Search - Bow Wow Wow :: Best of Bow Wow Wow

Only punk rock entrepreneur Malcolm McClaren would think of putting a 15-year-old Burmese temptress (Annabella Lwin) in a wisp of a loin cloth in front of a bunch of guys with painted faces, all beating on drums. Bow Wow Wow, another of his projects after the Sex Pistols, was a celebration of all things tribal. Songs like "Golly Golly Go Buddy!" and "TV Savage" were percussive enough to rattle everything in the cupboards with Annabella's sing-song vocals barely, if not enthusiastically, carrying the melodies. There was a great deal borrowed from primitive chants, and "Prince of Darkness" and "Chihuahua" both sounded as if the band was conjuring up some voodoo spirits. "I Want Candy," Bow Wow Wow's biggest hit, reverberated with a big hollow body guitar lead and again drums, drums, and more drums. By the time of "Candy" and "Louis Quatorze" Annabella's vocals were starting to mature past the yelps, and she finally sounded as if she could catch her breath. Her solo turn, "Fever" had Lwin fully in control of her sensuality, and her version of the classic is as strong as any. When assembled en masse, Bow Wow Wow's Best of suggests the band was more than just a McClaren footnote, being contenders in their own right. --Steve Gdula