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Blue Angel
by Hip-O Select
| List Price: |
$18.98 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
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Audio CD
Publisher: Hip-O Select
Format: Original recording remastered
Ah, they say that the light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. So it was to be with Blue Angel, a New York-based quintet fondly remembered by those few who saw them perform as a great rockin live band. Their place in rock history is solidified as being the first recorded appearance of new wave superstar Cyndi Lauper.
The group lasted only three years, having been formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1980, and they have but the one album to their credit, but its a neat little pop gem that foreshadows Laupers future nicely.
Right from the outset, on Maybe Hell Know, Lauper is in fine voice, with a jumpin band whose roots in early Sixties Brill Building pop are immediately evident. Touches of the Spectorian Wall Of Sound occasionally are evident, but the group sounds mostly like a great big sock hop.
It makes you feel like dancin, yeah!
| Customer Reviews: |
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| Neato Keen with a Retro Sheen |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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The early musical output of popular artists is the stuff of semi-legend and fan obsession -- Aretha Franklin's Columbia recordings, Little Richard the blues singer, Madonna's New York demos, and ... Cyndi Lauper, retro chick?
BLUE ANGEL GETS ITS WINGS
Formed in 1977, Blue Angel featured John Turi on keyboards and saxophone, Arthur Neilson on guitar, Lee Brovitz on bass guitar, Johnny Morelli on drums and a certain Cynthia Ann Lauper throwing down major lead vocals. Bringing a full-on retro-rockabilly/girl-group vibe, Blue Angel were wrapped in a rapturous love for well-crafted early '60s pop and rock. Groups with a similar aesthetic, such as some early B-52's, also come to mind. Blue Angel, however, were much more easily appreciated than many other groups of their kind -- making it all the more baffling that they were not nearly as successful as their counterparts. Where were the pop, new wave, and rock fans of the time who were screaming for something new and fresh?
Cyndi and bandmate John Turi wrote much of the group's material. True to their roots, they also covered pop standards both on record and during their local New York club concerts. Cyndi and company would regularly deliver raw, rocking renditions of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," Little Richard's "Keep On Knocking," and the Connie Francis confection "Lipstick on Your Collar." It was a testament to their emerging talent that they could equal and sometimes surpass the fun of the originals. They were wildly popular in the clubs, where they even had one of their local concerts broadcast on the radio. It was looking like nothing but blue skies for Blue Angel.
BLUE ANGEL TAKES FLIGHT
In 1980, Blue Angel went the major-label route with their self-titled debut for Polydor.
Consisting of many of their well-honed live tracks, the album was neato keen with a retro sheen. From the kickoff, the band is jumping and jiving in fine form while Cyndi announces herself as a new vocal force to be reckoned with. Their deep-rooted love for Brill Building brilliance is at the forefront of every cut. The pep rally has clearly begun, full of soda-pop fizz and bubblegum dreams with the hot pink Ms. Lauper as the head cheerleader doing vocal cartwheels. Knowing this was their big shot, the band pays homage to the organ-guitar-drums- and-bass-driven songs that they grew up loving. A right-on rhythm section is punctuated by John Turi doubling on sax just in the nick of time. Wailing above it all is Blue Angel's resident rafter shaker.
HOT TRACKS
"Maybe He'll Know"
The album begins in killer form with what is arguably the group's best-known song. Cyndi's got an ache engraved in her like stone, blissfully pining for the love she's almost certain will set her free and give her what she needs. The rest of the band races to keep up with her increasingly frenzied plea.
"Maybe He'll Know" should have had the easiest time making them mainstream mainstays -- but it didn't. However, it continued to prove so popular among fans that it was overhauled and re-recorded for Cyndi's 1986 solo album True Colors. It was also later included in the early-'80s-themed film 200 Cigarettes.
"I Had a Love"
A lifetime in a moment. One of the original singles, "I Had a Love" is a sweet, simple song of yearning for a love that ended too soon. Producer Roy Halee does a nice job adapting Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" to fit the song's girl-group vibe, although few actual girl groups from the '60s could match the emotional intensity that surges through this one. Lovelorn prom queen Cyndi gives the lyrics an aching, almost unbearable reading.
"I'm Gonna Be Strong"
This cover song is a retake of Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann's 1965 classic, made famous by Gene Pitney. Now legendary among fans, it was the group's most successful single but still only managed to reach #37 during its original release -- in the Netherlands.
