release date: Jul. 12, 1988
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,72]
producer: David Motion
label: London Records - nationality: Denmark
Track highlights: 1. "My Girl and Me" - 2. "Sitting in the Park" - 3. "The Loneliest Being" - 5. "Out on the Rebound From Love" - 7. "The Party's Over" - 8. "Do You Remember"
3rd studio album by Gangway is aka Sitting in the Park (Again!) (marked on a sticker put after the title) released on London Records and produced by David Motion. It follows 2½ years after the original Sitting in the Park (1986) released on the now defunct Danish label Irmgardz... The '86 album had only been released in Scandinavia (and Japan in '92) and the band's new label, London Records (sublabel of PolyGram), had initially wanted to reissue the album but unable to get the master tapes they simply had the band re-record some of their older compositions from the Irmgardz... years with six songs stemming from the '86 album, two from the '84 debut The Twist, an '85 A-side single, and (only) one new song: "Here's My House". The album is most often filed alongside their other studio albums; however, what it more resembles is that of a re-issue, or perhaps a contemporary "remix" album. Their step into the British market was over before it even began. Apparently, conflicts between the band manager, London Records, who focused on other acts, and the mother company, combined with a (too) long time spent getting the album finished, Gangway was shelved practically before launching what they thought was an upcoming English adventure. They were instead positioned for the German market and subsequently released from their contract, which meant that the album (again) wasn't promoted in Britain and ended up selling only approx. 17.000 copies.
Stylewise, it's somewhat obvious that David Motion wanted to update the sound and rearrange the songs in an attempt to make it a coherent whole by changing the original diverse compositions originating from various releases. A few of the new versions don't sound all that different but several compositions are near unrecognisable and what's worse: none to the better. Motion has made all the songs more dynamic, more strict but he has also managed to scrape away the charm or warmth of the original recordings. The two songs from the The Twist: "The Loneliest Being" and "Violence, Easter and Christmas" are basically ruined, and what was highlights on the original releases are here like grey and dull cover versions. Of course, you cannot completely turn a deaf ear to the songwriting talent of Henrik Balling & Co., which is why you still find highlights here, but the intended boost to the band's popularity simply falls flat here.
Not recommended. Instead listen to The Twist and / or the '86 version of Sitting in the Park.
