PAL - Truth For The Moment (1986)

Four years ago I posted the one and only single. "Talk We Don't", from 1980s funk/synth pop trio PAL on Lost Pop Treasures.  I have had their album on my wantlist ever since, and finally I have it to share, thanks to longtime Isle friend Robert G! :)  And it is every bit as good as I'd hoped, definitely something different from the "R&B" girl groups of the time.  PAL was Rebecca A. Sweet (aka Rebekha Sweet) and sisters Lanetta and Laretta Collier (aka Sinden and Rhett Cellier).  Luckily two thirds of PAL themselves saw my post on Lost Pop Treasures and filled us in on their past (which I've since also shared on Discogs), so I'll simply just repost that here.  Enjoy!

PAL's musical influences included Eurythmics, Sting, Joni Mitchell, Steve Winwood, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac... Most notably, it was Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) who telephoned Motown and inquired about the group after meeting them at an Eurythmics concert. He had assumed that PAL was already signed to Motown and upon being told they were not, asked "Why."  The group's name was inspired by "Pal" Shazar of Slow Children as it aptly represented the relationship of the members of the group.  PAL's music was only released in Europe as it was welcomed by the European licensees who had been anxiously awaiting a new fresh sound from Motown.  PAL's CD was somewhat altered from their original sound and true musical instincts, but they were lucky enough to maintain some elements true to their musical integrity as was showcased in "Talk We Don't." Simply told, PAL was not an" R&B" group but the record company enlisted the services of a Motown producer attempting to infuse R&B into their music in hopes of serving the American R&B base. This approach was again exercised in Motown's 12 inch remixes of "Talk We Don't" down-playing the breathing drums that were an integral part of the song's original music.  In January 1986, PAL embarked upon a promotional tour at the request of Motown's European licensees. The official video for the single "Talk We Don't" was produced in London utilizing the original track. PAL was told that their single at that time was the highest debuting single by any new group in Holland. PAL toured England, France, Spain, Germany, Holland and Belgium. They loved it!
Upon returning to the U.S., Motown was still at a loss as what to do with PAL. Even though the music had been so positively accepted abroad, America was not Europe. Motown never released PAL's music in America and this freed the group from any further recording obligations to Motown.  Around 1988, PAL disbanded and went on to lead very successful lives in other creative genres.

Here is a live performance of Talk We Don't

Download Truth For The Moment

1	Man About Town
2	Like It
3	Her Husband
4	On The Edge
5	Everybody's Nasty
6	Panic
7	Talk We Don't
8	Spellbound
9	Strange Dreams
10	Checkin' You Out

E Gee - E Gee (1996)

Thanks to a request, I recently became aware of E Gee.  I had never heard of her and was intrigued.  Unfortunately, after MUCH internet searching, I still know nothing about her. I did manage to find her album online, however, and just received it and had to share, as always.  The most that I can tell you is that she released one single, "Butterfly Me", the video for which was produced by actor Blair Underwood and got some play on BET.  And the album was produced and co-written by Motown creator Berry Gordy's son Kerry.  Despite video play, "Butterfly Me", a mid-tempo R&B number, did not become a hit.  There are a few other mid-tempo R&B tracks on the album, as well as a few upbeat dance songs like "I've Gotta Dance" and a remake of The Supremes classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On". And the remix of "Butterfly Me" is also an upbeat hip-house tune, which includes male rappers and, oddly, not even a hint of E Gee's vocals.  Unfortunately the CD I ordered did not come with the booklet, which I failed to notice until after I placed my order.  If it had, I'm sure I would have discovered some useful information in it in order to find out more about E Gee.  But since it didn't, we are all left in the dark regarding E Gee's story, unless someone else, perhaps E Gee herself, come across this post and kindly fills us in.  Until then, enjoy!

