The Waitresses – Deluxe Special/Ze Complete Recordings (1982)

The Waitresses – Deluxe Special/Ze Complete Recordings (1982)

The Waitresses – or sometimes just Waitresses – were one of those fabulous 80s bands.

This album is apparently Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?, but in a deluxe edition. The first five seconds of the intro – including the opening track, No Guilt – are already surprising, as they don’t necessarily give the impression that it’s going to veer off into New Wave!

Sadly, the band only released two albums, the second being Bruiseology. They also put together the EP, I Could Rule the World If I Could Only Get the Parts. I didn’t realise at the time that this band was American. Lots of bands in the US were influenced by British bands.

The band was fronted by singer-songwriter Chris Butler, with Patty Donahue on lead vocals. In any case, there were seven other members who passed through the band. I’m really sad that it lasted such a short time – from 1978 to 1983. From the time I was born until I was five!

Butler was also in the band The Numbers Band (a.k.a. 15-60-75). Terry Hynde, Chrissie’s brother, played the saxophone in the band. Gerald Casale joined them later on, too. Casale is best known as the bassist for DEVO. He’d been kicked out of the band after wearing a monkey mask on stage!

Two songs became quite well-known: “I Know What Boys Like” and the Christmas song “Christmas Wrapping”. New Wave and Post-Punk are the dominant influences on this album, which also has a touch of Punk and Pop. Yet another band that’s not short on humour and creativity!

Tracy Wormworth, the bassist, has been with the brilliant B-52’s since 1990.

Patty Donahue, the singer, sadly passed away far too young, at the age of forty, in 1996. But her fans remember her fondly and still regularly sing her songs at karaoke.

Billy Ficca is a brilliant drummer who helped form two major bands. The other was Television! Whose lead singer has also passed away. RIP Tom Verlaine and Patty Donahue!

Another who passed away more recently, in 2023, was the saxophonist, none other than Marc Charles “Mars” Williams! Yet another musician who moved on to another legendary band after The Waitresses split up. Indeed, he became the saxophonist for The Psychedelic Furs from 1983, the year the first band disbanded.

The bassist, David Hofstra, is passionate about New Wave, but also about jazz. He also plays the double bass and the tuba.

As for the prolific Holly Beth Vincent (born Holly Beth Cernuto in 1956), she is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. In her youth, Vincent sang and played drums and guitar in several bands and was part of the Los Angeles punk scene. In 1978, she formed Holly and the Italians (her first solo album) and moved to London, England, where the band was well received by the British press and secured a recording contract with Virgin Records thanks to the success of the single “Tell That Girl to Shut Up”. This debut album had a troubled production run and was a commercial failure, leading to the band’s break-up in late 1981, following a US tour supporting… The Clash and the Ramones! Just imagine that!!!

Originally, this album had 12 tracks. This Deluxe Edition has 18! Well, ‘Christmas Wrapping’ appears twice – there’s the extended version and the Single Edit. It’s worth noting that the Spice Girls covered one of their B-sides. The bass on this track is exquisite. All these musicians are excellent at what they do. There’s even a trumpet on there!

The sound is fabulous and typical of the era. It will stir up nostalgia for die-hard fans of that decade who don’t just listen to commercial music or music that’s purely for dancing. There are certainly some more upbeat tracks, but The Waitresses are much more than that. The backing vocals, which always add something special, the dissonant moments, the funky sections – all these elements are divine. The arrangements, the interplay between the instruments.

Dan Klayman has obviously made a huge contribution too, with his keyboards and organ.

All the best bands have instrumental tracks! Track 13, entitled ‘Hangover 1/1/83’ (yes, that’s how it’s spelt!), confirms this when it comes to this album.

If you like bands such as Gang of Four, The Raincoats, Devo and The Pretenders, you can dive straight into listening to this album without a second thought. You’ll even regret not having discovered it sooner!

In any case, I love this band and I’m really glad to have got my hands – and my ears – on this release.

The Waitresses are undoubtedly one of those bands that have been unfairly sidelined, judged with too many preconceptions. An album that can stand alongside those by Martha & The Muffins, Belle Stars, Pulsallama and even Toto Coelo.

Happy listening!!!