Wishville

Amazon.com's Best of 2000
Continuing the emphasis on Rob Dickinson's ascendant presence as the Catherine Wheel's lead singer, Wishville is the sound of musicians accepting their band's essential nature: there is no longer any doubt, especially after the dazzling, pounding opener "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" rips through your speakers, that the Catherine Wheel are simply one hell of a pop band. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com
To clear up any confusion over whether Catherine Wheel is a person or a band, the group has added an article to the beginning of its name. Forevermore they are The Catherine Wheel. Now on to the album. The Catherine Wheel (used to it yet?) diligently migrated out of the early '90s shoe-gazing soup, dabbled in aggressive alt-rock, and have evolved into the clear-headed, tasteful band we find on Wishville. "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" kicks things off with the fist-pumping regalia of power pop propelled by a door-busting kick drum and gritty wah-wah guitar. "Sparks" uncorks Tim Friese-Greene's (Talk Talk) masterful production, which is as invaluable to Wishville as the songs themselves. Every track is fluidly distinguished from one another by the jazz-influenced production; instruments and vocals weigh in separately and cautiously, then dramatically merge. On "Gasoline" the open-ended kick and snare treatment allows for an empty-room reverberation, while such tracks as "Crème Caramel" and "All of That" emphasize lead singer Rob Dickinson's whisper-in-the-ear tone. Appeasing longtime fans, "Lifeline" and "What We Want to Believe in" nod to the (The) Catherine Wheel of yore with a wash of lushly distorted guitars. Wishville is the band at its sparest, but it still delivers high-voltage, smart alternative rock. Perfect rock posture with no posturing. --Beth Massa

Wishville,Catherine Wheel,Sony,Alternative Pop/Rock,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Wishville

Average customer rating:

Underrated.
Brilliant, Soulful And Intelligent Modern Rock
judging without prejudice
(two and a half stars) Boring
A brilliant, overlooked masterpiece

Wishville
Catherine Wheel
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Shoegazing | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Like Cats and Dogs
Happy Days
Adam and Eve
Chrome
Ferment

ASIN: B00004TB84
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Tracks:

Sparks Are Gonna Fly
Gasoline
Lifeline
What We Want To Believe In
All Of That
Idle Life
Mad Dog
Ballad Of A Running Man
Creme Caramel

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

Continuing the emphasis on Rob Dickinson's ascendant presence as the Catherine Wheel's lead singer, Wishville is the sound of musicians accepting their band's essential nature: there is no longer any doubt, especially after the dazzling, pounding opener "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" rips through your speakers, that the Catherine Wheel are simply one hell of a pop band. --Matthew Cooke

Amazon.com

To clear up any confusion over whether Catherine Wheel is a person or a band, the group has added an article to the beginning of its name. Forevermore they are The Catherine Wheel. Now on to the album. The Catherine Wheel (used to it yet?) diligently migrated out of the early '90s shoe-gazing soup, dabbled in aggressive alt-rock, and have evolved into the clear-headed, tasteful band we find on Wishville. "Sparks Are Gonna Fly" kicks things off with the fist-pumping regalia of power pop propelled by a door-busting kick drum and gritty wah-wah guitar. "Sparks" uncorks Tim Friese-Greene's (Talk Talk) masterful production, which is as invaluable to Wishville as the songs themselves. Every track is fluidly distinguished from one another by the jazz-influenced production; instruments and vocals weigh in separately and cautiously, then dramatically merge. On "Gasoline" the open-ended kick and snare treatment allows for an empty-room reverberation, while such tracks as "Crème Caramel" and "All of That" emphasize lead singer Rob Dickinson's whisper-in-the-ear tone. Appeasing longtime fans, "Lifeline" and "What We Want to Believe in" nod to the (The) Catherine Wheel of yore with a wash of lushly distorted guitars. Wishville is the band at its sparest, but it still delivers high-voltage, smart alternative rock. Perfect rock posture with no posturing. --Beth Massa

Customer Reviews:

Underrated........2007-07-06

I've listened to Catherine Wheel for years, and if nothing else, this was a constantly-evolving band (listen to the breadth of styles from the albums 'Ferment' to 'Happy Days' to 'Adam & Eve'). 'Wishville', their last release from 2000, sees them coming full-circle into well-crafted, earnest but rarely too-treacly rock pop. This album even sounds largely better, the songs breathe and come through, there's less noise (and when there is it's more controlled or better mixed: see "Gasoline"), and frontman Rob Dickinson sings with his trademark relaxed intensity (best evidenced on the great track "Mad Dog"). I really can't get over how sonically good this album sounds; 'Adam & Eve', while it had great material, was an annoyingly mixed and mushy album, and the band seems to have learned from that and redressed it here.

At 9 songs, the album may seem short, but the songs go so many places in some cases ("Ballad Of A Running Man"), that you might not notice. This album gets much flack, and as overtly pop as it sounds, it may stand as an inappropriate tombstone to a band that produced such angst-ridden songs as "I Confess" and "Black Metallic". But for some reason, I keep coming back to this album. It satisies my thirst for edginess, well-arranged songs, good recording, and replayability, and with reunions now being all the rage, I think a Catherine Wheel reformation is in order (as well as a reissue of their catalog with bonus tracks galore). These guys were good, and this is arguably the album where they were at the height of their creative powers.

Brilliant, Soulful And Intelligent Modern Rock.......2007-04-22

I'm perplexed by the lack of response to this amazing, very well-written, performed, and produced album, both from fans of Catherine Wheel and simply the music-buying public in general. It's criminal that a band that is this smart, sounds this great, and has such a compelling vocalist (Rob Dickinson's voice is just sublime) is either ignored or vilified by the mainstream. They deserved much more success.

