My First Lust (Popped In Souled Out - Wet Wet Wet)

Member Name: sandemp

Product:	Popped In Souled Out - Wet Wet Wet
Date:	25/10/05 (262 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much better sound quaility than the tape

Disadvantages: Only really for the fans (Like Me)

A long time ago, a teenager went out shopping, her purse fair filled to bulging with the proceeds of her first week in the world of employment. The question was what would that young lady spend all her hard earned cash on? And the answer was she bought herself one of those new-fangled personal cassette players and the debut album of her very favourite band on cassette to play on it.

Fast forward, almost twenty years and that teenager is now all grown up with a teenage child of her own. And that tape of Wet Wet Wet's debut album "Popped In, Souled Out" is now just a crackly, almost inaudible shell of it's former self, so she checked out the nice people at Amazon, discovered it was still available on CD, and now she's going to relive some of those memories, and perhaps persuade another die-hard fan that it's definitely worth spending some of their own hard-earned cash on their very own copy…..

~~~So who are the Wets?~~~

When you think of '80's and '90's pop music, who immediately comes to mind? Perhaps you (or your Mum) was a Brosette, perhaps you preferred Wham or even Take That. I, personally, was and always will be a huge fan of Wet Wet Wet, a quartet of young men that hailed from Clydebank, Glasgow. I'd like to be able to say it was just their music that impressed me, but I was (and am still) deeply in lust with the lead singer, Marti Pellow, with his come to bed eyes and superbly gravely voice.

But enough about Marti, there are three other band members that deserve at least a mention (well more than that really), and they are : Tommy Cunningham who provides the rhythm and beat on the drums, Graeme Clark on Bass and Neil Mitchell on keyboard. Of course listen carefully and you'll hear all their voices as they work their way through the tracks.

~~~The Genre~~~

It's impossible to pin down the genre that The Wets belong to, and I prefer not to really try. You could say that they were (and still are) a boy band, and indeed they have released some very poppy numbers, such as Sweet Little Mystery and that song from Four Weddings And A Funeral. But how then would you explain the strong soul influence in their music from the time they spent recording with Willie Mitchell in Memphis. So are they part of the Northern Soul genre (as it was called when I was at school)? Well yes in a way I suppose they are, but I personally feel they gave a unique pop angle to the soul, and there has never been another band that sings in quite the same way.

~~~The Album~~~

Popped in Souled Out was released in 1987 and entered the UK album chart at number 2 (only being beaten by Michael Jackson's Bad), fourteen weeks later after a total of three singles from the album were released, the album made it to the top spot and actually went on to achieve the status of five times platinum.


~~~The Music~~~

As the title suggests, this album is a mix of upbeat poppy numbers and more soulful, thoughtful pieces. And for me it really brings back memories of my teenage years from the very first chord of the first track….Wishing I was Lucky

The album, both begins and ends with this track, which was The Wets debut single. The first thing that hit me as this started was how young the boys sound, their voices somehow haven't matured to what they became later in their career. Although Marti's gravel-like quality is there, it's not as pronounced as it is today. As anyone who grew up in Thatcherite Britain will tell you, this song has a particularly poignant (and at the time topical) theme, as the boys sing about life on the dole, and how their best friend told them about a job in the city. Although I wasn't unemployed myself, my Dad was and I know he was often "Wishing I Was Lucky". That's not to say it's a depressing song, because it's actually surprisingly upbeat and very poppy, in keeping with the sort of music that was often brought out at the time.

After this upbeat, Brit Pop, start to the album, it's quite a surprise to move onto a trio of very much soul influenced tracks and it's now that those memories really start to kick in. I maybe sad, but I can sing along to these three and they are among my personal favourites on the album. Firstly, we have East Of The River, which I love, and have sorely missed, as it seems to be one of their less popular tracks. Then we move straight onto I Remember, which for me has some particularly poignant lyrics, I'm sure we all remember when we had all the love in the world to give as teens and then the feeling when that love starts to turn sour. The last of this trio is Angel Eyes, which even today brings up emotions that I try to hide. From the chorus, that almost anyone could sing along to after hearing it just once, to one particular verse which talks about the saddest things they've ever seen, this song is just a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows.

