When I last talked about Maywood, I had made my way through their first three 80's album, but couldn't get around to their final 80's (English language) release, 1987's Beside You, because I didn't own it. Frankly, I didn't expect I would. It's not a very common CD. However, fate was kind, and during an ebay search shortly after my reviews, I came across a seller from Italy who had multiple copies for sale.
There's not much more to say about Alice May (Aaltje de Vries), and Caren Wood (Doetje de Vries) that I didn't cover in depth over my prior reviews. The girls ended their career on a rather sour note with each other, and its really unknown to me if they ever buried the hatchet.
Rather than focus on that silliness again, I'd rather just jump into their next album.
Things start out solid, and familiar to past albums with Standing In The Twilight. However, they soon get very ballad heavy, and turn synth R&B. Think like Luther Vandross, or other similar artists of that category of the time. It's not my favorite, but there are some songs in that genre I like, in moderation.
Maywood doesn't deliver in this category. It feels like they're trying to dip their toes in a format that simply doesn't fit with their strengths.
When they stay in their lane, or just be Maywood, the songs shine through, with Caren's voice being as great as it ever was. But, when they deviate, which happens far too often, things go South. Frankly, it's just not what I want from this duo when they do that.
It's unfortunate because I really wanted to love Beside You. I wanted it to be the epic finale to an era of forgotten gems. Instead, I can see, or rather hear, why their popularity started to wane fast upon its release.
The sad part is that I honestly considered trying to track down their few English spoken 90's albums. However, upon the midway point of Beside You, I had pretty much changed my mind on that.
Now, I'm not going to say this album was terrible from start to finish, though it may seem that was the overall consensus. There's good stuff here, and I added many to my shuffle list. In hindsight, it appears to be the majority of the album. So, I don't know, maybe all of the above was just a moment of me wanting to rant.
For those of you who caught on to the shenanigans from yesterday, I didn't actually post a winner for my internal contest called The Cure For Siouxsie and the Banshees. Instead, I opted out with a nice 401 error message, which hopefully got a laugh from you, and not confusion.
Well, no more time for games. It's time to get serious, and cross the finish line. Who, or rather, which do I deem the superior album between finalists The Head On The Door (The Cure), and A Kiss In The Dreamhouse (Siouxsie and the Banshees)?
It took some thinking, and evaluation of the songs as a whole. Which ones were more memorable than the others? Which album would I likely come back to again? Which one had more tunes put on my shuffle? All of these aspects were things to consider. I flip flopped a bit, and frankly almost went with the other before landing on...
No, I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. For real reals. It was a tough choice, but I ultimately chose The Cure's The Head On The Door.
Congratulations Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup, and Boris Williams! You win...nothing physical or tangible...CONGRATS!!!! Well earned!
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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 29, 1989
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