The band's apparent swan song, "Wishville" is mature, intelligent, and features beautiful perfomances from all band memebers....I'm left wondering what Catherine Wheel's fans wanted, exactly, after reading so many poor reviews by fans....this holds up easily to anything in the band's back catalog, and has a level of production polish that sounds phenomenal. Does it really matter so much that they altered their name slightly? Really. If you enjoyed this, Rob Dickinson's solo album is also absolutely incredible.

judging without prejudice.......2007-03-06

This is just a fantastic album. It soars with beautiful songs, sung and played just right. Somewhat introverted compared to earlier releases but judging this on it's own merits, I can just say it is one of those albums that grabs me and never lets go. The balance is always there between melody, guitars, bass and drums and the result is draws you in like for instance the Grateful Dead could do with it's finer live performances.

(two and a half stars) Boring.......2005-10-02

Catherine Wheel inexplicably added "The" to its name, and the original bassist (Dave Hawes) left the band. I get the feeling that "Wishville" was completely dominated by Rob Dickinson, who I notice put out a solo album recently, which is not a good sign that CW is still around. Anyway, CW's last album "Wishville," (released five years ago!) provides no thrills. Let's face it - after "Ferment" and "Chrome" the band started on a precipitous slide, ending up on the bottom with the tepid "Wishville."

For my money, there are four decent songs on the album (each of which are blown away by almost all of "Ferment," and most of "Chrome") namely "Sparks Are Gonna Fly," "Gasoline," "Lifeline," and "Mad Dog." All of the rest are forgettable throw-aways. Hey Rob! This isn't a good way to end! Get the band back together, and write some music comparable to the old stuff!

A brilliant, overlooked masterpiece.......2005-08-05

This album is simply stunning. I am floored by the negative reviews of this album, even by those familiar with the Catherine Wheel catalog. This is probably my favorite CW album. The songs are rich in texture, lyrically brilliant, and just plain magical. The production is phenomenal - Dickinson's voice has never sounded better or more impassioned; and that drum sound...(check out "Gasoline"). "Lifeline" and "Idle Life" are soul-wrenching songs that are among the best of the CW canon, while "Sparks are Gonna Fly" provides both an immediacy and a depth rare in rock.
The lack of championship of this album to me was a disaster literally and symbolically for music. I truly believe that. Crappy retro-garage bands, faux-new wavers, and WARP tour posers are polluting the air-waves...

Catherine Wheel, come back!!!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Wishville
Catherine Wheel
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Shoegazing | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Dance & DJ | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000AX7E
Release Date: 2000-08-22

Tracks:

Sparks Are Gonna Fly
Gasoline
Lifeline
What We Want to Believe In
All of That
Idle Life
Mad Dog
Ballad of a Running Man
Creme Caramel

Tracks:

Lifeline [Live][*]
Crank [Live][*]
Fripp [Live][*]
Ma Solituda [Live][*] - Catherine Wheel, Andrew Montgomery
Heal [Live][*]
Future Boy [Live][*]
Intravenous/Little Muscle [Live][*]

Average customer rating:

magnificat
Never Let Me Down Again

Wishville
Catherine Wheel
Manufacturer: EMI Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative | Live Albums | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Shoegazing | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Rock | Imports | Stores | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00004WGYJ
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Tracks:

Sparks Are Gonna Fly
Gasoline
Lifeline
What We Want to Believe In
All of That
Idle Life
Mad Dog
Ballad of a Running Man
Creme Caramel

Tracks:

Lifeline [Live][*]
Crank [Live][*]
Fripp [Live][*]
Ma Solituda [Live][*] - Catherine Wheel, Andrew Montgomery
Heal [Live][*]
Future Boy [Live][*]
Intravenous/Little Muscle [Live][*]

Album Description

Limited edition version of the alternative rock act's fifth studio album with bonus live CD. This edition is limited to the initial pressing and comes packaged in a hardback book format. The live CD was recorded on July 10/11, 2000. The bonus disc includes a live version of 'Lifeline' from 'Wishville' alongside tracks from their back catalog, 'Crank', 'Fripp', 'Ma Solituda', 'Heal', 'Future Boy' and 'Intravenous/Little Muscle'. 2000 release.

Album Details

Very Limited Edition Double CD Set. Features a Bonus Disc of Live Material Recorded the Last Week in June on their Recent Us Tour.

Customer Reviews:

magnificat.......2000-12-12

this is incredible! after i heard all songs from this album i said "wow!this is thats what me miss this is my fovorite album of the year 2000" i don't know earlier albums catherine wheels but i think i bought someone soon

Never Let Me Down Again.......2000-10-30

Catherine Wheel's newest album Wishville is UNDOUBTEDLY their most comercial album ever. Normally this is a bad thing, but the most impressive but not suprizing fact is it didn't chande their heart. Wishville was as I see it, an attempt to save rock, wich was aparant in the first radio release Sparks Are Gonna Fly. This was reminisant of the mid 90's grunge area and bought us back to the amazing hardhitting riffs of their 95 release "Happy Days." The second release "Gasoline" had reminants of Bush's 16stone album, and it is good to hear these sounds return. Altho CW swears that their showgazing daze are over, their latest tour (included in the CD set) showed us that they can make empty promises, and I'm glad they did. Seeing them twice on the tour (once at bowery a few months before this recording) proved that the dreamy effect of Robs vocals and Brian's guitar, Neils chilling harmony, and the suprising performances by newest bassist Ben will keep us "showgazing", even when greats like "Black Metalic" are retired. The quality of the live recording will capture you in your car or at home, and "dream" you back to your first CW show. Altho I know any fans reading this already know enough to buy it, I would like to wish all newcomers a happy listening.