The Waves album – originally recorded at Stebbing Studios July 7–11,
1975 – is once again available on LP, and for the first time on CD. There is
no doubt Waves is a classic New Zealand album, long overdue a reissue.
Accompanying the CD is the Misfit album, which was originally recorded at
Mandrill Studios in 1976. Misfit was not fully completed and had no final mix.
What exists on the CD are the songs in their roughly mixed forms, transferred
decades ago to digital audio tape and retrieved by Steve McGough at Stebbing in
2013. Included with Misfit is the elusive track ‘Vegas’, which was recorded
at Mascot Studios in 1977.
Waves: new look at an old band (1974–1977) Personnel: Graeme Gash, David
Marshall, Kevin Wildman, Michael Matthew, Michael Mason, Rex Carter.
“For one brief moment, Waves sat atop the crest (well, a small crest
anyway). We weren’t there for long, but the view was sensational. It’s a
place no one gets to stay forever, and so we came, we saw, we played a tune; and
then we went. We were three singer/songwriter/guitarists and one bass player,
with add-ons when we needed them. We played acoustic guitars (we’re so old now
there probably wasn’t any power back then). We also had a taste for
harmonizing; thus the comparisons were inevitable, but we had more going on
than that.
During 1974 we were out and about plying our musical wares when the
independent Direction Records label scooped us up. In those halcyon days NZ was
a hard place to survive on a diet of original songs, but there was a small but
devoted taste for it, and that’s what we chased. And Waves had some success,
hitting No.6 on the NZ album charts in 1975, which in those ‘play something
we know’ days was a reasonable feat.
Our live performances were well received; we worked places like the Auckland
Town Hall, The Mercury, His Majesty’s Theatre, The Maidment, The Pumphouse,
Levi’s Saloon, The Island of Real and any small clubs or schools that wanted
in. Naturally, in time the bubble burst. Music was a hard game in this part of
the world, and Direction eventually went down. We kept going, with new bass
player and drummer in tow, recording a second album which until now has never
been heard. So we have something brand new for you – it’s only 37 years
old! Hilarious.
Music is a wonderful thing; it defines us as a species, in a way not much
else does, as it cuts across a multitude of divisions to unite people. The genre
is not important; there is enough room for all of it. If your song has made the
soul of one human being glow a little brighter, then you’ve done the job
required. For a little while, we did that. “
Graeme Gash, March 2013
“NZ classic folk-rock…featuring the haunting songs of Graeme Gash and
sounding like an existential antipodean take on Crosby, Stills Nash &
Young…” – Gary Steel, witchdoctor.co.nz
“Of the many New Zealand albums long overdue for a reissue, the sole album
by the acoustic quartet Waves is among the most worthy. The band of Michael
Matthew, Kevin Wildman, Graeme Gash and David Marshall were straight out of the
post-Crosby Stills and Nash school of close harmony singing, acoustic guitars
and some pointed electric playing when the moment demanded it.
Their debut album – produced by Peter Dawkins and engineered by Phil
Yule – was recorded in four days at Stebbing Studios in Auckland with a
little help from the likes of Mike Chunn on bass (of Split Enz/Citizen Band
fame), keyboard player Mike Harvey, Murray Grindlay of the Underdogs etc, here
on harmonica), Mike Caen (of Streetalk) and others.” Graham Reid,
elsewhere.co.nz
“Psychedelic folkies Waves will gain a new generation of fans.” –
Scott Kara, NZ Herald
