On 21st June, 1996, Otway released a CD of two of his old albums - the classics "All Balls And No Willy" and "Where Did I Go Right". When I saw Otway supporting We-Evil over Easter '96 I took the opportunity to buy a copy in advance, which is reviewed below.

Firstly, however, there is a list of the tracks on the CD, and if everything is working according to plan, and if the gods are smiling on me, clicking on any of them should take you to the appropriate section of the review:-

All Balls And No Willy

1. In Dreams
2. Too Much Air Not Enough Oxygen
3. Telex
4. Montreal
5. Baby, It's The Real Thing
6. Turn Off Your Dream (Don't Watch The Nightmare)
7. Mass Communication
8. House Is Burning
9. Halloween
10. Nothing's Gone (Except No.1)
11. Middle Of Winter (Original Version)

Where Did I Go Right

1. Makes Good Music
2. It's A Pain
3. Blue Eyes Of The Belle
4. Best Dream
5. What A Woman
6. Frightened And Scared
7. Waiting (Waiting For You)
8. Hurting Her More
9. The Highwayman

All Balls And No Willy

There seems to be a distinct amount of nepotism that goes on in the British music scene: a lot of my favourite bands have links to one another - some of them a little tenuous, admittedly, but quite a large number are actually quite strong. For a while, however, there was nothing linking Otway to Fairport Convention - then Wild Willy played at their 1995 Cropredy Festival.

There have always been slightly stronger links between Otway and another of my favourite bands - Marillion. The most obvious is the fact that they both come from my home town of Aylesbury - and I have even been fortunate enough to see Otway support Fish there. Only when I bought this album, however, did I discover another, even more bizarre link.

"All Balls And No Willy" is one of the albums that best exemplifies Otway live, and was recorded in 1982 with a band called "The Europeans", who consisted of Ferg Harper (bass), Colin Moore (guitar), Geoff Dugmore (drums) and Steve Hogarth (keyboards). Now here comes the spooky bit - after Fish left Marillion (a tragic shame) they got a new lead singer... a certain Steve Hogarth! Bizarre, but true! Anyway, the tracks are as follows:-

In Dreams

Don't be deceived by the talkover introduction - this isn't Roy Orbison by a long shot! Within seconds this song thrashes out into a heavy and raucous version of Roy's classic. If you've heard Otway play this with the Big Band, then you'll know pretty much what to expect. If not, have a listen anyway, it's classic Otway.

Too Much Air Not Enough Oxygen

Another loud and heavy band number, this is one of my favourites from this album. Otway in his punk mood, definitely, but some nice touches to the mix too (like the whispery bits). I don't really know what the lyrics are trying to say, but i don't much care either!

Telex

A superb piece - far more funky than the preceding songs on the album. It's basically a song about a love affair that is kept alive by sending illicit telexes, which is a brilliant premise to a song, and the lyrics manage to convey the story well. A great example of Otway the lyricist, even if the song itself sounds a little dated now.

Montreal

Another Otway love song, written about his desire to travel to Montreal to see the woman he loved. In terms of the engineering and the tune itself, this is a song that could quite easily have been written recently, although I must confess to it not being one of my own favourites.

Baby, It's The Real Thing

Another standard of the Big Band, this is another of the highlights of the album. This version lacks some of the energy of the live version, for which the Big Band Live CD would be a better buy. It's still an excellent song, however, if a little cheesy in parts (i.e. some of those "soft brass" sounds on the synth!).

Turn Off Your Dream (Don't Watch The Nightmare)

Definitely one that is making a bid for my least favourite song of the album - and it probably wins. This is a weird "new age" style piece (only about 15 years early there John!) with Otway shouting in the background - but so far in the background that you'll never stand a chance of working out what he's saying unless you look at the lyrics sheet.

Mass Communication

And from the ridiculous to the sublime - my favourite track of the whole album, and one of my favourite Otway tracks ever. This is just first rate "soft rock" with some excellent lyrics. Essentially it is about the "new" technology of the early eighties - although most of it seems more relevent now than ever. In fact the only lyric that has really dated is the one about "Space Invaders" - even the reference to "Missile Command" is bang up to date as I have recently bought a copy of "Missile Command 3D" (which is absolutely excellent) for my games console!

Apart from the lyrics, the production on this track is also first class - the additional vocals really make it, and the ending is just totally apposite. Yup! This one is definitely way up on my list, nuzzling alongside "Whoops Apocolypse" (can you find space for that on the next CD re-release, please John, pretty please...)

House Is Burning

Now I'm just being spoilt! Having just used all my superlatives for the previous song, Otway was devious enough to put the next best track immediately after it! Like "mass Communication", I first heard this on the "Yawto" album, so it's good to finally have both these on CD.

