Wendy Waldman - Which Way To Main Street

geovian · April 2021

ARTIST: Wendy Waldman
ALBUM: Which Way To Main Street
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: ARE 37913
YEAR: 1982

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
LINEUP: Wendy Waldman - lead and backing vocals, guitar, piano * Peter Frampton - guitar * John Regan - bass * Mark Goldenberg - guitar, keyboards, synthesizers * Harry Stinson - drums, percussion * James House - backing vocals

TRACK LISTING: 01 Heartbeat * 02 We'll See In The End * 03 X-Ray Eyes * 04 You Said It Wasn't Me * 05 Time Like Your Wire Wheels * 06 Fighting It Out In The Heart Of The City * 07 Lovin' You Out Of My Life * 08 Gotta Get Over You * 09 Does Anybody Want To Marry Me * 10 Which Way To Main Street

Background

A single look through the Wendy Waldman biography will tell you that we have one serious musician on our hands. During the early 70's, Waldman was part of an assembly of songwriters and musicians who came out of the Laurel Canyon movement. A la Linda Ronstadt, Andrew Gold etc.

Initially part of the original folk rock band Bryndle, they played for several years but didn't record anything official. Upon splitting up, each of the members went their own ways; Waldman signed to Warner Bros and released a stack of LP's during the 70's.

During the early 80's, Wendy signed with Epic Records, and toughened up her sound somewhat for this album, with Eddie Kramer handling production. There's no sign of the country-folk rock sound from her immediate past, instead muscling up with some heavyweight players including Peter Frampton, who joins in on the action.

The Songs

Of immediate interest is the track 'Heartbeat' which kicks things off. This version precedes the one that Don Johnson released in 1986 which became a break-out hit for him. Wendy's version is fairly raw and boisterous, unlike the smooth AOR of Johnson's.

'Fighting It Out In The Heart Of The City' is as tough as the song title suggests. 'We'll See In The End' has some energetic moments in the second half of the song, while 'X-Ray Eyes' is the quirkiest tune on offer. Tappy piano is the predominant flavour of 'You Said It Wasn't Me', some of you might like it, I didn't unfortunately.

The remaining tracks are kinda hit and miss; 'Time Like Your Wire Wheels' is a ballad that doesn't hit the mark. Much better are the mid-tempo efforts of 'Loving You Out Of My Life' and the title track 'Which Way To Main Street'.

In Summary

In Wendy's voice you can hear traces of fellow L.A alumni Karla Bonoff and Linda Ronstadt, though much of this album is not so strong as it is a little out of character for her, but a good fit for a site like GDM. Waldman would leave Los Angeles for Nashville during the 80's, where she has since forged a successful career path.

Read her bio over at her website.. click here.. to see what she's been up to since, including the reunion of the aforementioned Bryndle and her band with fellow singer-songwriter Cindy Bullens in The Refugees.

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