Cyndi's vocal performance is nothing short of thrilling in its defiant declaration that her lover is free to leave her. Oh, but after he kisses her goodbye, you'll break down and cry right along with her. The enduring popularity of "I'm Gonna Be Strong" resulted in it being rerecorded for Cyndi's 1995 compilation Twelve Deadly Cyns ... and Then Some. If any song shows off her unmatched vocal firepower, it's this one.
"Lorraine"
Easily the most haunting song on the album is this aching lament. Bittersweet lyrics bring to life the memories of a love lost late in life. A man recalls meeting a girl by chance and spending the rest of his life with her -- until she's taken away from him. Cyndi's vocals are at first wistful and then build to an impassioned crescendo that lingers long after the music fades.
FALLEN ANGEL
The Blue Angel album received polite applause from critics but was largely ignored in America. Similar to Cyndi's later solo career, Blue Angel sold many more records in other parts of the world. Undaunted, the band began a second album that was never released and they were subsequently dropped by Polydor. The band persevered and continued to perform live until 1982, when they gave their final concert at Studio 54. After the band parted ways with their manager, he filed an $80,000 lawsuit against them that forced Cyndi into bankruptcy. Money changes everything, indeed.
BLUE SKIES AGAIN
Blue Angel represents the years before Cyndi Lauper would become the pop iconoclast/new wave goddess that she is now universally regarded as. That she would inadvertantly ignite her own sort of musical revolution in the '80s is apparent even on these early gems, however. Ms. Lauper seemingly emerged from Nowheresville to claim her rightful place in music history. The unfortunate fate of her first group was, thankfully, only a temporary bump in her yellow brick road.
Blue Angel are yet another unique act that U.S. music fans fell asleep on. Were they ahead of their time? It would be several years before acts such as the Stray Cats would break through with their own brand of retro rock. The lone album Blue Angel released is a true lost treasure for pop, rock, and new wave fans.
But the music lives on ... and the beat's a sweet, soft refrain.
Join me and other great music columnists at http://www.popdose.com for lots more great reviews!
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| this album makes you wanna dance with it! |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Cyndi Lauper's very first Album and i must say she sounds great here. I added the songs to my Ipod and I can't stop dancing to the songs.
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| Cyndi Lauper's first album ever |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This album is great.
It sounds powerful even after all these years. Cyndi's voice is AMAZING.
"I'm gonna be strong" and "Everybody's got an angel" are worth the whole album by themselves.
It's rockabilly, so enjoyable.
If you like Cyndi Lauper, you must have this.
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| In The Beginning... |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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Blue Angel was of course the first band Cyndi Lauper sang in before prior to going solo. An album she declares sold so much it went 'lead'. She also says the record company told her the 50's rockabilly they were doing was not going to sell and then a year later Stray Cats hit big doing the same thing.
So you can tell where this music is coming from, but it's not really so much rockabilly, as it is a mixture of 80's pop, doo wop 50's style and the Shangri La's 60's. The album was released and done and gone in just a matter of months and our girl ended up bankrupt and all until her 1983 record contract.
But the album is really good - there are versions of "Maybe He'll Know" and "I'm Gonna Be Strong" two songs Cyndi would later re-record on her own albums and the highlights to me, "I Had A Love" and "Fade." Cyndi's vocals are in full form and the band is pretty tight and fun.
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| At long last! Issued on CD!! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I was lucky enough to catch Blue Angel performing live. They were wonderful. Why did they break up, just when things were going so well? I have heard allusions to problems with management or legal issues? Whatever the reason, such a shame.
I had been bemoaning the fact that my vinyl copy of this was getting pretty worn-out, so I was very happy to see that it had been released on CD, at last!
I still get goosebumps whenever I hear the band go into the "say you'll never, never-never leave me..." part on "Maybe He'll Know" and then come out of it with that incredibly energized unison riff by the ensemble! Amazing stuff!
I'm so glad that someone in the music business saw what great potential Cyndi had and helped to shape her into the huge success that she surely is, but I can't help but think what if Blue Angel had continued...
The five stars are simply for the amazing music on the CD. Truly, a priceless treasure from its time.
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Maybe He'll Know
I Had a Love
Fade
Anna Blue
Can't Blame Me
Late - Blue Angel,
Cut Out
Take a Chance
Just the Other Day
I'm Gonna Be Strong
Lorraine
Everybody's Got an Angel
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