Though not technically "new", the stateside release of A Rock In The Weary Land is certainly notable. Released last year in Europe, it is The Waterboys' first studio album in nearly seven years. A long wait indeed.

There are rewards for patience. This particular version of the album includes two bonus tracks not included on the European release -- "Lucky Day/Bad Advice" and "My Lord, What A Morning". Die hard Mike Scott fans will notice that the latter was included on the EP Is She Conscious. An added, though possibly minor point of distinction is the sequencing of the tracks. For the US release, Scott reworked the running order of the songs until he found a flow to his liking. Considering the ease with which each song moves into the next, it's hard to imagine the album any other way.

To call A Rock In The Weary Land an epic is a good start. The music here is so big, so grand, that it becomes difficult to relay its impact in definitive terms. Initially, I was struck by the melodies -- they are at once familiar, yet avoid becoming tiresome after repeated listenings. It's a tough feat to pull off in average situations, but if The Waterboys have proved anything at all during their nearly twenty year existence, it's that they are far from inclined to rest comfortably in the land of the average.

Never one to shy away from darkness, Scott once again delivers veritable opuses (opi?) of sorrow, angst and bitterness. On the anthem-like "My Love Is A Rock In The Weary Land", you can almost picture a sea of listeners swaying and singing along with Scott, lighters aglow and heads nodding in understanding when he bellows "My mentor and champion/is busy tilting at the windmills of his stately home/The demon he's grappling is his own."

Sampling a bit of a 1927 recording of the Reverend Isaiah Shelton for the gospel introduction of "His Word Is Not His Bond", Scott delivers a tale of deception the likes of which you could imagine being uttered by either Bob Dylan or a jaded street musician. One of the most wrenchingly beautiful tracks, "The Wind In The Wires", finds some unearthly balance between guitar feedback, sincere vocals and soulful piano tinkering. Shifting from bluesy gospel to crunching guitar rock to acoustic lullabies like "My Lord, What A Morning" shouldn't sound this easy!

Those who demand a certain amount of intelligence from their music should consider picking up A Rock In The Weary Land as a perfect remedy for disenchantment. It's Rock for the Weary.