For The Saw Doctors, the newest recipe for success seems to be "just add Water(boys)."
The Saw Doctors have undergone several line-up changes over the years but have settled on a five-piece combo that includes Anthony Thistlethwaite and Fran Breen - two former members of the critically acclaimed Anglo-Celtic band, The Waterboys.
Thistlethwaite and Breen serve as bassist and drummer for songwriters-guitarists Davy Carton and Leo Moran, with Derek Murray on keyboards. The band will bring its Irish-tinged rock'n' roll to the Pines Theater in Northampton tomorrow at 6 p.m.
Thistlethwaite's membership in the band only seemed a natural progression after original bassist Pearce Doherty left the band. The relationship between his former band and his new one goes back to the late 1980s. Thistlethwaite and Waterboys' leader Mike Scott met The Saw Doctors while The Waterboys were recording the classic "Fisherman's Blues" album in Galway.

Review of The Saw Doctors Album, "The Cure"

Ireland has changed utterly since The Saw Doctors first enthralled us with their hick schtick, doing for rural Ireland what rap acts did for Compton, but now they're back with their sixth studio album and sounding as vibrant and celebratory of all things real and Irish as ever. Indeed, Davy Carton's vocal benefits here from a sharper focus and turning down to about nine, allowing the band, including Waterboy Anthony Thistlethwaite on bass, more space to reveal a surprisingly introspective side.
The rueful and nostalgic “Out For A Smoke” is a Springsteen-esque work-out. They achieve an impressive blend of chiming guitars and Hammondish organ on “Me Without You”, while “Your Guitar” shows a tougher musical side, with its declamatory vocals calling out the names of chords, suggesting the Docs have lost none of their rich rural humour. Meanwhile “Vulnerable” is exactly as its title suggests, eschewing the brash machismo of old.
Hot Press, 8th February, 06 Jackie Hayden

US Reviews for Live CD and DVD "Live in Galway"

The CD/DVD captures the band's irresistible stage energy and suggests what Bruce Springsteen might have sounded like if he had grown up in Western Ireland writing less ambitious lyrics and catchier choruses”. Geoff Himes – Baltimore City Paper

“Ireland's most exhilarating musical export – the DVD is beautifully filmed and deeply touching, offering a keen insight into what makes this remarkable band tick” The Republican – Springfield, MA.

“catchy melodies, heartfelt lyrics and impeccably crafted songs – Live in Galway captures the Saw Doctors at their peak” Eileen Murphy – Irish Echo.

Saw Doctors - A Review - The University - Leeds - 5 December 02

The Saw Doctors are an institution. People love them. No surprises likely, but a good night out more or less guaranteed. Plenty of dancing, plenty of singing along and a bar stocked with Guinness. They regaled the crowd with a punk / folk / ska / calypso / rock'n'roll mix. And the crowd loved it. This was one of the few gigs I've been to where I felt relatively young and not as grey haired as everyone else.  And the maturity meant a lack of inhibition so reels and jigs fired off at random.  
We'd rolled in fashionably late at nine and the band were already going.  They fired off singalong after singalong and I worried that this was the climax of the gig and I'd somehow turned up at the end - did they have that many tunes that they could toss them away early in the evening. Well, this wasn't the end, they played another two hours and, yes, they did have enough tunes to blast through the evening.  Plus they had the legendary weapon - Irishness. 
With an Irish lilt, any song lyric, no matter how naff, takes on a significance that bypasses the normal 'cool' filters we put up. So: 'Why Don't We Share The Darkness Tonight' became more than a desperate end of the night singsong. 'Wish I was on the N17, stone walls and the grass is green' filled us with longing for a trunk road. 'Why Do I Always Want You?' became a philosophical enquiry on the meaning of unrequited. Getting the theme? Love lost, love spurned - good maudlin stuff - but delivered with an upbeat jig. What lifts The Saw Doctors above a pub band is not just a very fine set of original material and love for the music but an affection for rock and roll. Vis the Ramones- esque 'Ask Her Why She Don't Want To Go With Me'. They throw in a glorious snatch of I Wanna Be Sedated at the end as a nod to their roots. Add to that the packed crowd out for the craic and I understand their place in the hearts of the audience. Ross McGibbon