performed on acoustic guitar with background textures supplied by electric guitar washes, and both lack the authentic folk licks and expansive solos they seem to cry for.

Several other songs take the form of prayers as Scott offers acceptance to all of the world's creatures on the title track, begs for guidance for himself on "What Do You Want Me to Do?" and yearns to forgive himself on "Learning to Love Him." These numbers are built around quite attractive melodies, but the tunes are never expanded into the rich harmonies which were always a Waterboys trademark. One can only hope Scott will assemble a new, Waterboys-like band and re-record these songs, perhaps in a live setting, to realize their considerable potential. --Geoffrey Himes