Holding Back the River

Released in October 1989, Holding Back the River served as Wet Wet Wet's third studio effort and solidified their status as UK pop royalty. Following the massive success of Popped In Souled Out, this record saw the band leaning further into their soul and R&B influences, moving away from the more overt synth-pop elements of their contemporaries. Recorded during a period of peak commercial visibility, the album reached #2 on the UK charts and produced four significant hit singles, including the enduring 'Sweet Surrender'. The record is notable for its high production values, utilizing top-tier studio environments to achieve a lush, analog-warmth sound that has aged better than many of its digital-heavy peers from 1989. A curious piece of the album's history is the inclusion of the hidden track 'How the Hell Did They Get There' on a very limited run of Littlewoods-exclusive CDs, a rarity that became a sought-after item for collectors before eventually appearing on digital platforms. Critically, the album is viewed as the bridge between their early soul-pop explorations and the massive adult-contemporary success they would find in the 1990s.