Retro Spins: Maywood - Beside You

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!

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
July 29, 1989

 

Retro Spins: Maywood - Colour My Rainbow

When we left Maywood yesterday, they had just come off of a poor 1990 performance at Eurovision, finishing in fifteenth place. However, we're getting way too far ahead of things at this point. First, we need to hit the rewind button, and got back to 1982 for their third album, Colour My Rainbow.

I had high expectations for this album based on the prior two, and for the most part, this was met. The vocals of Caren (burnette) are just amazing, as usual, and this works in tandem with Alice's (blonde) strong writing and music direction.

Tracks one through five packed the hardest punch, which really drew me in. However, by song number six, things turned very ballad and slower paced love themed heavy. This shift in tone stayed for the remainder of the album, and honestly tanked the back half of Colour My Rainbow for me. I wanted continuous high energy, and solid pop rock, which I suppose may be my own fault for expecting this.

In hindsight, I can understand why there was a hiatus for five years. before their next album. I can definitely hear the decline in "hits". As a whole, it's just not as good as their self titled debut or follow up, Different Worlds. It kind of feels like the duo ran out of material midway through recording their 1982 record, and were just trying to gun it to the finish line.

Their final 80's album, Beside You was released in 1987. However, as of this writing, I have just now been able to track a copy down, and it should be enroute from France. While I won't be able to dive into it tomorrow, I'll definitely make it a point to swing back around to it upon its arrival.

Until then, to continue with the girls history from yesterday, after 1990's Eurovision, Maywood would release the Dutch language Achter De Horizon that same year. In 1991, they'd release the English language, Walking Back To Happiness, and additionally that year, Six Of The Thirties. Unfortunately, continued flopped singles and rapidly declining sales meant the end for the duo. They disbanded in 1995, and Alice continued a relatively unsuccessful solo career. It was also established that she would be the only one to use the name Maywood. However, Caren did not adhere to this, leading to Alice suing her in 1999. It was ruled in Alice's favor, and she was awarded the rights since she was the writer of the lyrics and music. Caren was forced to pay her for damages as a result for each identified instance of infringement.

In 2004 it was announced that the two had come to some form of agreement, and would perform together again. However, this didn't come to fruition. By 2006, Alice was looking for a new singer, and thought she found that in Rose Louwers. Days before the two were scheduled to perform, the show was cancelled, with Alice stating her and Louwers were, "Too far apart." She would elaborate by saying she had, "A very well-defined idea about how it should sound and what the décor should be." Louwers would disappear into anonymity after parting ways.

Alice continued her solo career, and utilized new singer, Inge Peters in 2010 to fill the void of her sister. Caren, on the other hand, began her own revitalization attempt in 2007. Teaming up with cabaret artist Henk Smaling, she returned to the stage with a café chantant -like program, Hotel Weemoed , a pun on Maywood. The two sisters briefly reunited for a series of Gerard Joling concerts in 2013, where they performed a medley of their hits with him. Sadly, a year later they picked up where they left off with arguing, and once again went their separate ways.

Though there has been no news from them since, hopefully, Alice, now 70, and Caren, 71, have found that the bond of sisters is stronger than any top ten hit, and made piece with each other. At the end of the day, what good is a hit song, when you've lost your sister (or brother...or any loved one) in the process? 

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution. 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 26, 1982

Retro Spins: Maywood - Different Worlds

I first touched on Dutch duo Maywood back in January of this year with their 1980 debut, and had I adopted my motif that I have as of late, I would have ultimately stayed the course, and gone through their second and third albums as well. While that opportunity may have passed, that doesn't mean I can't pick up where I left off, and dive in.

Honestly, I didn't touch much on the history of sisters, Alice May (Aaltje de Vries), and Caren Wood (Doetje de Vries), during my initial post. The two have had a storied career together as an act, starting at a young age, and being a part of numerous groups. These included their first, De Karina's in 1974, followed by Colt 45 in 1976, and later their own duo The Lady Pop's. By 1979, the girls decided they would continue together under the name Maywood.