Download E Gee

1	Butterfly Me
2	I Can't Turn You Down
3	Warm And Wet
4	Butterfly Me (Belizian Interlude)
5	Up And Down
6	Up And Down (Interlude)
7	You Keep Me Hangin' On
8	Down And Dirty
9	I've Gotta Dance
10	Butterfly Me (Da Lo Rex Remex)

Precious - Soft But Hard (1990)

In case you haven't guessed, I'm a huge fan of female rappers.  And it just so happens that someone requested the only album by Precious, so here it is.  As with many of the other 90s female rappers featured on the Isle, little is available on Precious' history.  Her real name is Monica Burton, and it would appear that she's from New Jersey.  At some point she connected in New Jersey with the trio of producers collectively known as Backroom Productions, who wrote and produced most of Isle postee Jomanda's music.  In 1988 Backroom Productions had released a compilation of house tracks that included vocals by the ladies of Jomanda before they were a group, as well as the instrumental song "The Definition Of A Track (The Backroom)".  Evidently, they asked Precious to put a rap vocal on the instrumental, making it a hip-house track, and also made a new instrumental using the same rap and called it "In Motion", which is one of my fave house songs of all time, incidentally.  The double A-side of Precious' "Definition Of A Track / In Motion" was released on Big Beat in 1989 and was a dancefloor smash (the album version begins with "Definition Of A Track" and leads into "In Motion").  It's success led to a one album deal on Big Beat.  Backroom Productions produced the whole thing, and the hip-house song "Let's Get It Started" was the only other single released, backed with "Competition" (which samples M's "Pop Muzik") in the US, and released by itself on MCA Records in the UK.  The album contained a much more traditional rap sound, with only a few hip-house moments, which was perhaps not the best idea.  "Let's Get It Started" failed to make the same impact, and that was the last that was heard from Precious.  Monica, now known as Dr. Burton, appears to have left her music career behind, as she is now a principle at the Patrick F. Healy Middle School in East Orange, New Jersey.  She is also on the board of managers for the East Orange YMCA.  Given the comments in reviews of her school and on the video for "In Motion" on Youtube, she doesn't appear to be beloved by her students or their parents, though to be fair, being a principle of any school isn't exactly a beloved role.  And at least we can all show her love by enjoying and appreciating her one and only musical masterpiece.

Video for In Motion

Download Soft But Hard

1	The Beats The Rhyme (The Bassline)
2	Soft But Hard
3	Competition
4	Protect The Jewel
5	27 Hawthorne
6	Lets Get It Started
7	Definition Of A Track (In Motion)
8	Power Of A Woman
9	Spenizm
10	Who Are You
11	Yesterday's Gone
12	Big Beat
13	A Better Way
14	Yesterday's Gone (Sax Version)
15	Big Beat (Vocal)

Nerissa - Nerissa (1993)

Recently I rewatched the controversial Ken Russell film Whore, and on second viewing, I liked the movie much less, but noticed the background music, which included some house cuts that I had never heard before.  A bit of searching revealed that the songs were by artists who were signed to Select Records, one of whom was Nerissa.  The name was familiar and I recalled that I had the cassingle of Nerissa's funky remake of the Dramatics' hit ballad "In The Rain".  I then remembered that it indicated on that cassingle that the song came from Nerissa's self-titled album.  I had never managed to find that album - until now!  Nerissa Vitello is a New York based singer.  I can't find much on her background, other than that she was a music/voice major at Laguardia School of the Arts in the 1980s.  This led to her house song from the Whore soundtrack, "Tell Me All Your Secrets", which was Nerissa's first single in 1990 on Active Records, a sublabel of Select.  Her next single, "In The Rain", didn't appear until 1993, with her self-titled album soon following.  "In The Rain" was produced by house music legend Todd Terry, but instead of being an upbeat house number, it had a laid back R&B vibe.  The remix, featuring rapper Ski, got some attention.  But the single wasn't the best representation of the album, which was mostly upbeat house tunes with a few slower R&B numbers, including a remake of Randy Crawford's classic "Almaz".  Her next single was the house stomper "Stars", which returned her to dance floors, and the song has popped up on house compilations ever since.  But it failed to reach past the dance market, and no other singles were released, though her track "The Cure", another more downbeat Todd Terry production, did pop up on the House Party 3 soundtrack. It seems that since then Nerissa has continued to perform, as her StarNow profile indicates appearances in supporting roles in film and music, and there are also a couple of recent Youtube videos of her performing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" at private functions.  Let's hope she hits the studio again soon!

