Arrow (Waves) (LP 4824 - 4825)

Waves  Waves (Vinyl and CD, Direction and Ode Records, 1975) *****  

Waves  Misfit (CD, Ode Records, 2013) ***

Genre: Folk rock, NZ music 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Dolphin Song (Waves)

Gear costume: Clockhouse Shuffle (Waves)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8

Active compensatory factors: Waves debut album is an absolutely inspired one-off and one of my favourite albums of all time. I love harmonies, I love acoustic guitar singalongs, I love Waves.

The band: Graeme Gash, David Marshall, Kevin Wildman - all on guitar, Michael Matthew - bass guitar.

Dolphin Song b/w Letters on 45rpm (Direction Records) was my entry drug. I still have the single too. Dolphin Song is perfect, in that it evokes an idyllic watery feeling - alone - just me and the dolphin.

On to the album and it's just one beautiful song after another. There is nothing I would change. There is not one less than masterful musical moment. It's delicate and tough when it needs to be, the instrumentation has space to breathe, the combined harmony vocals are perfect for these songs, and the production is spot on - all bright and shiny with the vocals mixed perfectly. Waves and Roger Dawkins take a bow.

Five-star Wozza classic. Easy peasy.

Comparing it to Misfits (appropriate title) is interesting because it clearly shows that the first album has a magical x factor that is not there on the follow-up (which wasn't released anyway). They try hard but the magic from Waves had gone. It's by no means a bad album. Rather, I think it throws into stark relief the peculiar alchemy that made Waves so special.

BTW - GK and I saw Waves with After Hours at the Old Maid gig in 1977 that has become legendary. Quite an event (waiting outside to get in was a revelation to me - what's that funny smell? I asked GK).

Where do they all belong? Seminal band, seminal first album.