The mysteries of "Catch"

For me, the song, or at least the guitar parts, seem slightly out of tune. Deliberately so in fact.
I remember seeing them do it live on the last The Tube ever & it was the first time I'd heard it. I suppose because it was about a month before the album release.
I was almost hiding behind the sofa because i thought that they had forgotten to tune all the guitars.
But then the studio version appeared & it was practically the same.

I closed my eyes to listen to minimize distractions. 

Do you mean the wah-wah stuff behind the violin? I think it fits nicely. It adds some texture and emphasis. IMO, it would be too dull without it because the other parts are pretty straightforward. It fits right in to me, but I liked listening to it closely after so long trying to pick it apart. 

In any event, hearing new things after so long is a good sign for both listener and songwriter.