''Wild in the U.S.A.'' is a compilation album by English new wave band
Bow Wow Wow
Bow Wow Wow are an English new wave band, created by manager Malcolm McLaren in 1980. McLaren recruited members of Adam and the Ants to form the band behind 13-year-old Annabella Lwin on vocals. They released their debut EP '' Your Cassette ...
, released solely on
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
in 1998 by
Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, Dea ...
.
''Wild in the U.S.A.'' is a 20-track compilation. The first six tracks are remixes of their greatest hits, and the last 14 tracks are from a U.S. tour that began in December 1997, and ended in March 1998. Two shows were used for this collection: the January 10, 1998 show at the
Bluebird Theater
The Bluebird Theater (originally known as the Thompson Theater) is a theater in Denver, Colorado on East Colfax Avenue. The theater was designed by Harry W.J. Edbrooke and built during 1913–1914. It was renamed in 1922. It is currently used ...
in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, and the March 7, 1998 show at the Drama Club in
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
.
Reception
The album was largely panned by critics. ''
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
'' critic Simon Cantlon said, "While the remixes work, the live songs drag this album down, making it of interest only for serious fans".
Cleopatra also drew criticism for the seemingly haphazard way the CD was thrown together. Tracks one and six (both remixes of "
I Want Candy
"I Want Candy" is a song written and originally recorded by the Strangeloves in 1965 that reached No. 11 in the US Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It is a famous example of a song that uses the Bo Diddley beat.
Original version ...
") are reversed in the track listing on the back of the CD, but are correctly listed on the sleeve. "Louis Quatorze" is referred to as "Louis Quartorze" on both.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Annabella Lwin
Annabella Lwin (born Myant Myant Aye, , 31 October 1966) is an Anglo-Burmese singer, songwriter and record producer best known as the lead singer of Bow Wow Wow.
Early life, family and education
Lwin was born in Rangoon, Burma to a Burmese fat ...
- vocals
*
Leigh Gorman
Leigh Gorman (born 11 December 1961) is an English rock musician, record producer, and composer, best known for his work as the bass player for Bow Wow Wow.
Early life
Leigh grew up in the East End of London. He started playing classical guita ...
- bass guitar
*Dave Calhoun - guitar
*Eshan Khadaroo - drums
In the liner notes, original drummer
Dave Barbarossa
David Barbarossa (born 1961, also known as Dave Barbe) is a drummer and an author of British and Mauritian descent. As part of both Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, he was instrumental in creating the highly influential and innovative tribal d ...
(who was a member of
Republica
Republica are an English alternative rock band formed in 1994. The height of their popularity spanned from 1996 to 1999. The current line-up consists of Saffron (vocals), Tim Dorney (keyboards), Johnny Male (guitar), Conor Lawrence (drums).
T ...
at the time) is thanked for giving them "the original grooves." The album is dedicated to original guitarist
Matthew Ashman
Matthew James Ashman (3 November 1960 – 21 November 1995) – accessed June 2011 was an English guitarist with , who died a little over two years before the tour that resulted in this album.