Waiting (Fun Boy Three album)

Waiting
Studio album by Fun Boy Three
Released	February 1983
Recorded	October 1982-December 1982; Wessex Sound Studios, London
Genre	Ska/Pop, New Wave, Synth-Pop
Length	31:19
Label	Chrysalis
Producer	David Byrne
Fun Boy Three chronology
Fun Boy Three (1982) Waiting (1983) The Best of the Fun Boy Three (1984)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	B+[2]

Waiting is the second and final studio album by the Fun Boy Three. It was released in 1983 and featured the hit single "Our Lips Are Sealed," co-written by Terry Hall and previously performed by The Go-Go's.

Writer Robert Palmer called it one of the "summer's worthier record releases...that shouldn't be overlooked":^[3]

The songs are full of barbed political and social commentary with a decidedly English bias. The harmonies and melodic twists and turns are reminiscent of 1930's pop, and the odd but effective arrangements feature trombone, cello and other orchestral instruments in a kind of music hall mélange.

According to music critic Robert Christgau, "David Byrne's production suits songwriting that has advanced beyond the undernourishment of their breakaway debut."^[2]

Track listing

All songs written by Fun Boy Three unless noted.

Side A

1. "Murder She Said" (Ron Goodwin) 1:57
2. "The More I See (The Less I Believe)" 3:38
3. "Going Home" 3:36
4. "We're Having All The Fun" 2:50
5. "The Farmyard Connection" 2:46

Side B

1. "The Tunnel of Love" (Golding, Hall, Staples) 3:08
2. "Our Lips Are Sealed" (Hall, Jane Wiedlin) 3:36
3. "The Pressure of Life (Takes the Weight Off the Body)" 3:06
4. "Things We Do" 3:36
5. "Well Fancy That!" 3:06

The version available from many download services, including iTunes, substitutes the 2:52 single mix of "Our Lips Are Sealed".

Original U.S. vinyl release

The tracks were in a different order for the original U.S. vinyl release (B6V 41417):^[4]

Side A

1. "Our Lips Are Sealed" (Hall, Jane Wiedlin) 3:36
2. "The Tunnel of Love" (Golding, Hall, Staples) 3:08
3. "The Pressure of Life (Takes the Weight Off the Body)" 3:06
4. "Things We Do" 3:36
5. "The Farmyard Connection" 2:46

Side B

1. "Murder She Said" 1:57
2. "The More I See (The Less I Believe)" 3:38
3. "Going Home" 3:36
4. "We're Having All The Fun" 2:50
5. "Well Fancy That!" 3:06

Personnel

• Terry Hall - vocals
• Neville Staple - percussion, vocals
• Lynval Golding - guitar, vocals
• David Byrne - guitar, producer, mixing
• Nicky Holland - keyboards, vocals, arranger
• Ingrid Schroeder - vocals
• Bethan Peters - bass guitar, vocals
• June Miles-Kingston - drums, vocals
• Dick Cuthell - cornet
• Annie Whitehead - trombone
• Caroline Lavelle - cello
• Geraldo d'Arbilly - percussion
• Jeremy Green - engineer, mixing
• David Storey - design
• Mike Owen - photography

Thanks to: "Rick Rogers, Jeanette Powell, Peter Barnes, David Jensen and Mike Hawkes."

References

1. Review from Allmusic
2. Fun Boy Three from Christgau's website
3. Robert Palmer (August 10, 1983). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-11-11.
4. The More I See (The Less I Believe) from Allmusic