Retro Spins: Katrina And The Waves - Katrina And The Waves



The history of Katrina And The Waves is kind of interesting. They seem to have had a few false starts before finally landing with their most successful song, Walking On Sunshine. To trace the band's roots, you would first need to look to their 1982 album, Shock Horrors, which was released under the name, The Waves. From there, they followed up with the 1983 album, Walking On Sunshine. While this record did indeed include the title track, it was shorter. Try as I might, I could not find this song on any of the typical sites, Youtube, Vemo, etc. to hear it.

Though it was technically their third album, in 1984, the band released Katrina And The Waves 2. However, it would be their 1985 self titled album, which would finally give the band success. Being the first release on a major label, the album featured a lot remixed and overdubbed songs from their prior records. The most notable being the re-recordered Walking On Sunshine, which would go on to peak at number eight.

With that said, it also wasn't their first song to show up on the charts. That honor goes to Que Te Queiro, which peaked at number eighty-four in 1984, and was the original version from their 1983 album, Walking On Sunshine. Additionally, they had a second single from their 1985 self titled album, Do You Want Crying. Unfortunately, this would only peak at ninety-six. From there, the band continued to have minor chart success in 1986 and 1989. 1997 would feature their most successful chart success to date with, Love Shine A Light, peaking at number three. 

Whew, that's quite a bit to keep up with. Especially for a band that is relatively only remembered for one song, and not one that's really considered all that good. It's more so a campy anthem for how excessive and fun driven the eighties were.

But, what about the album as a whole? Where does it stand? Well, it's not bad. It's peppy. You can definitely feel happy listening to this one. Meaning, there's only one melancholy and depressing track, and it feels out of place with all the others. Other than that, the remaining tracks are upbeat and seem to promote toe tapping. I can definitely see why people were interested in hearing more from them after this release. It's not bad.

Now, with that said, I don't see myself throwing Katrina And The Waves into my normal rotation. Truth be told, I'm not a major fan of Walking On Sunshine and only picked up the album when I did because it was in a quarter bin.

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2 comments:

  1. I hear Walking on Sunshine, I think happy 80s. Yep, peppy as can be. And now I can't get the tune out of my head.

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    1. Well, you can always focus on, "It's Raining Me," by The Weather Girls.

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