Starleana - Starleana (1991)

Starleana Young is an artist who had her greatest success before she decided to go solo. She was born in West Virginia in 1961, and indulged her love for singing in church choirs until her family moved to New Jersey, where she joined the band Symphonic Express. While touring with the group, Starleana and band member Curt Jones were asked by producer Steve Washington to join his funk collective Slave in 1977. Starleana's first appearance was on their third album The Concept. Since Slave was such a large group, Washington decided to create an off-shoot group named Aurra in 1980, and asked Starleana and Jones to be in it. Though initially a multi-member group, by the time the second album was released, Aurra ended up being focused around Starleana and Jones as a duo. They released four albums for Salsoul Records, but then had a falling out with Washington. During this break Starleana released her first solo single in 1983, "Heartbreaker", using her full name Starleana Young. The duo then moved to Next Plateau/Ten Records and released their last and most successful album as Aurra in 1985. Then, due to legal battles with Washington over the group name, they renamed themselves Déjà and had success under that name in 1987. But Starleana left after just one album to pursue a solo career, as she felt that she and Jones had grown apart, and she had problems with their management. She was replaced by Mysti Day and Déjà released only one more album before they broke up. Starleana signed with Virgin Records, which released her self-titled debut. She released the single "I'll Take You There", a remake of the Staples Singers' classic. It was produced by her husband J.T. Taylor, the lead singer of Kool & The Gang, and was a modest R&B hit. She followed it up with the unsuccessful ballad "Stronger And Better". The album itself was also not a hit. I think this is, in part, due to the fact that the two singles weren't a good representation of the album. The majority of the album was produced by Ian Prince, who was more of a pop producer, so while most songs have a trace of funk, they have more of a pop feel. The two singles were more soulful. It's a shame the album wasn't successful, as Starleana has a great voice and should have had the success of her contemporaries like Karyn White and Pebbles, but instead she disappeared from the music world altogether. Thankfully she had past success to comfort her.

BONUS: Here is a link to Starleana's 1983 single Heartbreaker

Video for I'll Take You There

Download Starleana

1		I'll Take You There
2		Supernatural
3		Stronger And Better
4		Work Me Over
5		Life After Love
6		Let's Face It
7		Welcome To My House
8		Unchain Your Heart
9		Guilty
10		Crazy For Loving You

Carole Davis - Heart Of Gold (1989) & I'm No Angel (1993) DOUBLE POST!!

Carole Davis has had a long and varied career. Born in 1958, she grew up in many places around the world, but eventually settled in New York. She went to university to study Chinese and Political Science, but afterwords studied acting. She also decided to pose for Playboy and Penthouse in 1980 (under the name Tamara Kapitas) and became runner-up for Pet Of The Year. After that she took many acting roles in TV shows like the A-Team and movies like The Flamingo Kid and Mannequin. (I never realized that she was an actress until I saw her in the awesome movie The Rapture.) Obviously not one to be pinned down, Carol decided to also pursue a music career and signed to Warner Bros.. This was likely aided by her connection to Prince, with whom she co-wrote the song "Slow Love" that appeared on his Sign O The Times album (her version appears on Heart Of Gold). She also claimed to have turned down the lead in Purple Rain (after Vanity left, and luckily for Apollonia!). Her debut album was produced by none other than Nile Rodgers, and it was what one would expect - very funky dance pop, with Carole ably bringing the funk vocally. She released two singles, "It's In My Genes" and "Serious Money", both of which were minor dance club hits. It took her four years to release her next album, I'm No Angel, and she moved to Atlantic Records. It followed where her debut left off, keeping the funky vibe, thanks mostly to producer David Frank of The System, but mellowing out a bit. Two singles were released off of this album as well, "J'aime You" and "Love To Make Love To You", but both went unnoticed. Carol continued on entertaining as an actress, however, and appeared in films and television shows like Angel, Scrubs and Sex & The City. She still acts to this day, but is also a respected writer. She had a script bought by Dreamworks, wrote articles on anti-Semitism, and is an avid animal rights activist (she is West Coast Director of the Companion Animal Protection Society) who has written articles for several animal welfare magazines, as well as a critically acclaimed book, The Diary of Jinky: Dog of a Hollywood Wife, which is a humour book written from her dog's point of view. So, though it seems that her music career is the least of her accomplishments, Carole is perhaps the most well-rounded of anyone on the Isle, and unsurprisingly is still going strong.

