These three albums, reissued now, each one with a bonus disc of B-sides and live performances, to coincide with the band’s recent reunion tour, show that some bands can develop their sound while remaining true to their core causes (love, loss and relationship frustration).
1989’s Waking Hours kicks off the trilogy in vibrant form, the band young and hungry to prove themselves. Moments of vibrancy such as ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’ and ‘Hatful Of Rain’ pop up but the undertone is as dark as the cover shot. These songs have been well lived-in before being committed to tape. Highlights of the bonus disc include The Return Of Maggie Brown (in two versions) and the non-album single ‘Spit In The Rain’.
1992’s Change Everything lightens the tone, with more acoustic guitars on ‘Be My Downfall and ‘Surface Of The Moon’. The guys also get funky on ‘Just Like A Man’ and introduce an air of sweet resignation on the closer, ‘Sometimes I Just Have To Say Your Name’. There’s more of an American influence on their sound, no surprise given the amount of time the guys spent on tour over there. While the songs themselves are not as strong as on either Waking Hours or Twisted, this is still a very enjoyable album. Extras include a nice laid back Faces cover (‘Cindy Incidentally) and a rip-roaring live version of ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’.
1995’s Twisted was where it all came together for Del Amitri. ‘Food For Songs’ and ‘Start With Me’ get things off to a blistering start and show to any non-believers why they were (and still are) a band for whom people would take five days off work to set up a live performance for. ‘Here And Now’, ‘Tell Her This’ and ‘Roll To Me’ provide some nice pop tunes and Currie’s continuing obsession with matters of the heart is played out through ‘It Might As Well Be You’ and ‘Driving With The Brakes On’. Standouts on the extras disc include the gentle portrait of a relationship in miniature which is ‘In The Frame’, a simmering acoustic version of ‘Food For Songs’ and the cheeky ironic sideswipe that is ‘Queen Of False Alarms’.
Taken together, these albums show a band carefully developing their own sound by dipping into the little moments and shades of grey which form human relationships. Justin Currie’s rich voice dominates proceedings and is ably supported by a tight and vibrant band. They get angrier and heavier as the music progresses, but also funnier and sadder as well.