This Is The Sea - Waterboys

The Waterboys were once quoted as being the only band to use trumpets in their music and get away with it. As this album opens you see what they meant, a long drawn out Spanish-esque wail of trumpets rising to a crescendo before being joined by earth-pounding beats and Mike Scotts all too distinctive voice. Power, imagery and emotion carry you off through the fantastic opener, Dont Bang the Drum, before landing you squarely into the more familiar territory of The Whole of The Moon. If you know any Waterboys song, its probably this one, and it fairly typifies what the band were about during this phase of life. The writting has a spiritual quality, very much about the soul ...  Read the complete review

This, quite simply, is one of my favourite albums of all time. It is the third Waterboys album and marks the culmination of the 'Big Music' period, which started off subtlely in 'The Waterboys' and 'A Pagan Place' before trailing off a bit in 'Fisherman's Blues'. It's a shame in a way that they went along the more traditional folk route after this album, because the Big Music style with soaring saxophones and violins really shows off their musical expertise. Track 1 - Don't Bang the Drum starts off really mellow, then erupts with loads of drums, which tug at the heartstrings, especially with Mike Scott's fierce but ...  Read the complete review

"The WaterBoys" were formed in the early 1980's by Edinburgh (yehh) born Mike Scott, the primary song-writer/singer for the group. The other two original principal members were Anthony Thistlewaite, saxaphone and Karl Wallinger, keyboards. They released a couple of albums and singles to critical acclaim but not any great commercial success altho they still managed to build a loyal fan base. The Eighties was a decade of big things - big mobile phones, big hair, big bang and big songs. "The WaterBoys" soon developed a reputation for big songs, soaring walls of sound, screaching sax, tortured vocals , big drums. But all ...  Read the complete review