Katrina and the Waves I & II
Artist: Katrina and the Waves
Label: Tummy Touch Music Group 
Time: 14 tracks / 47 mins
           15 tracks / 51 mins

To celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of “Walking on Sunshine” becoming a major hit, Katrina and the Waves are re-releasing their first two collections (as well as some earlier releases by their guitarist and main songwriter, Kimberley Rew).

It’s no surprise that Rew wants to remind the world of what he can do. Across all four albums (and the bonus material) he comes across as a very able writer, specializing in sunny, upbeat pop songs with a strong ‘60s influence. 

The English band started out in Cambridge in the mid-seventies, but broke up when Rew left to join The Lost Boys, best known for their quirky cult front-man Robyn Hitchcock. However, when in turn they disbanded in 1981, Rew resumed working with original drummer Alex Cooper, who was now in a pop/soul covers band that featured American Katrina Leskanich on vocals and guitar.

Although Rew took back his place at the front of the band, he came to see Leskanich’s talent and began to write songs for her to sing, leaving him free to concentrate on energetic guitar. Their original contract was only in Canada, where they released their Walking on Sunshine album and Katrina and the Waves 2 .

It wasn’t until The Bangles covered Rew’s “Going Down to Liverpool” in 1984 (promoted with a video featuring Leonard Nimoy) that they gained worldwide attention, and were snapped up by Capitol Records. In 1985 they re-recorded the best songs from their Canadian albums on an eponymous release. (Note that the Katrina and the Waves reviewed here is their first album, not their third).

The quality of both these albums is strikingly similar. Both have plenty of simple, jaunty pop (“Dancing Street”); both have the odd ridiculous song (“Machine Gun Smith”); both are melodic and show traces of their days covering Motown; and the strongest songs are spread fairly evenly across both releases.

Several of these tracks sit very comfortably with “Walking on Sunshine,” although the single version that was a worldwide success was re-recorded after this with some brass parts added. The big-chorused “Que Te Quiero” is another standout on the 1983 release, along with “Don’t Take Her Out of my World,” which features Rew on lead vocals and some jangly guitar.

Some of these tracks are easily dated to the ‘80s, but such is the band's pop pedigree that even some of the daft material works. “Spiderman” is all about falling in love with that character, and while lyrically embarrassing, this guilty pleasure really is great to sing.

The sequel, seemingly based on the same template, has a touch more polish and a fuller sound. “One Woman” takes the groove of an early Beatles song and lays some frantic slide on top, while an impassioned “The Sun Won’t Shine” reveals its roots in Phil Spector pop. This misses the big UK singles, but may just have the edge of the two releases, with standouts including “Mexico,” “Red Wine and Whiskey” and the Stateside hit “Do You Want Crying.” 

The first disc’s four bonus tracks are non-essential, while those on the 1984 disc include covers of “Wild Thing” and “River Deep, Mountain High.”

These Eurovision winners have re-issued a compilation since these discs arrived, and with such equally weighted projects, unless you want the complete albums, it is wise to get the best of both in one package. 

Derek Walker

Katrina and the Waves        
Katrina and the Waves 2