The last time I featured one of these it was based around my brother's obsessive interest in the Pet Shop Boys. I probably wouldn't have been so bothered about the group if he hadn't kept trying to shove them down my throat, convince me they were something special. I came to realise, through the review of "Actually", that they weren't. Score one for me. This time out I'm looking at an album that my sister may not exactly have obsessed about, but seemed to think was really great and at the time I couldn't see anything in it other than generic pop/dance trash sung by a woman with red hair, though she was quite popular at the time. Will it be two for two, or will the softer side of the family win out this time round?
Tell it to my heart --- Taylor Dayne --- 1988 (Arista)
Looking at it now, the first thing that strikes me is that Taylor Dayne is described as a singer-songwriter, but on this, admittedly her debut album, she doesn't have a hand in any of the songs at all. Even looking further, she only slowly seems to have started contributing to later albums, with two tracks on her second and a few more on her third. Maybe she needed to gain the confidence putting your songs out there for the world to hear requires, I don't know. But though the great Diane Warren did later write for her, I recognise none of the songwriters here, though I'm not that well up on pop or dance to be honest.
It starts with the title track, one of her big hits, and it's so generic it's painful. Anyone from the Stock-Aitken-Waterman stable could have sung this, and although her voice does have a strength reminiscent of Chaka Khan or Jennifer Rush, it's nothing terribly special. The song is built on a buzzy synth bass and annoying little parping keys, very dance, very pop, very eighties. The beat is so reminscent of SAW that I'm almost surprised to see they don't produce or have a hand in the album, but their legacy is certainly very much alive in this. Well, I knew this song already from the amount of times my sister had played it at the time, and it was a big hit single, so it's not changing my mind about the album, but what of other tracks? There were four singles taken from this, but to be honest I think I only know this one. Karen was one of those people, when she listened to music, who would latch on to a track or tracks and just play them to death, even if she had bought the album, so I really haven't heard any more of it up to now.
"In the darkness" is a little better, boppy and upbeat in a kind of Madonna "True blue" way, again very synth-driven with those annoying sqeuaky, perky keys peppered through the tune. The bass is nice though. Like the sax break too, changes the song from being totally generic pop into something a little, well, less generic, though not much. Little touches of Laura Branigan then in "Don't rush me", with a nice haunting synth line, more mid-paced than either of the first two tracks though it picks up a little after the first verse. Yeah, I'd definitely call this a very Braniganesque song. The vocal hook in the title reminds me of something, though I can't remember what, and there's a nice Chris Rea-style guitar solo, the first time we've really heard the guitar at all. This was apparently a big hit in the US, though not over here, and another of her hit singles is up next, the first ballad, "I'll always love you".
Very soul motown style, nice pace on it with some soft acoustic guitar and very David Foster digital piano. Nice backing vocals, and the sax is back to add a touch of class to the song. Yeah, not bad, but then again I could see a fistful of other artistes like her doing this song: there's just nothing that individual about it. Whitney? Mariah? Dionne? Any of them could have sung this, and a lot more besides. Oh dear! I realise now that I have in fact heard "Prove your love", her other big hit single on both sides of the pond, before. It's another dancy tune with sprightly keys and busy bass, and brings us back to earth with a bump. Not that we ever really left, but "In the darkness" and "I'll always love you" were a nice little break, now we're back in Generic City. Still, there's another nice guitar solo so that's something, adds some teeth to what is mostly just a dancefloor clone of any other disco song you've heard, and how it was such a hit both here and in the US is beyond me.
But that's the end of the hits on this album. If the first half is ninety percent hit singles, the second is zero percent. Not that that stops the songs being any less uninspired (I'm trying not to overuse the word generic but it's hard as this album screams that concept with nearly every track): "Do you want it right now" is ho-hum dance with the guitar solo the only thing remotely remarkable about it, while "Carry your heart" is at least a decent power ballad in the style of Heart or Pat Benatar, with some punch to it and a great little guitar solo. Seems one of the only decent things about this album is the fretwork: let's see who's responsible. Hmm. Bob Cadway. No, sorry, don't know ya. Kudos for giving me something positive to say about this album though.
In fairness Dayne's voice is decent, but she seems to have studied the style of Chaka Khan too closely and comes across mostly as something of a copy of the disco diva. I known nothing about the Chairmen of the Board, but I think it's possible "Want ad" might be a cover of one of their songs, though it sounds more like "Candy girl" by New Edition. God help us. More annoying upbeat squealy keyboard, and is there a guitar solo to rescue this song from banality? Sure, it's probably a soul classic or something but it does nothing for me. And no, there is no saving solo. Boo. At least there's a decent bit of percussion to start off "Where does that boy hang out" and a slick little bassline with some nice uptempo brass (you ever known
downtempo brass?)
while the album closes on the appropriately-titled "Upon the journey's end", on which Dayne duets with Billy T. Scott. No, I don't know who he is either. It has a nice country feel to it, so I may assume that he's from that sphere, and it's a nice enough ballad. In fact, strike that: it comes close to being the standout, although on this album that's not really too much of an accolade. And now I hear Mr. Scott he sounds very much more soul than country, so I guess I made an incorrect assumption there. Oh well, I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it.
TRACKLISTING
1. Tell it to my heart
2. In the darkness
3. Don't rush me
4. I'll always love you
5. Prove your love
6. Do you want it right now
7. Carry your love
8. Want ads
9. Where does that boy hang out
10. Upon the journey's end
If you're into dance music you'll probably like this album, and if soul is your thing then you'll find something here to enjoy. Hell, if you just like generic pop then you're laughing. But none of these really do anything for me, and I don't see any real individuality about this album, and it really does come across as a collection of other people's songs sung by a singer, but nothing much else. There's heart put into the songs, don't get me wrong, and she's a good singer. I just don't see anything about her standing out, and to be honest I begin to wonder if the reason Karen liked this album, and artiste, so much was because of her hair, which is certainly impressive. My little sister always wanted, and eventually got, hair extensions.
It's the only logical reason that I can see why anyone would rate this album so high. And sadly, at my time of life, hair extensions are of no interest to me.