Queen High Straight from Wendy James reviewed and out now
Wendy James released her fifth solo album on 1 May 2020. London born Wendy exploded onto the music scene 1988 as the front woman of iconic chart-topping alt-rockers Transvision Vamp. Famous hits included ‘I Want Your Love’, ‘The Only One’ and ‘Baby I Don’t Care’. After the band disbanded in 1992 Wendy embarked on a solo career collaborating with the likes of Elvis Costello, James Williamson (Iggy & the Stooges), Lenny Kaye (The Patti Smith Group) and James Sclavunos (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds).
Indeed, James Sclavunos is on the new album alongside James Sedwards (lead guitar), Harry Bohay (bass), Alex J. Ward & Terry Edwards (horn section) and Louis Vause (accordion).
Wendy writes, produces and mixes all the songs herself and has an interesting approach to album track construction. “My track listings are never altered from the order in which I write the songs, maybe it’s because it’s too tangential for me to try to shuffle songs around but really I think, in some kind of holistic way, the order in which the songs are written must surely be the very most natural order for them to be listed in.” Its an interesting and dare I say it brave approach, as album track order can be so critical to the overall experience you get from an album. So, we’re here to find out if it works!
The album consists of 20 tracks and took over three years to write while Wendy was promoting and touring after the release of her last album which reached #14. I have to say, it is well worth the wait. The album pulls from a wide range of musical styles and influences and the tracks contain a rich variety of strong instrumental performances with Wendy’s ever-present vocals displaying a broad range of styles encompassing both soft & light to harsh & dark. It’s a welcome change to see such a wide range in one place, and we get a real insight into Wendy’s personality.
The opening track ‘Queen High Straight’ works brilliantly, a wonderful palette of jazz tones and a vocal performance reminiscent of the earlier Transvision Vamp days. Soft and swirling it draws you in to the album so well with its seductive style.
We head into ‘Perilous Beauty’ a much more grunge influenced track with a wonderful almost whispered vocal performance from Wendy which matches the guitar track so well. ‘Stomp Down/Snuck Up’ mixes it up again with a kind of 60’s psychedelic pop feel running through it.
The track ‘Here Comes the Beautiful One’ was a highlight for me, effortlessly mixing slow sections with more raucous sections, that again reminded me of the Transvision Vamp days. The transitions between sections are beautifully executed.
‘Testimonial’ is a slow sad song of lost love which contrasts with the sweeping textures of the following track ‘Bar Room Brawl & Benzedrine Blues,’ with it’s Indie rock feel, which has a wonderful guitar solo section in the middle. The kind of song you almost chant the lyrics to - anthemic. Another highlight on the album.
Some of the track links are brilliant too. I loved the hand break turn shift from the heavily punk influenced track ‘The Impression Of Normalcy’ to the almost country introduction of ‘I’ll be Here When the Morning Comes’, which then turns into a kind of Beatles like “Sargent Pepper”, ‘When I’m 64’ trippy sounding track. Simply wonderful.
‘Kill Some Time Blues’ rounds off the album with yet another different style, recreating the late 50’s kind of “Happy Days” drive in diner girls talking about boys, but with a grimy modern touch. My favourite track on the album, and a great way to end.
With 20 tracks, and Wendy’s style of laying tracks down in the order they came to her, this is a recipe for disaster. But no far from it. From 80s Rebellious Transvision, to Motown, 50’s drive in, to 60’s jazz bar, through punk and grunge there’s so much going on here. Is it for everyone? Maybe not, I can see how for some that like an artist to sound a particular way, the wide range of different styles may not appeal. But I really enjoyed it. It is not so much an album as a journey through music and it’s a great ride to be on, and I loved the way every so often Transvision Vamp pops out for brief cameos to remind you of previous greatness.
An intricate, beautiful and enjoyable album, well worth a 4 out of 5 score from LiveWire Music.
Available on Digital Download / Streaming services, the album is also available as a 20 track deluxe gatefold double vinyl, gatefold deluxe CD and regular CD and can be ordered from Wendy’s website here: https://thewendyjames.com/store