Video for In The Rain (Remix)

Download Nerissa

1	The Cure
2	Stars
3	Where Do We Go From Here
4	Show Me Love
5	Nothing Can Come Between Us
6	In The Rain
7	Memories Of Love
8	Go On Get Out
9	Night And Day
10	Almaz (You Lucky, Lucky Thing)
11	In The Rain (Remix)

Jacci McGhee ‎– Jacci McGhee (1992)

Jacci McGhee's brief time in the spotlight came as a result of being Keith Sweat's singing partner on his R&B hit "Make It Last Forever" in 1988.  Born in the Bronx, Jacci mostly did back-up vocals until Keith decided to feature her voice front and centre.  Despite the feature, Jacci went back to the background, mainly as vocal support for rock group Toto.  She did get another coup on the charts in 1989, singing the chorus to Salt-N-Pepa's second top 40 hit, "Expression".  It would be three more years before she would get a solo deal, when MCA signed her.  Her first single, the upbeat "Skeeza", was produced by Salt-N-Pepa's producer Herby Luv Bug and was a minor R&B hit.  It's follow-up, the ballad "It Hurts Me", was produced by Keith Sweat - as were a couple other songs on the album - and it climbed a little higher.  The final single was another upbeat number, "Something's On My Mind", but it didn't chart and she was dropped.  She was pregnant at the time and spent the next few years raising her child.  Then, in 1998, she joined funk/soul group The Family Stand, replacing their female vocalist Sandra St. Victor.  I personally loved that group and was happy to hear that she had joined.  They released only one album with Jacci, however, and after their single "You Don't Have To Worry" failed to generate interest, she split from the group. According to member Peter Lord, Jacci and he never saw eye to eye, as she was hoping to go in a more rock direction, likely stoked by her time with Toto.  Jacci again disappeared from the limelight, but about a year ago she left hints around the internet that she was working with a new act called "Billy Scott the band".  Not sure what, if anything, that band is up to, as nothing has emerged since, but it is good to know that Jacci is still at it.  Her one album displays a voice that definitely has a rock swagger and needs to be heard, and it shows her diversity over dance, soul and new jack swing tastiness. She was definitely head and shoulders above her contemporaries and deserved better.

Video for Skeeza

Video for It Hurts Me

Download Jacci McGhee

1	Something's On My Mind
2	It Hurts Me
3	Skeeza
4	Good Old Fashioned Love
5	The Closer I Get To You
6	What R U Gonna Do?
7	Been A Long Time
8	The Other Woman
9	Denied
10	That's How Much I Love You

MC Peaches - More Than Just A Pretty Face (1991)

It seems that 1991 was a banner year for female rappers on major labels, although ones that didn't quite hit with the mainstream.  On this blog alone we have featured Tam Tam, Missy Mist, Icy Blu, Tycie & Woody, and Princessa of Bingoboys, who all managed to release only one album, all in 1991.  The female rap boom at this time was obviously due to the late 80s success of acts like Salt 'N' Pepa, J.J. Fad, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, among others.  Every label wanted to have the next big lady of hip hop.  To that end, EastWest Records signed MC Peaches, a rapper from Brooklyn.  Previously she had released one single, the double-sided "Commin Straight Rollin Hard / Treat Her Like A Lady" in 1988.  The latter was produced by one of hip hop's heavyweights, King Of Chill, who had also produced MC Lyte, and rap duo Audio Two, and this association, along with Peaches' tough but feminine rap, garnered her respect in the hip hop community.  The same producers worked on her album, though the result was quite a bit less 'street' than her debut single.  The first and only single was "Every Breath You Take (Watching You)", which was obviously based on the pop hit by The Police. It was not a hit, and several other tracks utilized bits of other pop hits like John Waite's "Missing You", and Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here Anymore". The result was an album that was likely too pop for hip hop fans, and too hip hop for pop fans.  What became of Peaches after that is as mysterious as where she came from, since, like Tam Tam, there is virtually nothing about her on the internet, and it doesn't help that there are several other ladies of hip hop who use the moniker of Peaches.  MC Peaches, please hit us up if you see this and fill us in!

