KILLER hard POP (NOT METAL!!)
Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY, USA | 02/26/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First off, this GREAT Canadian rocking pop band was screwed in the US due to record company discrepancies/distribution...if things fell in line properly here, these PEI guys woulda been HUGE in the US!!
Haywire's lineup pretty much never changed (only the drummer, before "Bad Boys" was released...original drummer Ron LeBlanc was replaced midsession in 1985/1986 and his drumtracks are on 3 songs intact on the debut disc): lead singer Paul MacAusland (honestly, to me, one of the GREATEST male rock/powerpop singers EVER, up there with the greats, as his voice is VERY melodic and pure, but powerful, rocking and gritty in all the right spots, with effortless soul + emotion, while being deceptively smooth...Glass Tiger's Alan Frew is in the same league, very few in the past 20 years have come close...I'm STILL amazed when I hear Paul sing!!), keyboard player Dave Rashed, guitarist Marvin Birt, Ronnie Switzer on bass, and drummer Sean Kilbride...
Anyhoo, I discovered them by accident back in 1988 while in Montreal, record shopping, buying Canadian releases not available in the US, on VINYL no less...and I bought their 2nd album, 1987's "Don't Just Stand There"...took getting used to, but once I "got it", I never wavered. Now, I have all 4 of their studio albums (and this hits collection) on CD...amazed they never went out of print!! I also have early stuff on tape and all their videos on VHS (will transfer em to DVD soon enough)...to put it mildly, Haywire were both OF their time (80s/90s), and strangely timeless.
Haywire were a unique powerpop/rock band who displayed a different sound on each of their 4 albums, while never wavering from their trademark "Haywire-ness"...it's neat how this band progressed over time, their rocking musical chops getting better/more complex, while never suffering in the melodic pop songwriting department.
Starting off in 1982, Haywire, from the tiny Maritime Canadian province of Prince Edward Island (PEI), started off as a typical 80s rock cover band (with a Canadian twist), playing everything from 80s Canadian bands/artists like Aldo Nova + Saga to well-known new wave + hard rock bands like the Police, U2, Big Country, Night Ranger, Van Halen + Motley Crue...with some originals thrown in the mix...
In 1985, Haywire won a radio station contest, enabling them to go into the studio and record a 5-song debut EP. This EP was well-received and led to a record deal with big Canadian indie label Attic, with their 1986 debut album "Bad Boys". Their sound here was VERY melodic new-wave-ish powerpop, with a very immediate, live feel, not overproduced, sounding kinda lean, with killer tunes, Paul's voice + Dave's keyboards front and center. Only 2 songs from this debut album are on "Wired": the lead 2 singles "Bad Bad Boy" and "Standing In Line". Newcomers might think these 2 songs sound dated, and yes they sound VERY 80s, but I think their sound and the songwriting transcends the production style. I wish at least 2 or 3 more songs were included on "Wired" from "Bad Boys", notably "She's Not (The KInd Of Girl)", "When You Fall Out Of Love", and maybe the pretty ballad "Holding You". That's the only fault with "Wired", other wise perfect...too light on "Bad Boys" material.
One year later, 1987, we move onto Haywire's 2nd album "Don't Just Stand There", and their sound has evolved into more gritty and even urban textures + dance rhythms, while still retaining its melodic powerpop center and 80s new wave + rock flavorings. Much success all around. FRom this record, 4 tunes are included on "Wired": the hypnotic, wired, urban/gritty "Dance Desire", the ultracatchy + poppy "Black And Blue", the mysterious + compelling masterpiece "Fire" and the moody ballad "Thinking About The Years". With this album, Haywire COULD have broken the US in a HUGE way...here's why it didn't happen: DISTRIBUTION!!! Attic in Canada had a US deal with Cypress Records in the US, distributed thru A&M...well, apparently, Cypress and A&M fell apart, leaving the label in a 3-year limbo...until they became Cypress/Gold Castle and landed distribution with Capitol/EMI...the label DID release Haywire's "Don't Just Stand There" in the US, but 3 years too late, in 1990, and that was just too late, as in 1990, Haywire released...
Their 3rd album "Nuthouse"!! Now, apparently, the band developed a harder edge while touring (only natural), and this evolution only transferred onto their next album, recorded completely in Norway by producer Bjorn Nessjo. There are also some bluesy accents and acoustic touches, making the album sound sorta "classic hard rock", not unlike 70s Aerosmith or Led Zeppelin!!! But you can tell it's still Haywire by Paul's voice and the unique feel of the band + their songwriting. "Nuthouse" is sort of a lost classic. On "Wired", FIVE songs are included: the bluesy, rocking "Short End Of A Wishbone", the fun "Operator Central", the sorta "song-for-a-generation" feel of the rock ballad "Tremble In Line", the powerpop Cheap Trick-ish "Wild Wild" and the pretty, moving ballad "Taken The Pain".
THEN, on their final studio release, Haywire take ANOTHER left turn into R+B/funk/soul territory on 1993's "Gett Off!!" In the US, where it was released, it was also dead in the water as it came out on a tiny label that folded from poor distribution called Caliber Records. Awful. Anyhoo, this final album shouldn't have worked, but it did!! The band mixes soul + funk/hiphop rhythms over their HYPERmelodic rock + roll/powerpop background + musical chops, and the results are as melodically winning as they are funky, VERY catchy, rocking and experimentally BEGUILING!! Hell, Haywire even include 2 INSTRUMENTALS on the album!! A lost classic, indeed. 3 songs are included on "Wired" from "Gett Off": The funky/dancey but rocking "Get Back" with cool female harmony/co-lead vocals, the rap/hiphop-influenced "Wanna Be The One" (DEFINITELY one of Haywire's best and most fun tunes indeedy) and the BEAUTIFUL soul-influenced languid ballad "Buzz"...guaranteed, play this song for impressionable people and theu will perk up their ears and yell "WHO IS THIS??" It shows a soulful (but NOT over-the-top whatsoever) side of Paul's voice you never heard before and proves he is one of THE greatest male singers EVER!!
All in all, a great collection by an overlooked/underappreciated band...shows all facets of what made Haywire great and it serves as a great primer for newcomers as well, but a warning: it's a tad skimpy (espesh on "Bad Boys" songs, and in the packaging), but it will leave you hungry for their catalogue...good thing it's NOT out of print!!
There ya go, a history of Haywire in this review too..."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
