I knew he wouldn't let me down. When Waterboys mainman Mike Scott enthused about this, the crucial third album, there was an inevitable underlying fear: everybody says that the new album is the best thing they've ever done - Barry Devlin once went into print claiming that 'The Unfortunate Cup Of Tea' was Horslips' masterpiece but we're not here to dig up the dirt... we're here to talk about *This Is The Sea*.

On this voyage, for the first time in his career, Mike Scott has shared the burden of production, with Mick Glossop chiefly, and the removal of that weight has enabled him to concentrate his efforts on writing and performing. The results are staggering.

Whereas the eponymous debut had the feel of a collection of (albeit excellent) demos and the spread of recording took the edge off 'A Pagan Place', there are no such qualms about 'This Is The Sea'. It is a truly satisfying whole, an 'album' rather than a collection of good songs. The production is diamond-hard yet crystal clear, full but not slick... it never obscures the focus of attention: Scott's remarkable voice, and songs.

There's a romanticism in these songs that's seldom found elsewhere in popular music. Scott seems to be striving for something that will always be just out of reach... God? Love? I really don't know, and I'm not sure if I want to find out. The strong feeling for nature evident on the first two albums is present here again (maybe he wants to be a tree) on 'Don't Bang The Drum' and 'The Whole Of The Moon'... *I saw the rain dirty valley/You saw Brigadoon/I saw the crescent/You saw the whole of the moon*.

The album's standout track however is side two's 'Old England Is Dying', where, over a light piano shuffle, Scott sings of the death of the old order and conveys a sense of genuine disgust at the rise of the new. *Still he sings an empire song/Still he keeps his navy strong/and he sticks his flag where it ill belongs/Old England is dying*.

I've no doubt that This Is The Sea will yield further delights with repeated listening, but just at the moment I'm prepared to nail my colours to the mast and hazard that this is Mike Scott's finest achievement. Truly, a boy of the first water.