UPDATE: I JUST got the notification that Ms. Davis herself actually commented on this post a few days after I posted it!! Here is her comment:

"Island of failed pop stars? Oh god! Help! This makes me so depressed! You missed some really good ones, Al Berry, for one. You should add the youtube of the acting reel, just look it up under my full name. Thanks, Carole Raphaelle Davis"

Carole, please see my response in the comments, because this blog exists to honour you, not depress you! :) It's Deserted Pop Stars, not failed ones! :) And here is the Youtube reel Carole wants you all to see. Diverse indeed! (Loved you in Sex And The City, BTW. ;)



Download Heart Of Gold

1		It's In My Genes
2		Dissin' Jerome (Girl Talk)
3		When My Money's Gone
4		Serious Money
5		The Thigh's The Limit
6		Sexual Favors
7		Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
8		Sticky Situation
9		Antonio Was A Gigolo
10		A Frown Is Just A Smile Upside Down
11		Slow Love

Download I'm No Angel

1		J'aime You
2		Flowers In The Snow
3		Where's Your Daddy Now?
4		Jealous Of The Air
5		Love To Make Love To You
6		Show Me
7		You Don't Thrill Me Anymore
8		Kiss Me
9		A Thousand And One Nights
10		I'm No Angel
11		Montre Moi

Trinity Hi-Fi - Fuego (2000)

There is perhaps no band more enshrouded in mystery on this blog than Trinity Hi-Fi. My research has led me to many dead ends. The fact that the CD includes no artist images and few credits certainly doesn't help. But I have managed to find out a few details. First, the act is apparently from the UK. They were signed to alt label TVT Records. A songwriter (and vocalist) credited as 'Kay Dee Kay' is really Kathryn Dion King. In the early 1990s she recorded a couple house tracks ("You Send Me" and a remake of Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round"), and was featured on rave favourite "Brothers & Sisters" by 2 Funky 2. The rest of the people involved in Trinity Hi-Fi were mostly involved in those tracks and seem to be part of a collective called Airdog Funk Research Laboratory, which was part of their original label, Airdog Records. One member, Jon Davies, also released music under aliases such as Ill Disco. Trinity Hi-Fi released one single, "Turn The Lights Down", which was a minor club hit. And that's about all I could find out. I can get no real indication of what any of these people are up to now. But I suppose what matters most is the music itself. And it is very nice, I must say. There are elements of so many kinds of music: electro, drum 'n bass, trip hop and straight up pop. The pop aspect is further solidified by the quiet, sweet voice of 'Kay Dee Kay'. I have no doubt that this is a gem most of you will love.

UPDATE:  Received a message from Kay Dee Kay herself!  Thanks for visiting, girl!

"Oh my God, this is so funny I feel the need to say hello, I am Kathryn Dion-King aka Kay Dee Kay aka Trinity Hi Fi thank you for appreciating my work your detective work is impressive. KDK xxxxxxxx"

Download Fuego

1		Lazy Afternoon
2		Hey Joe
3		Turn The Lights Down
4		Never Gonna Let U Go
5		So Glad
6		TV Dinner For One
7		Lost You
8		Take It Slow
9		If Only
10		Certainly Not
11		It's Not You
12		Inside

Jodie Resther - Real (2000)

