Tuesday, February 5, 2019

The 1984 Listening Post - The Mighty Wah! - A Word to the Wise Guy

The Mighty Wah! - A Word to the Wise Guy


#121
May 31 1984
The Might Wah!
A Word to the Wise Guy
4.5 out of 5

Highlights:
Everwanna
The Lost Generation
I Know There Was Something 

Talk about a kitchen sink. 
There are so many different styles happening on this record it feels like it could pass for a “best of” for a label and not the work of one individual. There’s the Wham! soul of “Evergreen”, the swinging Echo of “The Lost Generation”, Reggae “Ya Learn”, psychedelic goth “I Know There Was Something”…
t’s not cohesive. It’s a challenge because of that. But that just means it’s not an “album”, per se. It’s a collection. Of sometimes extraordinary pieces. 
This album crackles with energy and ideas. I wonder if calling yourself something stupid like The Mighty Wah! had anything to do with this not being a success. I can’t imagine there wasn’t a place for some of it on the US radio in 84. If you strip out the interstitial reggae parts the album is extraordinary. 


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