Download More Than Just A Pretty Face

1	She's Not Just Another Woman
2	More Than Just A Pretty Face
3	Every Breath You Take (Watching You)
4	Dope Is How It's Done
5	I'mma Let You Know
6	Love Don't Live Here Anymore
7	Fellas Gather Round
8	Good Thing
9	(This track has been removed from the download file thanks to a complaint regarding the copyright of the Queen song sampled)
10	Keep It In Your Pants, Tucked Away
11	I'm Not Missing You
12	Crowd Pleaser
13	Jo Ann - Outro

Gloo Girls - Attention Shoppers (1993)

Time for a change of pace - a little punk pop, and a rarity at that.  Everything you need to know about Gloo Girls you can find on their Facebook page.  The edited version is as follows:  The band was formed in 1991 in New York City's East Village by Beatrice “Patty Gloo” Giovaniello and Karen “Sage LeWho?” LeSage.  Patty owned a clothing store called Gloo People and Sage, a clothing designer, collaborated with her on fashion.  They were dubbed Gloo Girls and soon moved towards music.  Patty played bass and Karen played guitar, but she soon learned to play drums instead, and they recruited Georgia "Miss Georgia Peach" Connelly to play guitar.  In 1992 they released the single "Yo Blondie / Barbie U.S.A." on an indie punk label out of California.  Soon after, Georgia split and the ever-ambitious Patty and Sage moved their business to Soho, where they also began selling vintage furniture and running an all-female moving company, Amazon Movers.  The moving company, along with their glamorous 50s/60s inspired look, got them media attention (they were even featured in the National Enquirer and on American Journal).  They became a sensation in New York and finally recorded and released an album in 1993 on pioneering label Celluloid.  After going through a slew of guitar players, all christened "Guitara", they found one that stuck, Nicole "Guitara Seven" Kennedy, and they toured the US for some time before eventually calling it quits.  Since they split, Beatrice has worked as an interior designer in New York, Karen is an artist in Connecticut, and Nicole teaches and records music in Estonia(!!).  Though they were influenced by other punky pop groups like Lunachicks and Redd Kross, their sound was uniquely their own, very 60s girl group meets surfer rock, with an edge.  The sound would be revived in the late 90s/early 00s by groups like Chicks On Speed and Le Tigre, though with a more electronic flavour.  In fact, it was my love for those groups that made me seek out Gloo Girls, and I'm glad that I found them.  I think you will be too.  

Video for Barbie U.S.A.

Live performance at the Lions Den, NYC 

Download Attention Shoppers

1	Witch Is Witch
2	X-Con
3	On The Avenue
4	Meow
5	Hi Ya
6	Do The Gloo
7	Damn Hippies
8	Yo Blondie
9	Barbie U.S.A.
10	Don't Eat My Planet

Nancy Martinez - Lay It Down (1983), Not Just The Girl Next Door (1986), Unpredictable (1989) & Bird's In The House (1997) QUADRUPLE POST!!!!

