A Rock in the Weary Land

A Rock in the Weary Land is the seventh studio album by the Waterboys, released in 2000 by BMG International. It was their first album after a seven-year break, but mostly continues the hard rock vein of the previous album Dream Harder (1993). The album cover photography is by Steve Gullick. Recording sessions for the album began in early 1999. It was the first album Scott had recorded without the backing of a record label. Once it was completed, Scott's manager, Philip Tennant, negotiated a deal with BMG and Scott decided to have the album, originally a solo project, released under the Waterboys' name. He recruited some of the musicians who had played on A Rock in the Weary Land as official band members for an upcoming UK tour. The album marked the return of old collaborator Anthony Thistlethwaite after a decade. Reception Critic John Mulvey, writing for NME, described the album as "largely excellent" except for "We Are Jonah", which he describes as "appallingly cheery Christian rock". Dave Sleger of AllMusic considered the album to be "ambitious, moody, surreal, and relevant" and one which "incorporates all of the elements and possibilities of modern rock into a uniform, technically updated body of work".