Love Anyway

In his autobiography, Scott described the song as a "mid-paced rocker with a hustly Jim Keltner groove and a hazy, chiming guitar figure." It was considered by Chrysalis as the album's best contender for a potential hit.^[3] Speaking of its limited success as a single, he said: "Despite all its radio play the song [did not catch] on with the public."^[4]

The song's music video was directed by Matthew Amos and produced by Anna Whiting.^[1]

On its release, Wayne Moriarty of the Edmonton Journal considered the song the "best cut" on Still Burning. He described the track as "a big old slab of Waterboys-ish pomp and rock that will remind his devotees just how special it was when Mike and the lads were pioneering the big sound that carried the likes of U2 to fame and fortune."^[5] Kerry Gold of the Vancouver Sun noted the song's "multiple violins and lush orchestration".^[6]

In a review of Scott's 1997 concert at the Garage in London, James McNair of The Independent was critical of the song's live rendition: "It's not that "Love Anyway" is weak - far from it. The problem is that the soaring strings that are integral to the song's magic on CD are missing live and, at six minutes 42 seconds, the journey is just too long without them."^[7]

In his 2002 book The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Mark Allan Powell noted "the manner in which songs like "Love Anyway" bespeak an ethic unlike that which informs previous Waterboys' tunes about heartbreak and disappointment in love. Whereas previous songs express bitterness and even a design for vengeance, "Love Anyway" boasts "You made a fool out of me today / I'm breaking the rule / I love you anyway"."^[8] In 2011, Richard Curtis, in a piece for The Guardian on his affection for Scott and the Waterboys, commented: "If you're ever feeling low on energy and hope, pump up "This Is the Sea", "Don't Bang the Drum" or "Love Anyway" and life seems worth living again – worth living large."^[9]