Leave it to Mike Scott to fashion an entire song cycle around the misadventures of one of Hollywood’s most rebellious talents—and make it dovetail quite naturally with a broader survey of America’s obsession with the SoCal myth. Granted, it did take the Waterboys founder four years to make it work, and the musical thread frays at certain points as Scott attempts to cover a little too much ground. But taken as a whole, the new Life, Death And Dennis Hopper (Sun) amounts to a moving, sonically complex soundtrack that perfectly suits Hopper’s infamously erratic whims, touching on acoustic folk, jazz, country rock and orchestral pop. The 25-track opus was produced with Waterboys bandmates Famous James and Brother Paul, and it features an impressive lineup of guests, including Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, Steve Earle, Patti Palladin, Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes) and Kathy Valentine (Go-Go’s).
MAGNET’s Hobart Rowland caught up with Scott as he and the rest of the Waterboys prepped for a massive tour that kicks off in the U.K. on May 1, eventually landing in the U.S. in September.
How did you become so enthralled with Dennis Hopper?
My deep interest in him began when I came across an exhibition of his photographs in London some years ago. I was enchanted by the 1960s world he captured and by his eye … how he caught his subjects, what he chose to photograph. Then I got interested in Hopper the person. When I delved into his story, I discovered his presence at so many crucial moments in the development in popular culture, and how he carried the energy of those events and times with him—from his being in Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean and the beginning of youth culture itself through the development of pop art, psychedelia, hippiedom, new Hollywood and so on.
But you’re also using Hopper’s life as a vehicle for telling a bigger story … which is?
I spend a lot of time thinking about popular culture. As a child of the 1960s, I have an interest in seeing how the promises of that decade have contributed to our evolution since, and how the mistakes of that time have impacted us. Dennis’ story walks right through the middle of that highway, and it was a natural fit to blend the man and the culture in the record. It was a thrill turning it all into songs and music.
Life, Death And Dennis Hopper has quite the guest list. How were you able to round up Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple and Steve Earle?
I know Steve already, so he was an easy ask. We wrote the song “Kansas” together … my lyrics, his music. It was natural to use his vocal—and fun to have someone who isn’t me sing the first song on a Waterboys album. I asked Bruce to do the voiceover on “Ten Years Gone” because of the great monologues he does in concert, his dramatic skill. Fiona did one of the best-ever versions of “Whole Of The Moon,” bringing a real emotive edge to it. I knew she could deliver on “Letter From An Unknown Girlfriend”—and she surely did.
How did your affiliation with the legendary Sun Records come about?
I did a copyright deal with Primary Wave, an American music company that owns Sun Records. They asked what I was working on, and I explained about the Hopper album—and I’m glad to say they wanted it. I’m thrilled to be on Sun.
What are your thoughts on the passing of your former Waterboys bandmate Karl Wallinger (World Party)?
It was very sudden. We hadn’t been in touch for many years, and then someone sent me a text telling me. I found it very easy to remember the good work we did and the fun we had. In fact, I’d just finished writing a lot about those times—and about Karl— for the book accompanying the Waterboys’ 1985 box set (on the making of This Is The Sea), which came out a year ago. So those days were fresh in my mind. He was a fabulous musician—one of the finest I’ve ever played with. I think we taught each other a lot.
See the Waterboys live.
