| The Original Recordings 1983–1984 | |
| Type: | Compilation album |
| Artist: | Katrina and the Waves |
| Cover: | The_Original_Recordings_1983_–_1984.jpg |
| Released: | 14 October 2003 |
| Recorded: | 1983–1984 |
| Studio: |
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| Length: | 78:47 |
| Label: | Bongo Beat |
| Prev Title: | Walking on Sunshine – The Greatest Hits of Katrina and the Waves |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
The Original Recordings 1983–1984 is a compilation album by British-American rock band Katrina and the Waves, released on 14 October 2003 by Canadian label Bongo Beat. It compiles for the first time on CD all twenty tracks from the band's first two Canadian-only albums, Walking on Sunshine (1983) and Katrina and the Waves 2 (1984), as well as four previously unreleased bonus tracks. It also includes a DVD featuring live footage and music videos.[1]
The Original Recordings 1983–1984 is a 20th anniversary limited edition CD containing all the tracks from the first two Katrina and the Waves albums that were released only in Canada on Attic Records in 1983 and 1984.[1] The collection was compiled and issued by Bongo Beat label owner Ralph Alfonso, a former Attic employee who had been instrumental in getting the band signed to Attic in 1983.[2] Half of the songs on the first two albums were re-recorded when the band signed an international record deal with Capitol Records in late 1984, and released the Katrina and the Waves album in 1985.[1] [3] The previously unreleased bonus tracks consist of the album outtakes "That's Just the Woman in Me" (covered by Celine Dion in 1997), "River Deep Mountain High" (originally recorded by Ike & Tina Turner), "Heartbeat (originally recorded by Buddy Holly)", and a 1983 live recording of "Walking on Sunshine". The album contains 24 pages of liner notes, including exclusive interviews with singer Katrina Leskanich, guitarist Kimberley Rew, drummer Alex Cooper, and producer Pat Collier. All tracks have been remastered for this release.[1]
The accompanying DVD contains a never before seen live set taped at Shepperton Film Studios on December 29, 1983. It was taped for promotional use by IDS/Geoff Hannington and Chris Tookey Productions in front of an invited audience of 200, the idea being to shop the band to a record label and maybe get part of it shown on TV. It features an introduction by BBC Radio 1's Richard Skinner, who was an early champion of the band. The video was directed by Chris Tookey, who would later also direct the Capitol music video for "Walking on Sunshine".[4] Additional live to two-track recordings were done by producer Pat Collier. Also included are the original 1983 music videos for "Walking on Sunshine" and "Mexico", and a 2003 animated video for "Dancing Street", created by Canadian animator Patrick Jenkins.[1] In his Artist Biography on AllMusic, Bruce Eder said that "the existence of the [bonus DVD] makes up, in part, for the fact that the band never released a live album."[5]
In a 1985 article in Playboy, music critic Robert Christgau wrote, "Nobody who had heard 1983's Walking on Sunshine or 1984's 2 ... could understand why no U.S. label was backing Katrina and the Waves head to head against the Pretenders. Songwriter-guitarist Kimberley Rew has an unerring knack for up-to-the-minute Sixties-style hooks and writes rock-outsider lyrics that never get obtrusively specific; singer-guitarist Katrina Leskanich has a voice so big and enthusiastic she could make Barry Manilow's songs sound like Holland-Dozier-Holland. Commercially speaking, what more could you want?"[6]
In his review of The Original Recordings 1983–1984 for AllMusic, John D. Luerssen wrote, "Stripping away the major-label production that overshadowed the group's subsequent 1985 breakthrough ... this reissue boasts 24 tracks of delightful nostalgia ... largely unheard tracks like the irresistible rocker "Spiderman" and the hummable "Brown Eyed Son" are out of this world." He concluded that, decades later, "these old Waves tracks still sound tremendous." Chuck Molgat, writing for Exclaim! magazine, wrote that there's a lot more to the band "than the disposable saccharine optimism of "Walking on Sunshine" might otherwise suggest." He noted that the band, on most of the best tracks, revisit "classic Motown-era soul and R&B", updated with "1980s production nuances", occasionally with a negative result. Though the material has been remastered, Molgat felt that, "ultimately, the sonic date stamp remains."[2]
Ben Varkentine, writing for the Ink 19 website, wrote, "On the one hand, the lack of originality is evident to anyone with a semi-experienced ear. ... On the other, when the volume is pumped up loud, who cares?"[7] PopMatters felt that while the albums, in retrospect, are "bright, clear and fresh, they are hardly groundbreaking."[8]
All songs written by Kimberley Rew, except where noted.
Note
Katrina and the Waves
Additional musicians
Technical