The Waterboys – This Is The Sea (Clear vinyl)

This Is the Sea, released in September 1985, represents a high point of The Waterboys’ so-called “Big Music” phase. Anchored by Mike Scott’s sweeping vision, the album expands on the atmospheric and orchestral tendencies hinted at in earlier work, layering 12-string guitars, saxophones, piano, and brass into broad, emotive canvases. With contributions from Karl Wallinger, Anthony Thistlethwaite, and the newly integral presence of violinist Steve Wickham, the group built a richer sonic architecture. Songs like “Don’t Bang the Drum,” “The Whole of the Moon,” and “Old England” fuse romantic idealism, spiritual longing, and social consciousness within a rock framework. Over time it has come to be regarded as a defining moment in the band’s transformation from post-punk roots to expansive rock ambition.

The album’s centerpiece, “The Whole of the Moon,” remains one of The Waterboys’ most enduring compositions, celebrated for its lyrical reach and musical uplift. Elsewhere, tracks such as “The Pan Within” and the title song balance introspection and catharsis, while “Old England” channels political urgency through elegiac melodies. This Is the Sea solidified the group’s presence in the British rock landscape and marked a creative apex before Mike Scott began a shift toward roots and folk influences. Its stature has only grown in retrospective appraisals, often cited as the culmination of the “Big Music” ideal in 1980s alternative rock.

Reviews

"Expanding the epic, multi-layered sound of A Pagan Place, This Is the Sea is a more ambitious yet more successful record" – AllMusic

“By the time Scott gathered the Waterboys to cut their third album … he was ready … to take his already enormous aesthetic someplace even more grand.” – Pitchfork

“With This Is the Sea, The Waterboys created a masterpiece of ‘Big Music,’ … love and spirituality to politics.” – Treble

“This Is The Sea … gave a Scotsman the key to the stadium … it is a genuinely majestic piece of work.” – Glide Magazine