Still in possession of her original copy, it would be difficult for Waist High to describe how much This Is the Sea is loved. This, the third album by The Waterboys, was the last to feature the great Karl Wallinger who left the band to form World Party, and the first to enter the UK charts.
This Is the Sea was one of the greatest albums to be released in 1985 and continues to top my list of bests.
Formed in 1983 by Mike Scott, The Waterboys' early musical style was described by Scott as "a metaphor for seeing God's signature in the world."
The album's themes of love, change, and spirituality begin with the opening lines of the song "Don't Bang the Drum": "Well here we are in a special place/What are you gonna do here?" and continue on through "The Whole of The Moon," the poem "Spirit," "The Pan Within," "Medicine Bow," "Old England," and "Be My Enemy."
The love song "Trumpets" features one of my all-time favorite love-based passages: "To be with you is to find myself in the best of dreams..."
The album ends with the title track, a masterpiece in songwriting. The song is all about adversity and change, answering the question posed in the opening line of "Don't Bang the Drum." Scott urges us to remember, "That was the river, this is the sea."