Jodie Resther is yet another in a long line of Canadian pop-R&B singers touted as the next big thing whose singing career really didn't get off the ground (see also Patria and Jazmin, also here on the Isle). Though pop-R&B was getting a lot of attention at the time of her album's release, it was mainly white and/or American acts getting the spotlight. Canadian R&B wouldn't garner attention until many years later, and even still it's limited. Jodie was born in Montreal but had a strong Jamaican influence thanks to her mother. She delved into both music and acting. As a child and teen she starred in successful kids programs like Are You Afraid Of The Dark, Vampire High and the cartoon Arthur. Taking advantage of this success, she signed with Aquarius Records to pursue her true passion, music. Much of her debut album involved the people behind other Isle postees Jazmin, Sugar Jones and Velvet Empire, the go-to guys for the pop-R&B vibe in Canada. She released the title track as her first single, but it generated even less attention than her contempories', and Jodie's music career came and went with barely a whimper. She continued to do voice work for Arthur while still dabbling in music. Finally she reemerged in the music world on an indie label in 2006 with the French album Ma Dualité, the sound of which she dubbed "ragasoul" and was heavily influenced by her Jamaican roots. But since then she has remained rather quiet, and both her website and Myspace page haven't been updated since 2007. Interestingly her bio on both makes no mention of Real or her acting career. However, her song "Soldier" from Ma Dualité was recently chosen as the theme song for something called AquaThon, so chances are she'll be back with more music soon, though my guess is it will be in French, so yay for all you Francophones! ;)

Download Real

1		Real
2		Request For Love
3		Stressin' Out
4		Come A Little Closer
5		I'm Scared
6		Give It Up (You Make Me Weak)
7		Stay
8		Say That You Love Me
9		You Got That Something
10		I Will
11		All You Mean To Me Is Everything
12		We Can Conquer Love
13		Real (Guitar Mix)

Yasmin - Yasmin (1991) & A Scent Of Flowers (1993) DOUBLE POST!!

Until recently I only had this album on cassette, but realized that I should get the CD so I could share it with you all, since it's perfect for the Isle. Yasmin Elvira Steenholdt hails from Denmark. In the late 1980's she hooked up with up-and-coming Danish production duo Soulshock & Cutfather, who had previously worked with Sybil and would later work with Queen Latifah and Ultra Nate, among others. The resulting album, entitled Slow, was one of the first on their SoulPower label, and was released in Denmark. The success in Denmark and other parts of Europe of the first single, "Wanna Dance", got the attention of Geffen Records in North America. They picked up the album and released it simply as 'Yasmin'. "Wanna Dance" was a minor hit, hitting the Billboard Top 50 (at least, according to rapper Lucas who also co-wrote and appeared on the track). It was a hit in clubs as well. It incorporated one of the popular sounds of the day, soul-pop that used elements of hip hop, house and jazz, not unlike one-album-wonder Tara Kemp. But the subsequent releases, "Sacrifice" and "Emotion (Turning Me Up)," fizzled, and she was dropped from Geffen (I'm sure it didn't help that there was no video for "Wanna Dance" and her face was obscured on the album cover, thus no one would recognize her). Soulshock & Cutfather stuck with her, however, and in 1993 she released the album A Scent Of Flowers, though in Denmark and the Netherlands only. Though she released two singles, "Let Me Take Over" and "Best Of My Love", the album did little business, so Yasmin continued in music in Denmark as primarily a backing vocalist, but also did television and theatre. After moving to the US, she also extensively studied "sound healing". She used some of what she learned in her endeavour with husband Asger Steenholdt as the duo Aphrodesia. They released an album in 2004 called Lavandou which is electronica that incorporates soul, reggae and jazz. For more on Aphrodesia, go HERE.

Download Yasmin

1		Wanna Dance (Remix)
2		Slow
3		I Need Time
4		Emotion (Turning Me Up)
5		Give Up
6		Stop This Scene
7		Sacrifice
8		Confusion
9		Stay
10		Remember You
11		Summertime
12		Late At Night
13		Wanna Dance (Original Version)

Download A Scent Of Flowers

1		Yasmin Theme
2		How Are You Doing
3		Let Me Take Over
4		She Don't Know The Way
5		Send A Letter
6		Maybe Someday
7		Best Of My Love
8		Never Ever
9		The Moon
10		Get It Right
11		Everybody Loves The Sunshine
12		Waiting
13		Yasmin Theme