Wow! is the fourth studio album by English group
Bananarama, released on 4 September 1987 by
London Records.[3] The album was entirely produced and co-written with the
Stock Aitken Waterman production trio. Tensions between group member
Siobhan Fahey and Stock, Aitken and Waterman regarding songwriting input and lyrical content (particularly with the track "Strike It Rich"[citation needed]) prompted Fahey's departure from Bananarama five months after its release. The album reached number 26 on the
UK Albums Chart and number 44 on the US
Billboard 200,[4][5] while peaking at number one in Australia.[6] The album was certified gold by the
British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on 3 February 1988.[3]
Background and writing
The group's sound successfully shifted towards dance-oriented Europop under the direction of
Pete Waterman, but the creative process on the project was often fraught, with
Matt Aitken describing the band's contribution to song writing as minimal outside of suggesting song titles.[7] Karen Hewitt, who was the engineer at the songwriting sessions made clear that Bananarama very much tried to be involved in the creative process but that this was not made easy by Mike and Matt who wanted to work very quickly. Bananarama were, however, very assertive and opinionated during the sessions.[8]
While Fahey often clashed with Waterman, and claimed she was responsible for having him banned him from the studio,[9] tensions during recording of the album commonly centred on a struggle for dominance between Aitken and the band.[10] By the time the album's fourth single, "I Want You Back", was released in March 1988, Fahey had been replaced with
Jacquie O'Sullivan, who re-recorded the vocals for the single version of the song. Fahey would resurface later in 1988 with her new band,
Shakespears Sister.
Wow! was reissued in 2013 as a three-disc deluxe edition, including "Reason for Living", which is an early version of "I Want You Back".
Critical reception
American magazine Cashbox placed Wow! into "Out of the Box" section among the best albums of the week with the comment: "The songwriting/production team of
Stock Aitken Waterman has laid down the funky programmed synth grooves in full force on this effort destined for serious airplay."[11] Jose F. Promis of
AllMusic praised the "quite intoxicating" five singles from the album, but criticized "Some Girls" as being "dated", "Strike It Rich" as "an inferior version of "I Can't Help It"", and "Bad for Me" which "unintentionally highlights the trio's vocal limitations"; however, he said as a conclusion that the album is "sure to please fans of Bananarama, or any fans of the Stock, Aitken & Waterman sound".[1] In a review published by Smash Hits, Chris Heath considered that the album contains "four rather brillant songs", namely "I Heard a Rumour", "Bad for Me", "Once in a Lifetime" and "Love in the First Degree", and added that "the rest isn't bad either though there are a few bits where they still sound completely useless".[2] Retrospectively, in 2018, Mark Elliot of Classic Pop considered Wow! as the second best album ever produced by
Stock Aitken Waterman, adding that "Bananarama's decision to embrace high-camp pop was a commercial triumph".[12]
"Love in the First Degree" (Jailers Mix with intro) - 6:19
"I Can't Help It" (extended club mix) – 8:03
Disc 2
"Love in the First Degree" (Love in the House Mix) – 8:33
"I Heard a Rumour" (House Mix) – 7:22
"I Can't Help It" (The Hammond Version Excursion) – 6:33
"Reason for Living" (12" master) – 6:08
"Some Girls" (12" version) – 5:46
"Strike It Rich" (12" version) – 5:59
"I Heard a Rumour" (original 12" mix) – 7:06
"Nathan Jones" (original 12" mix) – 5:45
"I Want You Back" (original 12" mix) – 7:18
"Ecstasy" (Chicago House Stylee) – 5:57
"I Heard a Rumour" (dub) – 5:18
"Mr Sleaze" (Rare Groove Remix) – 6:02
DVD
"I Heard a Rumour"
"Love in the First Degree"
"Mr Sleaze"
"I Can't Help It"
"I Want You Back"
"Love, Truth and Honesty"
"Nathan Jones"
"Help!"
"I Can't Help It" (12" version)
"I Want You Back" (alternative version)
"I Heard a Rumour" (on Top of the Pops)
"I Want You Back" (on Going Live)
"Love, Truth and Honesty" (on Top of the Pops)
"Nathan Jones" (on Wogan)
Notes on "Some Girls" and "Strike It Rich"
The original LP release of the album included album versions of both songs (4:19 and 3:25, respectively).
The original CD included 12-inch versions ( 5:47 and 6:00, respectively).
The 2007 re-issue of Wow! contains the album version of "Some Girls" and contains the shortened faded version of "Strike it Rich" (12" Version) from the "Love, Truth & Honesty – The Remixes" 12" Single – 2:18.
Notes on "Nathan Jones" and "I Want You Back"
The album contains what is now known as the 'Bass Tone Mix' of "Nathan Jones" and most versions of Wow! contain the album version of "I Want You Back", with some exceptions. Notably, the Australian CD and cassette releases contain the single version of "I Want You Back", which was re-recorded with Jacquie O'Sullivan though this was not noted in the booklet or on the release packaging.
^
abHeath, Chris (26 August – 8 September 1987).
"Albums"(PDF). Smash Hits. Vol. 9, no. 17. p. 58.
ISSN0260-3004. Retrieved 21 November 2023 – via World Radio History.
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki:
Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263.
ISBN978-951-1-21053-5.