The single, You Treated Me Wrong, from their 1980 self titled debut, didn't garner much attention on the charts. However, it did pave the way for a series of successful hits to come. Sister Alice was the lead contributor to writing the English language tracks which would be their most successful. This was aided by ex-Kayak drummer Pim Koopman, who worked with the girls in his infancy years of producer.

Late At Night, also from their debut, would become their first number one hit. Though they wouldn't make a big splash in the United States, they would still become popular in fifty-two countries during this time. They would go on to win multiple prizes and awards at festivals in West Germany, Poland, Japan and Korea. Maywood also toured extensively in Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, Indonesia and the Soviet Union.

Let's pause here on a picture perfect start to dive into their 1981 sophomore album, Different World, as while things started off on such a high note, they would ultimately sour, leading to a break up, cancelled reunion plans, and lawsuits.

Different World features the song Rio, which introduced me to Maywood. This song takes me back to a time when we were kids in South Africa, being treated to music by our sister, who would play various records and cassettes for us while mom and dad were off somewhere. It's the tune which prompted my looking for their albums, and led to me buying them all from a now forgotten website.

Playing through it, I was once again caught off guard by how much I enjoyed it. I really didn't expect Maywood to pack the punch that they did. Alice deliver's solidly written hits (in my opinion), while Caren's vocals continue to haunt my soul with their echoing pitches. Seriously, someone reading this has got to catch on, and give them a try. You're honestly missing out.

Tracks Rio, It's A Different World, You're The One, Pasadena, I'm In Love For The Very First Time, Distant Love, all became part of my ever expanding shuffle list. It's definitely a solid one from start to finish, and excited me for the prospect of hearing more.

Maywood would return in 1982 with their third album, Colour My Rainbow, and after a break, in 1987 with Beside You, wrapping up the 80's for them. However, they found themselves in a steady decline of sales and popularity. Despite this, the girls were chosen to go to Eurovision in 1990 by the Netherlands to perform Ik wil alles met je delen (I Want To Go Everywhere With You). However, technical difficulties throughout their performance would see them finishing in fifteenth place.

Things only got worse for Maywood from there, but we have to take a pause, lest we have nothing to add to tomorrow's post, where we pick up with 1982's Colour My Rainbow. I know, I know, just as things were starting to get juicy.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 25, 1983

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
June 25, 1988

Retro Spins: Maywood - Maywood

 

Let's get a bit obscure today.

Maywood takes me back to my youth when living in South Africa. Picture two brother's and a sister sitting in front of the latter's record player, as she played radio DJ. Through these sessions, she would frequently spin Springbok and Top Of The Pop records, introducing our young and impressionable minds to music she herself liked. It was here that we would first hear the song Rio, a track that would stay in my mind for years to come.

The dutch duo consisted of sisters, Alice May (Aaltje de Vries), and Caren Wood (Doetje de Vries) who together released albums from 1980 through 1992, and formally split up in 1995. They never had a major impact in the United States, but stayed relatively popular in the Netherlands where they had a handful of hits.

I don't know that Maywood was on my list in 2017 when I first started putting my CD collection together. In fact, I highly doubt it. However, by 2020, their song Rio made it to the forefront of my mind, and from there I began a search for their 1981 studio album, Different Worlds to obtain the tune from my youth.

I don't remember the website, or how I finally found it. But, after searching and searching, I finally came across a site that had three of their albums, 1980's Maywood, 1981's Different Worlds, and 1982's Colour My Rainbow. Knowing nothing about any other songs beyond Rio, I took a chance and picked up all three of them. If nothing else, I figured I would probably never see them again, so it was best to get them while I could.

Well, while I listened to Rio over and over these past several years, I admittedly never got around to any of the albums in their entirety. So, today, here we are, starting with their self titled 1980 debut.

Starting it up, I was immediately grabbed by the opening track, Late At Night. Something about the vocals of Caren Wood just resonate throughout me as she sings. It's almost haunting in a way. I found myself heavily invested in the first three songs, and as such, it was pretty disappointing when things took a nosedive from there. Fortunately, things picked back up with track eight, and stayed there for a few more tunes.

Overall, it was a pretty good listening session. I found some great songs I didn't know existed, and of course added these to my playlist and shuffle. More importantly, I am super amped to jump into their other albums. Unfortunately, that won't be today.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below. 

Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.