This Is the Sea

The Waterboys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B0000089BG
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,198 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > World Music > Celtic > Rock

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars flight manual, September 20, 2004

By 

thatwardgirl (Rattlesnake Ridge, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is the Sea (Audio CD)

You know that part of you that thinks you can fly? That same part that makes it hard to look at the sky when it's full of stars, or makes you feel the depth of everything when you are watching a huge storm down by the ocean? This is the album to speak to that part of you. WARNING, though - after listening, you might just find yourself a little discontent with the office and may even be tempted to run away to Ireland where melancholy and passion are just little more normal.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning, September 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: This Is the Sea (Audio CD)

All I can say is that this is one of the few albums that has really lasted--it's almost 20 years old! It may have its flaws, it may be overly grandiose in parts, but as always with Mike Scott the payoff is enormous. This album means so much to me. I only wish it were remastered like the others. I also have a reissue vinyl version which I recommend hunting down because the sound on it is amazing, much better than the (unfortunately) slightly tinny feel of this cd. I agree that this is still the Waterboys' finest hour, and that in itself is quite a compliment.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not U2, January 22, 2000

By 

Patrick F Clifford - See all my reviews

This review is from: This Is the Sea (Audio CD)

When this record came out, many critics placed it in the same category as bands like U2 and the Alarm. Well, yeah, the band was from the same part of the world, but they have as much to do with U2 as the Velvet Underground did: distantly related cousins.

This is still one of my favorite albums. Each song is visceral and emotional. "Don't Bang the Drum" is intense and driving in a "Big Music" kind of way with Anto Thistlethwaite's saxophone, the pounding rhythm, and Mike Scott's constant yelping; "The Whole of the Moon" is one of the most heartfelt and direct anthems of all time (anchored down by Kurt Wallinger's piano and Anto's sax); "This is the Sea" literally overwhelms with the multitracked guitars and the, again, anthemic theme.

This was an important album at the time of its release and remains so. It was more organic than bands like U2 (although "The Unforgettable Fire" and parts of "The Joshua Tree" come close thanks to the incredible production of Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno) or the Alarm (lyrically, and musically) and the directness of the message ("The Pan Within", "Spirit") read to an audience numbed by Duran Duran like no other band at the time. Unfortunately, Mike Scott, completely wrapped up in the spirituality hinted at by his lyrics, left the "Big Music" for the simplicity of more traditional musics (Irish) only to return in a different world, handicapped by over-production and the pressures of the music industry.

This record has withstood the test of time and for those so let down by the overly corporate U2, this album still satisfies the spiritualness and honesty so ignored by virtually every band out there. This is one of the most important musical and spiritual documents of all time.