Customer Reviews

Waves

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a bit of a puzzle. It captures Ride, the stunning proto-shoegazer band of the early 90's, in the typical almost-live setting of the BBC music studios. The BBC sessions are great in that the band get the chance to maybe do a couple of takes, but that's about it. These might as well be live recordings (the final 3 tracks are indeed live).

So-here's the conundrum: as essentially live recordings, the songs here are much more direct and raw. They also are lacking that glossy sheen that was typical of much of Ride's studio work. This proves to be a huge benefit for the Going Blank Again tracks (Time of Her Time, Not Fazed, and especially Mouse Trap), which I think on the album lose some of their power with studio flourishes. Here, though, they are simply stunning. And, along with the Pale Saints cover, Sight of You, are the album highlights.

However, with the case of Dreams Burn Down and to some extent, Birdman (a distinctly different version than that found on Carnival of Light-none of the experimental studio overlays on the opening or mid-section), this proves to be somewhat of a drawback. The guitar lines on Dreams Burn Down simply don't have the beauty of the original version, and the wall of sound portions of the song and just plain weak here. As for Birdman-it's such a different performance, it's a bit of a surprise. The jangly rhythym guitar lines, though, seem to drone on forever, with no change in volume or texture. So while it's nice to hear the song presented a little more straight-forward, it could have been worked on a little, possibly.

With all that said-Waves is still highly enjoyable for a Ride fan. With the obvious change in style from shoegaze/noise-pop to psychedlic/60's pop just over halfway thru at Birdman, you can choose which portion of the album to listen to, since it all runs chronologically. While not much of a fan of the last two albums-presented here, some of the later songs have a bit more appeal. In particular, the schmaltzy I Don't Know Where It Come From is performed *without* the atrocious children's choir. Severance, a Dead Can Dance cover, is a subtle beauty. Sight of You is amazing-too bad it didn't make it ono an e.p. or something. And Perfect Time and All I Can See have significantly different arrangements than those found on the Smile collection.

All in all, a sure bet for Ride fans, but if new to the band, start out with either the Nowhere Import or the Going Blank Again import, then venture to Smile and this album of BBC gems.

O.k., a lot of RIDE fans have been waiting for this for a long time. For the most part these versions are excellent but why the hell did they fade out the cover of the PALE SAINTS "SIGHT OF YOU"????
I have a recording from when that song was originally broadcasted and there was no fade out. It climaxed with the signature RIDE guitar freakout, which was fantastic. I don't know, seeing how Andy Bell helped mix down and compile this comp I can't understand why this would've happened. Buy it anyway.

I discovered this compilation while listening to [...]. Being a huge fan of the Nowhere release, it was disappointing that KROQ in Southern California completely abandoned all further Ride projects. So I found myself, 18 years later, listening to Ride albums I had not been exposed to on Pandora. Sight of You is the song that convinced me that I had to have this CD, just giving me reason to spend 2 weeks overplaying the CD and reveling in the layers of guitar. Yes, Crown of Creation and Since Then pale in comparison to the energy and lavish guitar work in Like a Daydream or Perfect Time (it's odd to even type that since Ride jammed so much music into a 2 year span), however I found the good on this compilation of sessions completely irresistible. It is an interesting walk through Ride's progression of sound through 2 years work. Bonus is the bandmember's comments in the jacket, reflections of time and a peek behind the curtain.

These radio versions of the band feature, as tracks 6 "Decay" and an amazing stretch of #'s 8-11 "Time of Her Time," "Not Fazed," "Mouse Trap," and "Birdman," the best recordings of these tunes extant. The doom of "Decay" comes with thunder and dirgelike beats, while the shimmer, confidence, lilt, and swirl respectively of the pinnacle of the shoegazing moment of the early 90s can be heard on those four tracks in a row. Here Ride reveals a dimension of depth and passion that the studio renderings, although they are off my favorite of the band's records, "Going Blank Again," do not quite match.

That said, the decline of the band into a more stolid, and less psychedelic, phase does take up most of this generously long and generally entertaining CD. The band is never boring, but the relatively straightforward delivery of many tracks does not make this an essential purchase if you are a casual fan who has the original studio records. (I have not listened to the expanded versions, as they are only on import.) The muddiness of later tracks that I like, such as "Let's Get Lost," does dull the sheen that the earlier sessions had labored to polish.

If you are a RIDE fan, get this and listen to it. Very interesting listens to a sampling of their material (and others - covers of pale saints and dead can dance) in a different light, through the lens of the live recordings of the BBC sessions. I love some of these "alternate" versions. For example, "dreams burn down" - i like this version better than the studio nowhere version. It seems more natural and ethereal. love it. likewise for all of the going blank again tunes (all three). How 'bout the completely different "birdman?" "You are very very lucky; you are very very lucky; you are very very lucky; you are very very lucky..." This is a very cool release - very, very worthwhile...

Wow! I had sort of a 'flashback' when I came across this {now long disbanded} English '90's shoegaze pop band's disc. Didn't they influence {to some degree} bands like Radiohead, Flaming Lips, Chemical Brothers and Coldplay? 'Waves' is a good seventeen track collection of five BBC Radio One sessions they performed between 1990-94. Tunes I liked best were "Dreams Burn Down", the '60's-ish "Perfect Time", "Not Fazed", the awesome "Walk On Water" and "Crown Of Creation". Should appeal to most fans of My Bloody Valentine, Lush, Sun Dial, Helio Sequence, Curve and possibly Sonic Youth.

This CD sounds terrific, and it's great to hear these variations from the studio versions. I'm personally disappointed because my three favourite Ride songs (three of my favourite songs ever, actually) are not present: Vapour Trail, OX4 & Twisterella. This disc is still a must have for any fan of Ride or Shoegazing/Indie.

Ride's BBC sessions are collected on this disc, titled "Waves". While all of these songs have been previously released, we get some great, high energy versions. These live-in-studio versions sound more energetic and fresh than even their LP counterparts, if that's possible. Birdman, Walk On Water (the long song on here from final album Tarantula), Decay, Time Of Her Time, Mouse Trap, a superior version of I Don't Know Where It Comes From (without the schmaltzy choir at the beginning, it sounds less Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want rip-off and more a fresh song from Ride). Just a great, great disc. Even has a killer cover of the Pale Saints' "Sight Of You".

If you're a Ride fan and have all of their albums, you have to get this disc.

A lot of the songs here are much better than the originals, I find. The sound is more focused in tracks like All I can See and Perfect Time and the latter part of the CD (which most seem to dislike) is very much congruent with the earlier portion. It's much less of a 'thud' than the box set. A must have for Ride fans. (standouts: Like A Daydream, Dreams Burn Down, Sight of You, Decay, Since Then)

This cd is pretty much a must-have if you're a Ride fan (and have the other albums). I'm happy with this purchase for the uptempo "Birdman"...so so much better than the original. "Mousetrap," "Sight of You" and "Like a Daydream" are nice too. One word of caution: if you really like this band, get the remastered Going Blank Again album (w/ extra tracks) before taking another breath. You owe it to yourself, really.