Way Beyond Blue
| Way Beyond Blue | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 September 1996 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 47:41 | |||
| Label | Blanco y Negro | |||
| Producer | Stephen Street, Paul Sampson & Catatonia | |||
| Catatonia chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Way Beyond Blue | ||||
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Way Beyond Blue is the debut album by the Welsh band Catatonia.[2] It has been seen by many fans as being something of a compilation album, as all but five songs on the album had appeared on one of the band's early EPs or singles, albeit in different renditions (see below). It spawned the band's first top 40 hit, "You've Got a Lot to Answer For", which hit No. 35.
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| The Guardian |  [4] |
| NME | 8/10[5] |
| Q | [6] |
| Select | 4/5[7] |
| Vox | 8/10[8] |
In Melody Maker, David Bennun highlighted Catatonia's sense of "dreaminess" on Way Beyond Blue and compared listening to the album to "swimming in your own thoughts, cotton wool and clouds studded with hidden pins."[2] The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan concluded that "'Lost Cat' and 'Sweet Catatonia', creamy janglefests both, are among the best things to have emerged from the nascent Welsh scene."[4]
AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine later called Way Beyond Blue "an infectious set of jangle pop, injected with the punkish attitude of indie rock", adding that "the guitars ring as if they were recorded in the late '80s, but it has a muscular backbone, and vocalist Cerys Matthews has a tough edge to her voice, which never makes the music sound weak."[3]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts unless otherwise noted.
| No. | Title | Previous appearance | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lost Cat" | N/A | 2:32 |
| 2. | "Sweet Catatonia" | For Tinkerbell EP | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Some Half Baked Ideal Called Wonderful" | N/A | 3:10 |
| 4. | "You've Got a Lot to Answer For" | N/A | 3:16 |
| 5. | "Infantile" (Matthews, Roberts, Paul Jones) | N/A | 4:28 |
| 6. | "Dream On" | The Sublime Magic of Catatonia | 2:37 |
| 7. | "Bleed" | "Bleed" single | 2:30 |
| 8. | "This Boy Can't Swim" | "Bleed" single | 3:01 |
| 9. | "Painful" | "Bleed" single | 2:39 |
| 10. | "Whale" | "Whale" single | 2:54 |
| 11. | "For Tinkerbell" | For Tinkerbell EP | 4:10 |
| 12. | "Way Beyond Blue" (contains hidden track "Gyda Gwên (With a Smile)") | N/A | 13:31 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Blow the Millennium, Blow" | |
| 2. | "Beautiful Sailor" | |
| 3. | "Tourist" | |
| 4. | "Acapulco Gold" | |
| 5. | "Cut You Inside" (Demo) | |
| 6. | "To and Fro" | |
| 7. | "All Girls Are Fly" | |
| 8. | "Indigo Blind" | |
| 9. | "Sweet Catatonia" (Live) | |
| 10. | "Whale" (Live) | |
| 11. | "Bleed" (Version 2) | |
| 12. | "Do You Believe in Me?" | |
| 13. | "Dimbran" | |
| 14. | "You Can" | |
| 15. | "All Girls Are Fly" (Da-De? Remix) | |
| 16. | "Blow the Millennium, Blow" (Splott Remix) | |
| 17. | "Do You Believe in Me?" (Live) | |
| 18. | "Way Beyond Blue" (Live) | |
| 19. | "Painful" (Live) | |
| 20. | "Bleed" (Live) |
Personnel
[edit]- Cerys Matthews – vocals
- Mark Roberts – guitar
- Owen Powell – guitar
- Paul Jones – bass
- Aled Richards – drums (tracks 1–5, 7, 9, 11)
- Dafydd Ieuan – drums (tracks 2, 6–8, 10, 12)
References
[edit]- ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 17 August 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ a b Bennun, David (28 September 1996). "Coma Chameleons". Melody Maker. Vol. 73, no. 39. p. 49.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Way Beyond Blue – Catatonia". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline (4 October 1996). "Catatonia: Way Beyond Blue". Features. The Guardian. "Friday Review" section, p. 19.
- ^ Dalton, Stephen (28 September 1996). "Catatonia – Way Beyond Blue". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Duerden, Nick (November 1996). "Catatonia: Way Beyond Blue". Q. No. 122. Archived from the original on 11 September 1999. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Wilkinson, Roy (November 1996). "Catatonia: Way Beyond Blue". Select. No. 77.
- ^ Dee, Johnny (November 1996). "Catatonia: Way Beyond Blue". Vox. No. 73. p. 101.
- ^ "Way Beyond Blue". Demon Music Group. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