I'm sure anyone who visits this blog is aware of the powerhouse vocal talent of Nancy Martinez.  Indeed, she has had a long and successful career in pop music, but she hasn't been in the spotlight for some time.  While I have seen a couple of her albums posted in other places on the internet, I haven't seen all of her English pop albums in one place, so I decided to feature them in my second quadruple post of the year!  There are plenty of places on the internet that discuss her career, but I'll still give a (not so) brief synopsis.  Nancy grew up Montreal and had an interest in music at a young age, thanks to her musical parents.  As a child she attended music school as a pianist and started taking vocal lessons.  In high school she moved from singing at small local gigs to recording jingles and performing background vocals for popular French-Canadian artists like Nathalie and René Simard.  During a session with disco artist Kat Mandu, Nancy was approached by the label to sign as a solo artist.  Nancy was initially uncomfortable with being in the spotlight and asked that they not use her real name.  She released two euro-disco singles in 1982, "I'm Gonna Get Your Love" as Jade, and "Can't Believe" as Nancy Martin (note that in the video clip of the "live" performance, a model is lip-synching, since Nancy did not want to appear in promotions for the single).  Both were international club hits, and Nancy released two more singles under the monikers the next year, "Who Cares" as Jade, and "Hold Your Horses Baby" as Nancy Martin.  With this success it was time to step into the spotlight, and Nancy signed an album deal with Matra Records using her real name.  She released her first single as Nancy Martinez, "So Excited", also in 1983.  Her album, Lay It Down, soon followed, as did her next single, "Take It Slowly".  Thanks to the production of successful Canadian disco/hiNRG producer Joe La Greca (who later produced the albums by Isle postees Natasha and Pobi), the tracks were successes in clubs.  She released two last, non-album singles in 1984 for Matra: "Number Two In Love" and the medley "Sunshine Reggae / La Vie En Rose", the former a remake of the Laid Back song, which was a duet with her then-husband Allen Harris, and the latter a remake of the Edith Piaf classic.  "Sunshine Reggae" became her biggest hit in Canada thus far.  It was time for Nancy to pursue international success now that she was more comfortable in the spotlight, and she signed with Atlantic Records for worldwide distribution.  This time working with hiNRG/freestyle producer Teneen Ali, she updated her sound, and her first single, "For Tonight", became a huge hit and an instant freestyle classic in 1986.  The song even hit #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the dance chart.  Her album Not Just The Girl Next Door followed, and her follow-up single, "Move Out", managed to hit #12 on the dance chart.  The third single, the much more traditional pop track "Crazy Love", failed to chart, however.  There were plans to release the freestyle song "It Happens All The Time", but the original group L.I.F.E. released it first.  And though the non-album Atlantic single "Can't Wait" hit #17 on the Billboard dance chart in 1987, her contract with Atlantic ended.  Luckily A&M sublabel Vendetta snatched her up, and again working with Teneen Ali, she crafted another dance album, Unpredictable, released in 1989.  Unfortunately none of the singles - the poppy "You've Got Me On Fire", the hiNRG "Save Your Love For Me", or the ballad "Everlasting" - found much success, though the remixed "(Fire) You've Got Me On Fire" was a minor dance hit.  No longer with Vendetta, Nancy decided to sign with Canadian label ISBA and record her first French album, the self-titled Nancy Martinez, released in 1990, which included the single "Tomber Sous Les Mots".  She released her second and last French album for ISBA, Pourquoi Tu Pars?, in 1993, which was produced by legendary Canadian rocker Aldo Nova, who had long admired her and even asked her to sing the demo of the song "I Love You", which would eventually be recorded by Céline Dion on her Falling Into You album (on which Nancy did prominent backing vocals on the song "Your Light" - and Isle fans will also be interested to know that she also did backing vocals in 1988 on Isle postee Sequal's track "Took Another Chance").  Her biggest French single was "La Maîtresse De Tes Rêve", which Isle fans will also be interested to know is a cover of Isle postee West End Girls' "Anything To Make You Mine".  Over the following years Nancy kept a much lower profile, occasionally doing guest vocals.  Then, in 1997, she returned with an independently released English album, Bird's In The House.  Though I adore Nancy's dance music past, this album is by far my fave, and it's very rare so I had to share.  She switched to pop-rock and was much more involved in the writing, and the album was produced by John Farley, who also worked with Isle postees Sonia Papp and Pobi.  The album is pure perfection from start to finish.  She released the singles "Jack", "Fire" and "I'm In Heat", and though none were major hits, it was great having her back in the spotlight.  She soon again faded from the public eye, but in 2000, Nancy returned to dance music with the Europe-only release "For The First Time".  Four years later she surprised everyone by switching direction again and releasing the jazz standards album Downtown, and also featured on the K-Maro hip-hop track "Crazy".  She followed it up the next year with Live At The House Of Jazz, and also released the reggae influenced French single "Laisse-moi Te Donner" and a duet with Denis Ducharme, "Wouldn't It Be Nice". In 2005 she returned to dance music as the featured vocalist on MC Mario's "Not Guilty".  Since then Nancy has kept busy doing guest vocals, performing locally, and teaching music and voice.  Luckily she finally emerged on Facebook, where you can keep up to date on her current goings-on and view amazing rare clips.  This bodes well for some new and amazing material from one of the best and most diverse voices in the business.

