And a Bang on the Ear

The song was recorded at Spiddal House in Spiddal, Connemara, County Galway, Ireland, in April 1988.{{cite web|url=http://mikescottwaterboys.com/waterboys-discs.php?releaseid=5&releasepageid=17 |title=The Waterboys |publisher=Mikescottwaterboys.com |access-date=19 January 2019}} In 2006, fiddle player Steve Wickham recalled of the song, "We played a lot of takes before we got this right. It is often the simple ones that are the most difficult."{{cite web|url=http://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/waterboys-discs.php?releaseid=5&releasepageid=15 |title=The Waterboys |publisher=Mikescottwaterboys.com |access-date=19 January 2019}} The single's B-side, "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy", was recorded live at Barrowlands Ballroom in Glasgow.{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/eny624 |title=The Waterboys – And A Bang On The Ear / The Raggle Taggle Gypsy – Ensign – UK – ENY 624 |publisher=45cat |access-date=19 January 2019}}

On its release as a single, Music & Media wrote, "Easy-going, traditional folk material with a strong melody line and good lyrics. Stylewise, an uncompromising song but one that could be a hit."{{cite magazine|date=15 July 1989 |title=Previews: Singles|magazine=Music & Media Magazine}} Tim Nicholson of Record Mirror noted, "Song title of the week, and a jig so authentic that it's almost immune from criticism."{{cite magazine|last=Nicholson|first=Tim|date=24 June 1989|title=45|magazine=Record Mirror|page=31}} John Wilde of Melody Maker picked it as the "single of the week" and wrote, "This romp through Scott's old flames verges on the ridiculous, but I'm sure it's meant to. It's not just ridiculous. The Waterboys have never sounded quite so breezy."{{cite magazine|last=Wilde|first=John|date=24 June 1989|title=Singles|magazine=Melody Maker|page=35}} Barbara Ellen of New Musical Express described the song as "charming" and wrote, "A gorgeously delivered fiddle-strewn folk love ballad, it only occasional sounds like a One-Man-Band falling over a pile of milk bottles. This is 'whispers-in-shadows' stuff, and Scott remains a gifted storyteller with his tongue firmly implanted in his cheek."{{cite magazine|last=Ellen|first=Barbara|date=24 June 1989|title=45s|magazine=New Musical Express|page=22}}

In a review of Fisherman's Blues, Stereo Review described the song as "lilting, rollicking, and altogether effortless". The reviewer added, "It flows in a way that suggests Scott has arrived at some breakthrough in his conception of the Waterboys."{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y40JAQAAMAAJ&q=waterboys+%22and+a+bang+on+the+ear%22 |title=Stereo Review – Google Books |date=26 May 2010 |access-date=19 January 2019}} Audio picked the song as the album's "best cut" and described it as "a bouncy ditty full of cyanide and vinegar".{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpIqAQAAMAAJ&q=waterboys+%22and+a+bang+on+the+ear%22 |title=Audio – Google Books |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=19 January 2019}} Ira Robbins, writing in The Trouser Press Record Guide, considered the song to be "rollicking" and one of the album's tracks to "make the most of Scott's adopted heritage".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huIYAAAAIAAJ&q=waterboys+%22and+a+bang+on+the+ear%22 |title=The Trouser Press Record Guide – Ira A. Robbins – Google Books |date=4 January 2007 |isbn=9780020363613 |access-date=19 January 2019|last1=Robbins |first1=Ira A. |publisher=Collier Books }} Ian Abrahams of Record Collector felt the song had a "wistful romance".{{cite web|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/fishermans-box |title=Fisherman's Box – Record Collector Magazine |publisher=Recordcollectormag.com |access-date=19 January 2019}}

In a 2017 retrospective on the "best of Mike Scott", Tom Doyle of Q included "And a Bang on the Ear" as one of ten tracks on the list and described it as a "touching tune in which Scott takes us through the tales of each of his romances".{{cite magazine |last=Doyle |first=Tom |date=October 2017 |title=Maverick: Mike Scott |magazine=Q |pages=86–87}}

{{tracklist

| headline = 7-inch and cassette single

| title1 = And a Bang on the Ear

| length1 = 6:45

| title2 = The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

| length2 = 4:36

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = 12-inch and CD single

| title1 = And a Bang on the Ear

| length1 = 7:29

| title2 = The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

| length2 = 4:36

}}

{{tracklist

| headline = CD single (US release)

| title1 = And a Bang on the Ear (Edit)

| length1 = 6:45

| title2 = And a Bang on the Ear

| length2 = 7:25

| title3 = The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

| length3 = 4:35

}}

The Waterboys

• Mike Scott – vocals, guitar, piano on "And a Bang on the Ear"
• Steve Wickham – fiddle
• Máirtín O'Connor – accordion
• Anthony Thistlethwaite – Hammond organ on "And a Bang on the Ear", mandolin on "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy"
• Trevor Hutchinson – bass
• Jay Dee Daugherty – drums
• Vinnie Kilduff – uilleann pipes on "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy"
• Colin Blakey – tin whistle on "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy"

Production

• John Dunford – producer and mixing of "And a Bang on the Ear"
• Mike Scott – producer of "And a Bang on the Ear"
• Phil Tennant – producer of "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy"
• John Grimes – recording of "And a Bang on the Ear"

{{Reflist}}

{{The Waterboys}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1988 songs

Category:1989 singles

Category:The Waterboys songs

Category:Chrysalis Records singles

Category:Ensign Records singles

Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Song recordings produced by Mike Scott (musician)

Category:Songs written by Mike Scott (musician)