Just Water

Among the many groups active in New York throughout the mid- to late 1970s beyond the reach of major-label deals and seldom captured on vinyl, Just Water numbered as one more example. Their sound drew heavily from Who-style power pop alongside straighter album-oriented rock, placing it closer to the mainstream than most acts tied to the local punk and new wave circles. Still, it remained slightly askew from prevailing rock trends of the period, a distinction that reached few listeners because the band’s recorded legacy stayed confined to the 1977 LP The Riff plus a single that delivered a mildly punk-tinged version of “Singin’ in the Rain,” which earned rotation on commercial East Coast stations. Plans for a second album, Meet the Competition, advanced nearly to completion before the group disbanded at the close of the 1970s, leaving the project unreleased. All of that material, together with The Riff, “Singin’ in the Rain,” and an assortment of studio outtakes, demos, and live recordings, later appeared on the 2007 three-CD set Downtown and Brooklyn: The Complete Recordings.