Lyrically this is one of the funniest songs Otway has ever written. It stems around the premise of Otways house having caught fire, and essentially deals with all the repurcussions. It manages to pick up on a whole handful of minor flame related points that most people wouldn't even think of and throw them back at you as a series of connected jokes. Oh, what's the use explaining it - marvellous lyrics, brilliant music, great production and even Otway on the saxophone - just get it.

Halloween

Another one bidding for my least favourite track of the album. I can't quite point my finger at exactly what I don't like about it, and it's not really especially dire or anything. I guess it's just a bit of a let down after the last two songs. Definitely sounds a bit dated, though.

Nothing's Gone (Except No.1)

So was Otway getting a little bitter and twisted then??? This one is a little dated, but has the advantage of enough of a beat for you to like it nevertheless. Not an Otway classic, maybe, but not amongst his worst either. It's a bit hard to classify really, but I suppose "early 80's soft rock" is ambiguous enough to cover it, so if that's your thing you'll probably love it.

Middle Of Winter (Original Version)

Another one that Otway has been trotting out for far too many years. Mind you, it's still very funny when he does it live. With a piano intro replacing the now traditional sleigh bells, however, this is probably my favorite version of this song. If you've seen Otway perform this live, then it really brings home his ability to take perfectly funny lyrics and make them sound serious, or vice versa.

Where Did I Go Right

Although this album is the second of the two on Otway's recent CD re-release, it actually predates "All Balls And No Willy" by four years. After a quick discussion with my abacus, that makes it a 1979 release.

Essentially this is a fairly slow and gentle album (with one or two notable exceptions), and in that respect is the complete opposite of "All Balls...". It's still good though, and in it's current bundle with "All Balls..." on one CD there's never been a better time to buy it. The tracks are:-

Makes Good Music

A reasonable start to the album, but by no means an example of classic Otway. I can't really think of a lot else to say aobut it.

It's A Pain

Now I know this will sound unlikely, but this track seems to have a kind of "Rolling Stones" quality to it. Maybe John isn't Mick Jagger (could you imagine Mick being quite so entertaining?) but the feel of the song as a whole - and especially the chorus - just seems (to me, at least) to be the sort of thing the Stones would have done at some point. It loses this quality a bit towards the end, but is a good basis for speculation about what could have happened if Otway had been a bit more lucky.

Blue Eyes Of The Belle

An Otway ballad along similar lines to "Josephine". This is a slow piece, with suitably mournful fiddling and cheesily plinking piano, but you can't help liking it. Perhaps it's Otway's voice that just manages to make you feel sorry for him, or perhaps it's a combination of the whole ensemble, but whatever, this is a very "pleasant" piece.

Best Dream

Another Otway standard, often played with the Big Band. This is a far more mellow version, with the crashing drums replaced by a collection of strings. It's well engineered and nicely balanced, with the strings providing that same quality that the orchestral version of "Geneva" posesses compared with the Big Band version.

What A Woman

This is a great song - starting off very funkily and up tempo then bursting into a wonderfully quiet section in the chorus, consisting of little more than Otway and a piano, before racing back into the funky guitars again. Maybe not an all time classic, but it certainly has enough variety to provide a welcome change from the "typically Otway" ballads and rock numbers.

Frightened And Scared

Another piece of infamous Otway, this is another track that the Big Band frequently cover. Whilst they may be able to make it sound superb for a live audience, I have to confess a soft spot for this version, whith its plinky guitar and swirling organ. After a few moments it gains a racey beat for the chorus and eventually moves towards Otway screaming the lyrics. It has to be heard to be fully appreciated.

Waiting (Waiting For You)

If you find people singing out of tune to be particularly offensive then steer well clear of this track! I'm not actually convinced that Otway manages to hit any of the notes in this, but that soon grows on you, until you come to actually expect it. Otherwise this is another slow Otway piece, with just him, a piano and some backing vocals. Not a great piece - but not that bad either.

Hurting Her More

A good, solid, up tempo piece, which slows down for the chorus. Basically a tragic love story, but then aren't most of Otway's songs???

The Highwayman

See what I mean! Another tragic love story - although Otway's pen can't be blamed for these lyrics (they are by Alfred Noyes). This is my favourite song on the album, and quite high up in my list of favourite ever Otway tracks. I've seen him perform this live with Willy a couple of times, which was excellent and I wish he'd do it more often.

Basically this is a brilliant piece about a highwayman (as if you hadn't guessed) and his love for the local landlords daughter. The music is brilliant, and effectively turns it into a mini rock opera. I shan't spoil the ending, but if you haven't heard it yet, then make sure you do soon - it's excellent.