Sunday, March 2, 2008

THE WAITRESSES - Bruiseology



It's unfortunate that all most people remember The Waitresses for (if they remember them at all) is I Know What Boys Like and Christmas Wrapping. Not that those aren't good songs, but the band had so many other noteworthy moments in its brief, two LP existence. Take, for example, 1983's Bruiseology, the second album. Apparently, the record was rushed to market after the first LP, Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?, and by the time it came out The Waitresses had pretty much fallen apart with the departure of lead singer Patty Donahue.

You can't really tell the band was going through troubled times by the quality of the material on Bruiseology. It's as witty and hooky as the debut, and probably a bit more unique. Guitarist Chris Butler, a man who penned all the band's songs from a woman's perspective, really came up with some excellent material, and Donahue delivered it just as convincingly as she did on Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful.

The LP contains my personal favorite Waitresses track, the melodic, thoughtful Make the Weather. Although the song was released as a single it failed to make much of a mark, which is a shame because it represents the band at its smartest and most captivating.

Other highlights include the cheerleader anthem opener A Girl's Gotta Do and the manic, anxiety-ridden title track. Luxury, a six-and-a-half-minute epic, and the biting, sardonic closer They're All out of Liquor, Let's Find Another Party, are also worth noting. Even when the band slipped in an instrumental (Pleasure) and put bassist Tracy Wormworth on lead vocals (Spin) the results are entertaining, which is quite a feat, since Donahue's sarcastic, theatrical delivery was arguably the most important ingredient of The Waitresses.

After Bruiseology was released and Donahue left the band, Butler and company continued on very briefly for some live shows with Holly Beth Vincent on vocals. When The Waitresses were officially no more, Butler went on to release some solo recordings and Wormworth could be seen for many years as a member of the house band on The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Sadly, Patty Donahue passed on in 1996 after a battle with lung cancer.

Neither of the band's full albums has been released on CD. As of now, you can only find certain tracks on greatest hits compilations. Buy the latest one here or on itunes. Until it's reissued, here is my vinyl rip of Bruiseology in its entirety:

The Waitresses - Bruiseology (1983)

Track listing:
1 - A Girl's Gotta Do
2 - Make the Weather
3 - Everything's Wrong If My Hair Is Wrong
4 - Luxury
5 - Open City
6 - Thinking About Sex Again
7 - Bruiseology
8 - Pleasure
9 - Spin
10 - They're All out of Liquor, Let's Find Another Party


WEB LINKS:
- The Waitresses on Wikipedia
- Very informative Waitresses fan site
- I Know What Boys Like video on Youtube

10 comments:

Uncle E said...

Interesting choice, one I haven't heard in a while but still great. You and my friend/ fellow co-worker/ blogger Thom G were on the same wavelength this week, both posting the Waitresses.
If you want to get to his site, just go to mine and scroll down the links 'till you find "Surface Tension".
Once again, I'm really enjoying your blog. Keep it up!!

Frank K said...

Thanks, E!

The Waitresses spirit must be in the air.

Todd said...

Didn't think I'd ever had achance to hear this. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Thanks.

I have been looking for this for a while. Do you have their first album or the the best of/millennium collection?.

Thanks again.

_pierre said...

Thanks for such a nice write up. Very kind and informative post.

Thanks again!

You can call me a fan ;)...
http://pierrerouzier-sculpture.blogspot.com/

Scott said...

I was a wee lad when this first came out. I got into them via "Square Pegs," but ended up really liking the band. I bought this on vinyl when it first came out. Loved it then, love it now. Cheers.

Troy said...

Thanks very much for posting this! Love this band (they even had Television's drummer, how cool is that?) I have their first two albums, but I've never been able to track down this 3rd one. The song Bruiseology was favourite from the Millenium Collection, looking forward to hearing the rest of the LP. This download'll make me very happy until the used record store gods smile upon me again and I can have a hard copy to spin. Their King Biscuit Flower Hour live disc is great too! Still available on amazon, I think. And for cheap. RIP Patty Donohue, you rocked.

Anonymous said...

Thank you. One of my favorite bands, and one of my favorite albuns, which I now have a digital copy of thanks to you!! :)

Silent 3 said...

Thanks for making this available. Now I don't have to rummage through the attic to find my vinyl copy!

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