This Is The Sea (studio album) by The Waterboys

A Tour de Force of acoustic guitars, a blasting saxophone and poetic lyrics, THIS IS THE SEA opens with the tortuous "Don't Bang the Drum". The setlist continuous on it's journey with obscure sensuous visions of the now and hereafter. A wall of sound, the release captures a renaissance of Celtic soul and hard rock spiritual deliverance. "Old England is Dying"!

Great early alternative rock album, 80s vibe all over it and some great tracks on the first half, the second half is more mixed in terms of quality.

The opening two songs on this record are just perfection and they captivate me every time I press play. The rest of the album follows along in this sense and it really gives you an energetic ride for the full run time. From the layers of instrumentation to the brilliant vocal, this release really has everything a music lover is looking for. There is so much to explore and get your teeth into that it is hard to know where to start which isn't helped by the vast array of instruments you are treated to. All of which are played to such a high quality that it creates this wall of sound which is so overpowering and it completely stuns you as you listen through. This makes it so easy to fall into the atmosphere of this record and really get lost in it. Furthermore, the song writing is phenomenal and well worthy of deeper inspection. However, it does have a couple of weaker tracks but none that really damage the quality of the music too much. Overall, the record closes on the brilliant Title Track which truly demonstrates just how spectacular this album is lyrically and musically and shows that it is a must listen for everyone.

From TheDude85 08/11/2021 12:35

It has to be one of the all-time best albums ever in my book. The anthemic quality of the songs from start to finish might be derivative of U2, but that is where the similarity ends. The imagery of Mike Scott's lyrics, particularly on "The Whole Of The Moon" and the title cut, are completely captivating. How many times did I repeatedly listen to this album for nearly twenty years? Innumerable. I was somewhat disappointed with the slight change of direction on their follow-up album "Fisherman's Blues" which veered away from the stadium pleasing tunes featured here. GET THIS ALBUM!

Inspired song writing, fantastic sound.

This album still sounds fresh today, some twenty plus years after it was produced. It is worth owning for Don't Bang the Drum and Whole of The Moon alone!

From Sandrof1969 02/17/2018 10:13

Era già un gran disco "This is the sea": ottima scrittura e quella giusta dose di spiritualità senza che si corresse il rischio di passare per santoni come avveniva per i ( più o meno ) conterranei e coevi U2. Più forte, semmai, l'influenza di un altro grande irlandese: Van Morrison. "Old England" è una delle mie canzoni preferite, ma ce ne sono altre ottime: a mancare in "This is the sea", piuttosto, è una capacità di sintesi sonora. Avrebbero corretto il tiro e ne sarebbe sortito il capolavoro dei Waterboys: "Fisherman's blues".

A good album. This is the sea, features all kinds of influences from folk and country to pop and rock'n'roll. Whole of the moon, is obviously the standout, a brilliant song. Elsewhere, there are plenty of other good tracks on offer; don't bang the drum, old England, and the Dylanish, be my enemy. Probably the Waterboys best album.

From RoundTheBend 04/21/2016 04:48

Reminds my of my older sister. She loved this album growing up.

From Martini 10/07/2015 13:16

Amazing album! The Whole Of The Moon, Old England, Trumpets and This Is The Sea are some of my all-time favourite tracks.