Holding Back the River

Last updated

Holding Back the River
Holding Back The River.jpg
Studio album by
Released30 October 1989
Recorded1988—1989
Genre
Length48:58
Label Mercury
Producer Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet chronology
The Memphis Sessions
(1988)
Holding Back the River
(1989)
Wet Wet Wet: Live
(1990)
Singles from Holding Back the River
  1. "Sweet Surrender"
    Released: 18 September 1989
  2. "Broke Away"
    Released: 27 November 1989
  3. "Hold Back the River"
    Released: 26 February 1990
  4. "Stay with Me Heartache"
    Released: 30 July 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Number One Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Smash Hits 8.5/10 [7]

Holding Back the River is the second studio album released by Scottish pop rock quartet Wet Wet Wet. Released on 30 October 1989, the album, intentionally written as a lyrical follow-up to the band's debut album Popped In Souled Out , spawned the singles "Sweet Surrender", "Broke Away", "Hold Back the River" and "Stay With Me Heartache" and peaked at #2 on the UK Albums Chart.

Contents

Aside from the nine tracks found on the standard album, "How the Hell Did They Get There" appears as a hidden track on the CD and digital download versions, having previously been released as a B-side to the album's lead single, "Sweet Surrender". Outside of the UK, the album saw particular success in Australia, where it was certified Gold and re-released in the form of a limited edition coloured vinyl. [8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Clark/Cunningham/Mitchell/Pellow, except "Maggie May", by Martin Quittenton & Rod Stewart. All tracks produced by Wet Wet Wet.

No.TitleLength
1."Sweet Surrender"6:00
2."Stay with Me Heartache (Can't Stand the Night)"4:10
3."Blue for You"4:51
4."Broke Away"4:45
5."You've Had It"5:12
6."I Wish"5:04
7."Keys to Your Heart"4:23
8."Maggie May"6:02
9."Hold Back the River"4:45
10."How the Hell Did That Get There" (hidden track)3:38
Holding Back the River B-Sides
No.TitleLength
1."This Time" (live version)4:59
2."Sweet Surrender" (extended version)6:50
3."You've Had It" (Louis Silas club mix)7:02
4."Sweet Surrender" (Ben Liebrand club mix)6:51
5."And Now for Something Completely Different"2:43
6."Keys to Your Heart" (original demo)4:15
7."With a Little Help from My Friends" (live, Wembley Arena, 14/12/89)5:11
8."I Can Give You Everything" (live, Wembley Arena, 14/12/89)5:25
9."Party City"5:05
10."I Feel Fine"5:02
11."Hold Back the River" (acoustic)4:15
12."Stay With Me Heartache" (Young T.C. & T mix)5:58
13."Stay With Me Heartache" (Stay Where You Are mix)4:35
14."Stoned Me" (Tonight Live with Steve Vizard)4:07

Charts

Weekly chart performance of Holding Back the River
Chart (1989–1990)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [9] 12
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [10] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [11] 34
UK Albums (OCC) [12] 2
Year-end chart performance of Holding Back the River
Chart (1990)Position
European Albums (Music & Media) [13] 94

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References

  1. "Wet Wet Wet: "We're all coming up to 50 now and no-one's died!"". Cambridge News. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  2. "Wet Wet Wet tweet their thanks to Carlisle". ITV News. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  3. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). "Wet Wet Wet". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  4. Mawer, Sharon. "Wet Wet Wet – Popped in Souled Out". AllMusic. All Media Network . Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  5. Lewis, Jonathan. "Wet Wet Wet — Holding Back the River". AllMusic.
  6. Panos, Andrew (1 November 1989). "Review: Wet Wet Wet — Holding Back the River (Phonogram)". Number One . No. 332. London: IPC Magazines Ltd. p. 43. ISSN   0266-5328 . Retrieved 6 November 2022 via Flickr.
  7. Soutar, Mike (1–14 November 1989). "Wet Wet Wet: Holding Back the River". Smash Hits . Vol. 11, no. 21. Peterborough: EMAP Metro. p. 72. ISSN   0260-3004 . Retrieved 2 November 2022 via Flickr.
  8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  9. "Australiancharts.com – Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back The River". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wet Wet Wet – Holding Back The River" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  11. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  12. "Wet Wet Wet | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  13. Bakker, Machgiel (22 December 1990). "1990 REVIEW: Music & Media Year - End Awards . European Top 100 Albums 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. pp. 29, 38. Retrieved 20 May 2021.