‘Wild and Raw’ is the original ‘Wild and Wandering’ album before studio trickery, audio edits, most of the overdubs and a few special FX were added, so as the title suggests, it captures Wasted Youth as they would have sounded live at the time. The mix is more guitar heavy than the original album and the vocals clearer and more natural sounding. There are longer versions of some of the songs and extra verses here and there.

‘Wild…and Raw’ is longer in length than the original W&W despite not including ‘I Wish I Was a Girl’ (which was recorded later and at a different studio). It also has a different running order, and I think that if you liked W&W, this different perspective will not only be of interest to you but also stands up in its own right. It also makes a great companion to the original album!

Jeff, who mastered this project, sums it up when he says “I have really enjoyed working on these tracks and in some ways I prefer them to the album versions. While it’s great to have the finished studio versions, these sound more like the live Wasted Youth we all loved in 1981. Kind of like the Peel Sessions we all hoped for.”