Making Waves & Waxing Philosophical...What a Party Record!
Peter Walenta | Long Island, New York USA | 04/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If you've read some of my 40 plus Amazon record reviews, you know that I frequently use time, place and activity as context backdrops in which to convey what a particular record meant to me at a certain time in my life, or where I was and what I was doing when I first heard a song that I really liked. Does this highly subjective reviewing approach veer too far from a "just the facts jack" product description that we information overloaded consumers want and often need to quickly decide whether to buy a product or to move on in our endless quest for musical nirvana, or at least for the next best thing? Perhaps, but as has often been noted by professional writers and us amateur folks who have attempted over the years to write about popular music in all of its' many styles and genres, the temporal and spatial contexts in which one hears popular music are often as full of meaning as the song or record itself. Musical memories get triggered by many things and most reasonably proficient recording artists know this. If you've read this slight literary digression and you're still with me, fear not for I will deliver to you my review of the musical recording "Waves" by Katrina and the Waves in the paragraph below. However, the debate will certainly continue among writers and readers about what constitutes the best "content" to include in any music product review. In short, how subjective should a reviewer get before a review becomes less about the music and is more about that reviewer's life experiences which may be only tangentially related to the music being reviewed? It's not an easy question to answer (as I wrestle with this dilemma myself) and one made even more vexing by the expansive and seemingly boundless frontier of this Internet medium.
Anyway, "Waves" by Katrina and the Waves was recorded at the Greenhouse and West Side studios in London in January 1986 which was a little more than 9 months after the stateside release of their self-titled 1985 album that contained the feel good summer time smash hit, "Walking On Sunshine". Riding a crest of a mid-80's power pop revival of sorts, Air Force brat and lusty contralto lead vocalist, Katrina Leskanich and her rocking band featuring guitarist Kimberley Rew, drummer, Alex Cooper and bass player, Vince De La Cruz, sought to recreate the successful formula of breezy rock and soul inflected pop tunes that made "Sunshine" such a huge hit. The resulting album "Waves" contains 10 well crafted pop songs that reflect the distinct styles of the three songwriters, Kimberly, Vince and Katrina. Kimberley Rew, who contributed the soul raver "Is That It?" and the urgent Z.Z. Top-esque rocker "Lovely Lindsey", reflected a distinctly edgy 80's post power pop style to good effect. Vince De La Cruz, who wrote the cheery sing-along rocker "Sun Street", the intimately romantic "Sleep On My Pillow" and the fierce hard rocker "Money Chain", reflected a more mainstream rock style. Katrina Leskanich, who wrote five songs, however, showed that she was firmly in control of the direction of this record. Catchy tunes replete with "na, na, na, na" choruses celebrating the joys of a young woman who is clearly reveling in her fully awakened sexuality are Katrina's contributions to "Waves". Adding cohesion to all ten songs is Rew's fluid and imaginative guitar playing which at times vies for control of "Waves" most notably as you listen to the interplay between Rew's coiled and sprung guitar solos and Katrina's sultry vocals in "Money Chain". Katrina has the last say however in her Blondie and Buddy Holly influenced pop nugget, "Love That Boy" and in the humorous soul tongue in cheek put down and the album's closer "Stop Trying to Prove". "Waves" is a fun, feel good party album, containing 10 infectious tunes you can dance and hum along to. An essential 80's pop classic. 4 1/2 Stars.
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