Retro Spins: Maywood - Different Worlds

I've said this before, but living overseas growing up had a major perk to it. I got to hear so much music that living stateside just wouldn't have allotted for. One such group was the Dutch duo, Maywood.

Sisters Aaltje and Doetje de Vries took stage names, Alice May and Caren Wood, combining them to create Maywood. Wood (de Vries) fulfilled the role of lead singer, while sister May (Aaltje) contributed with songwriting, backing and harmony vocals, as well as, keyboards. Together, they would go on to be international stars, having several hits, which included, Late At Nights, Give Me Back My Love and Rio.

The girls songs were often compared to those of Swedish pop group, ABBA, and there's some truth to that. It could be the major contributing factor to what drew me to them.

The interesting thing to note about Maywood is just how scarce information about them is. Sure, you can find the standard Wiki page. However, none of the pages for the albums have been populated with anything, and even the bio on the group is a mere two paragraphs. I was only able to dig up their first three albums on CD by tracking them down to a seller in Russia. Otherwise, I would have been limited to the vinyl versions, or the even more elusive, cassette versions.

It's sad when you think about it. All this great music out there that is forgotten over time. Albums which should be readily available, but aren't. Not even on streaming services, such as iTunes. In fact, while the aforementioned service does have a greatest hits, some of the songs sound re-recorded. Most notably, Rio. What a pity.

Well, today I thought I would at least give the band some form of attention that they deserve. I fired up their 1983 album, Different Worlds. Man, the memories of that era came flooding back as it played. Mind you, I never heard the full album as a kid. Instead, I was relegated to a 45 single, which my sister owned and would sporadically play. However, to hear the full album today was a treat.

The sound is just right. It's a perfect nod to the 1980's. Fantastic vocals, fun music, great songs. I dare say there wasn't a bad one to be found on the entire thing. Even the ballads are superb.

Of course, the stand out track was Rio, but I won't deny everything else was still on par. I honestly may have to wait a couple days and listen to the entire thing again. It was just that good.

It won't be easy, but if you're a fan of the 80's, ABBA, or good music in general, then I highly recommend you track down and check out this album. At the very least, give Rio a shot.

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