Download Lay It Down

1	Take It Slowly
2	Lay It Down
3	We Got The Real Thing
4	So Excited
5	Right Here By My Side
6	The Love You Made Me Feel

Video for For Tonight

Live performance of Move Out

Download Not Just The Girl Next Door

1	For Tonight
2	Move Out
3	It Happens All The Time
4	I'll Be There
5	In The Heat Of The Night
6	Hurt Me Twice (Shame On You)
7	Crazy Love
8	Without You
9	Rhythm Of Your Heart

 
Download Unpredictable

1	You've Got Me On Fire
2	Save Your Love For Me
3	Unpredictable
4	Make A Move On Me
5	First Impression
6	Everlasting
7	I Will Make It Up
8	I Believe In You & Me
9	How Many Times
10	Got Something On My Mind

 
Video for Fire

Download Bird's In The House

1	I Can't Wait
2	It Ain't Right
3	Jack
4	Fire
5	Getting Over You
6	How Low Can You Go
7	Don't You Call Me Anymore
8	Looking For A Rainbow
9	I'm In Heat
10	Highway
11	Without You
12	Living In The Gray

Missy Mist - Let The Good Times Roll (1991)

How about a bit more old school hip hop, this time of the Miami bass sort?  Missy Mist is Michelle Broom.  Originally from the Bronx, Michelle moved to Miami at a young age, where she convinced her mother to take her to a local radio station that LL Cool J was appearing at. While there, Michelle's mother convinced the security guard that Michelle could rap, and he introduced her to the DJ (and Miami bass pioneer), Eric Griffin, and his music partner Norberto Morales, who owned the successful Bass Station Records.  They liked what they heard and signed her.  Unfortunately Norberto was soon murdered, so Eric created his own label, Never Stop Productions, and started recording with Michelle, who now recorded under the name Missy Mist.  Their first track together was "Make It Mellow," in 1988, which became a Billboard rap hit.  It's success captured the attention of major label Atlantic Records, who quickly released the single on a larger scale. Missy followed this up the next year with "Gettin' Bass," which solidified her reputation as the queen of Miami bass.  Soon RCA Records came calling and Missy was signed to a lucrative deal.  With Eric again producing, the album included the Miami bass sound ("Back It Up" is the standout), but also explored other hip hop sounds, making it one of the more diverse albums from an artist associated with Miami bass.  There were samples aplenty, from Brian Hyland's "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" to S.O.S Band's "Take Your Time (Do It Right)".  The title track was the only single, and didn't fare quite as well as her previous tracks, and it would seem that RCA dropped her.  She stayed in Miami while Griffin moved to Missouri, where he was tragically murdered by thieves in his home studio in 1998.  While still dabbling in music, as well as doing voiceover work and acting, Michelle focused on being a housewife and mother.  She also went to school for Legal Studies in the hopes of one day becoming an Entertainment & Sports attorney.  And in 2013 she discussed her early days in an exciting documentary dedicated to Miami bass, The Bass That Ate Miami, which featured all of the pioneers and superstars of the genre, of which she was obviously one.  Visit her on Youtube or Facebook.

Download Let The Good Times Roll

1	Deadly
2	Let The Good Times Roll
3	Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend
4	Let's Pull Together
5	Think About Peace
6	We Can Do It
7	Rock The Funky Beat
8	Back It Up
9	Let's Get This Party Started
10	Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
11	Funky Enough