This Is the Sea is the third studio album by the Waterboys, released on September 16, 1985 by Ensign Records. It is recognized as the last of their "Big Music" albums and is considered by critics to be the finest of the Waterboys' early rock-oriented sound, described as "epic" and "a defining moment." The album peaked at number 37 on the UK Albums Chart. Steve Wickham made his recording debut with the Waterboys on this album, playing violin on "The Pan Within" and later joined the band. This Is the Sea is also the final album with contributions from Karl Wallinger, who left the group to form World Party.
The album was recorded between March and July 1985 and released in October of the same year. Mike Scott, the album's principal songwriter and leader of the Waterboys, described This Is the Sea as "the record on which I achieved all my youthful musical ambitions," and "the final, fully realised expression of the early Waterboys sound," influenced by The Velvet Underground, Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, and Steve Reich.
This Is the Sea includes the best-selling Waterboys single, "The Whole of the Moon." The album cover features a photograph taken by Lynn Goldsmith.
A remastered and expanded version of the album was released in 2004. Additionally, a complete box set of studio recording sessions, demos, and live recordings, documenting the making of This Is the Sea, was released as 1985 in 2024.
Scott began writing songs for This Is the Sea in the spring of 1984, starting with the track "Trumpets." He recalls purchasing two large hard-bound books in December 1984 during the Waterboys' first American tour, where he began assembling his new songs. For the next two months, Scott worked on the songs in his apartment, focusing on lyrics and guitar and piano arrangements. He wrote between 35 and 40 songs but felt that the nine tracks selected for the album were the ones meant to be there. The first song from the album to be performed live was "Trumpets" on April 10, 1984.
The initial recording sessions for This Is the Sea began in March 1985 at Park Gates Studio in Hastings, England, with engineer and producer John Brand. Band members Scott, Anthony Thistlethwaite, Karl Wallinger, Chris Whitten, and Roddy Lorimer worked on the new material. Demo recordings of several tracks were made in Wallinger's home studio. While some recordings were left relatively untouched by studio engineering, others featured Scott's use of a drum machine and layered sounds, employing a studio technique similar to Phil Spector's with Wallinger's assistance. Scott noted that having Wallinger in the studio was like having a one-man orchestra, and although Wallinger's involvement was limited to this album, it was considered pivotal.
The recording sessions continued through June, and by July, Steve Wickham joined the band in the studio to add fiddle to "The Pan Within." The album was produced from sessions at Park Gates Studio and additional recordings at Livingston Studios in London, Amazon in Liverpool, Seaview, and The Townhouse Studio, among others, and was released in October. Peter Anderson, writing in Record Collector, described Scott as "completely at home in the studio" and noted that Scott "spared nothing on" This Is the Sea.
A remastered version of the album was released in 2004, featuring a second CD with material from the album's singles and unreleased tracks from the recording sessions.
