KATW Fans Will Want These Original Mixes

I don't know why it takes so long for some of these CD releases to appear. There were complications with this one. The liner notes say that that original masters were "disposed of" by Attic Records (why do people do such things?), but they did a nice job with the sound from the best available masters.

These mixes are a worthwhile alternative to the familiar ones on the "Katrina and the Waves" release on Capitol in 1985. I agree with the preference for this earlier version of "Going Down to Liverpool" from the Trowser Press Record Guide: "... but the second "Going Down to Liverpool" obliterates the atmosphere and the hooky melody of the original in an absurdly overheated arrangement." Of course, this song was also covered by the Bangles, but the original found on this release is still the best, IMHO.

The live performance video on the included DVD is a very nice bonus.

Overdue reissue of classic early '80s guitar pop

Purveyors of one of the ultimate summer singles, "Walking on Sunshine", Katrina And The Waves have been sadly marginalized, because that one song of is ubiquitous to this day. In some respects, the song was definitive, as it came from the classic KATW template -- meld Motown and power pop, get the band hopping and let Katrina Leskanich unleash her spectacular blue eyed soul vocals. While it's true that very few guitar pop bands ever have a massive hit, and thus, KATW already got more than similar bands ever dreamed of, it's equally true that they deserved so much more. Then again, the band came of age when many of the best power poppers could barely get the attention of the major labels -- The dB's first two albums only came out in England, for example. This context explains why the first two Katrina And The Waves albums, featured here on CD for the first time, only came out on Attic Records in Canada. They weren't even reissued after the band's success on major. That it took so long for them to come out again is a shame, as both albums are littered with fantastic songs, mostly from the pen of Kimberly Rew, who already knew undeserved obscurity from his tenure in The Soft Boys. Rew was (and still is) also an ace guitarist, as shown by the bubbling fretboard work that is evident throughout. So delight to the original versions of songs that appeared on the band's major label debut like "Sunshine", "Going Down to Liverpool", "Mexico", "Do You Want Crying", "Que Te Quiero" and "The Game of Love", which may be Rew's golden R & B songwriting moment, as it sure sounds like a Stax classic. Whether you prefer the original versions is up to you -- there's no incorrect preference. And if you only know the big hit album, well, there's plenty more tracks of that quality on here. "Spiderman" is a superb power pop song that grabs immediately, "She Loves to Groove" would have been a perfect song for Nick Lowe and Rockpile to cover, and "I Really Taught Me to Watusi" is rhumba-dumb fun. There are also some fine bonus tracks, including a live "Sunshine" and a smoking cover of "River Deep Mountain High", which, along with the Waves original "Cry for Me", serve as proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Leskanich was a top rank soul shouter.

overlooked gems

i'm probably biased (been on a major katrina kick lately, for some reason) but this cd is just fantastic. it's an interesting contrast to the first u.s. katw cd in that even though many of the songs are the same the guitar parts aren't as pronounced and the production isn't as slick. but the tunes are still fantastic, upbeat masterpieces and katrina's voice is in fine form.

the bonus dvd is the real keeper though - simply the band ripping through about a dozen numbers in front of a studio audience. if you missed them when they were hot back in the day, seeing them here is a worthy consolation prize.