“Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful” by The Waitresses - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1982 → ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1980s →

The B-52s meet Blondie via The Bodysnatchers in 22-year-old Chris Butler's vision, captured here on The Waitresses January '82 long-play debut. A handful of great tracks rise above the rest, including “No Guilt” straight from the off, a jaunty little ska number which introduces the album's star turn, Patty Donahue, whose nonchalent vocals render the work memorable. She's none-too-bothered about the break-up “I'm sorry but I don't feel too awful, it wasn't the end of the world” Her Shangri-Las-style spoken-word vocal at the end seals the cool deal. The sassy-funk of “I Know What Boys Like” gave them a Billboard hit (#62), and the album finishes strongly with “Go On” (am I a magnet for losers, a net for the helpless? sighs our girl) and “Jimmy Tomorrow”, a masterclass in deadpan sarcasm: “But I don't want to be somebody else's learning experience, Some rich kid's way to spend his allowance, I want magic in my real world, Some modern voodoo to make it work”. There is no cure for irony, thank God.

The Jukebox Rebel
06–Mar–2010

Tracklist

A1	[03:46] The Waitresses - No Guilt (Chris Butler) Ska / Rocksteady
A2	[03:15] The Waitresses - Wise Up (Chris Butler) New Wave
A3	[05:21] The Waitresses - Quit (Chris Butler) New Wave
A4	[03:20] The Waitresses - It’s My Car (Chris Butler) Ska / Rocksteady
A5	[03:36] The Waitresses - Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? (Chris Butler) Pop
B1	[03:12] The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like (Chris Butler) New Wave
B2	[03:46] The Waitresses - Heat Night (Chris Butler) New Wave
B3	[02:57] The Waitresses - Redland (Chris Butler) Dubbeat
B4	[04:07] The Waitresses - Pussy Strut (Chris Butler) New Wave
B5	[02:55] The Waitresses - Go On (Chris Butler) New Wave
B6	[05:35] The Waitresses - Jimmy Tomorrow (Chris Butler) New Wave

ratings by TJR