Just as I'm starting to get into a soulful reflective mood, the fourth track, Sweet Little Mystery, comes along to pull me out of the doldrums. I find it hard to think of a more upbeat, poppy love song than this, and from what I've heard this is a very popular track with '80's revival shows on the radio and yes I sing along every time. As the mood has slightly lifted, you'd have thought that they'd have continued on the pop theme, wouldn't you? But no, next we another lesser known track in the form of I Don't Believe, which again has it's roots firmly grounded in soul, and is a little gem with another chorus that simply demands that I sing-along.

After all this soul-based music, you might wonder if that's all they can come up with, and when I say the next track is also soul-based you'll probably groan. But Temptation is soul with attitude, there's an almost gospel feel to the music and there are times when I feel that there should be a gospel choir in the background. It may be soul, but on those days when I'm feeling low this song has a special something that singing along to makes me feel so much better. And what better way to follow Temptation than another track that positively reeks of soul with attitude, I can Give You Everything starts so smoothly, that you can almost feel yourself drifting away, only to be rudely awakened by the boys chanting the chorus.

And so we move onto the final five tracks, the last of which is the live version of Wishing I Was Lucky, which believe it or not, sounds even better than the first track. But I'm getting ahead of myself, and the next actual track is The Moment You Left Me, and while this is in no way a favourite, it is definitely worth listening to, especially as all of a sudden Marti's voice seems to be starting to mature and in fact most of these final tracks seem to make full use of the unique quality of Marti's voice. As we move onto Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, we are treated to almost pure soul, and Marti's voice brings Goosebumps to my arms as I emerge myself in the song, before being rudely awakened by the far more upbeat, poppy track World In Another, which to be honest doesn't make full-use of the boys talents and feels out of place on the album.

So there you have it, a surprising (or not so if you've already got this on tape) mix of the upbeat, and slightly depressing, all performed by a unique talent, who have never quite managed to be pigeon-holed into a particular genre. But is this enough to convince the fan to buy this album, I think not, as any true fan probably already has this on tape. So now I'll tell you a bit about the presentation, which is far, far superior to the cassette.

~~~The Presentation~~~

Popped In, Souled Out is presented on a single CD, which is printed in light blue, with the track listing on it. Not very impressive, I know, but honestly do you buy a CD to look at or listen too? The actual case contains an insert with not one but two pictures of the boys on, each of which represents a different side of their music, but open the insert up, and you'll find the lyrics to 11 of the 13 tracks, so there's no excuse not to sing along.

~~~Sound Quality~~~

The sound quality of the CD is a million times better than my cassette ever was, with not a hint of a pop or crackle to be heard. I must admit though, that the depth is perhaps not quite up to the standard of The Wets latest release, but is still perfectly acceptable.


~~~Technical Bits~~~

Year Of Release : 1987
Album Length : 54 min 39 sec
Highest Chart Position : Number One

Price : £6.99 at Amazon (UK)

~~~My Final Words~~~

This is a real blast from the past for any Wets fan and a must to have in your collection, even if you already have it on cassette. For me personally, it was amazing to discover just how young the boys sounded when they first started out, and therefore just how much their voices and talent has matured over the years. If you're not a fan, then unless you really enjoy soul, you probably shouldn't bother buying this, as somehow I think it is really only something a fan would appreciate.

But if you are a fan, who for some reason does not have Popped In, Souled Out in your collection (or only have it on cassette), then what are you waiting for? Go and order this now.



~~~Track Listing (if you like that sort of thing)~~~

1. Wishing I Was Lucky
2. East Of The River
3. I Remember
4. Angel Eyes (Home And Away)
5. Sweet Little Mystery
6. I Don't Believe (Sonny's Letter)
7. Temptation
8. I Can Give You Everything
9. The Moment You Left Me
10. Words Of Wisdom
11. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
12. World In Another
13. Wishing I Was Lucky (Live Version)

Summary: A blast from the past for any Wettie