2WO

Updated on Jan 08, 2024

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Released February 1985 Label Capitol		Genre Rock, new wave
Recorded Phase One Studios, Toronto, Britannia Row, London, UK, Mushroom Studios, Vancouver, BC, ESP Studios, Buttonville, Ontario Producer Drew Arnott Michael Kamen ("Nor Crystal Tears" only) 2WO (1985) The Distance Between (1988)

2WO is the second album by Strange Advance released in early 1985. It featured two hit Canadian singles, "We Run" and "The Second That I Saw You". Along with their first album, this was a Canadian gold record for the band.

Background and writing

This recording features heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers including the Fairlight, Yamaha DX7, and Jupiter 8.

Recalling the inspiration behind the hit song "We Run", Drew Arnott said it was "One of those 'wake up sweating' dreams. I just described what I saw. The smallest things can be the most inspiring. Ed Shaw added a delay to a sound in "We Run" which made the whole track come alive for me. Major bow to Michael Kamen for the strings and Scott Litt (REM) for the mix."

One song written during the 2WO sessions but left off the record was "Lady with a Blade", which would later appear on the 1995 release Worlds Away & Back.

Critical reception

Tomas Mureika of allmusic calls 2WO "A seriously overlooked album".

Track listing

All tracks written by Drew Arnott, except where noted.

Personnel

Darryl Kromm – lead vocals, guitar

Drew Arnott – keyboards, drums, vocals, lead vocal on "We Run"

with:

Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve – bass

Gerald O'Brien – keyboards and arrangement assistance

Howard Ayee – bass on "We Run", "The Second That I Saw You"

Dawnlee Tait – backing vocals

Andy Bown – 12 string guitar; bass on "Running Away"

Ed Shaw – guitar

Andy Newmark – drums on "Running Away"

Earl Slick – guitar on "Running Away"

David Roberts – backing vocals

Steve Sexton – keyboards on "We Run"

Keith Scott – guitars

Chitose Ishikura – Japanese voiceover on "The Second That I Saw You"

Chris Arnott – Gaelic voiceover

Kevin Markland – percussion

Laura Oldham – slapstick

Michael Kamen – oboe, keyboards, vocal effect on "I'll Be the One to Cry"

Domenic Troiano – guitar on "The Second That I Saw You"

Tony Lester – guitar

Simon Brierley – lead guitar

John Jones – piano

Ericka Goodman – harp

Bernie LaBarge – backing vocals

John Forbes, Jean Piche, Dee Long, Drew Arnott – Fairlight programming

Production

Drew Arnott – producer

Michael Kamen – producer of "Nor Crystal Tears", string arrangements on "We Run"

Remixing – Scott Litt; Drew Arnott & Lenny DeRose on "Nor Crystal Tears"

Engineering – Lenny DeRose, Andy Jackson, Dave Oglivie, Dee Long, Scott Litt

Mastering – Bob Ludwig, Masterdisk, New York

References

2WO Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA