Waterlillies - Envoluptuousity (1992) and Tempted (1994) DOUBLE POST!!

I first heard about Waterlillies in Entertainment Weekly. They rated their second album 'Tempted' as one of the best albums of 1994. I was intrigued by the description of the music, which was basically ethereal dance music. It wasn't released in Canada, however, so it wasn't easy to find. I did manage to find their first album a few years later in a used CD store. I instantly fell in love with it. Singer Sandra Jill Alikas had a heavenly voice, at times like Enya or Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, and other times pure pop tart, and the production and instrumentation by Ray Carroll was awesome. The sound was basically synth-pop with many house and electronic elements, but the song structures were pure pop. They released the single "Tired Of You", but it didn't garner much attention, and the album remained unnoticed as well. But their second album, which was even more dance oriented, got rave reviews, and the title single reached Billboard's Dance Chart's top ten. Their next release, "Never Get Enough", did even better, reaching the dance chart's number one position, thanks to a remix by Junior Vasquez. But despite their great reviews and dance club success, the album was no more successful than their first. They did a remake of Helen Reddy's "I Am Woman", which appeared on the Just Say Roe compilation, and soon after broke up. Both members have kept a low profile since. An internet search reveals that they both may be involved in illustration and/or photography, but there is little detail. Carroll did some remixes as Headcleanr for Madonna and Depeche Mode, and still dabbles in music. I can't find anything on Alikas' whereabouts, which is a shame, as someone with such a beautiful voice should still be recording. We can only hope she is working on new material and will reemerge when we least expect it.

Video for Tired Of You

Download Envoluptuousity

1		Sunshine Like You
2		Hip To My Way
3		Lie With You
4		Tired Of You
5		The Only One (I Could Stand)
6		Girl's Affair
7		Nether Nether
8		Day And Age
9		Mermaid Song

(For the CD maxi-single of "Never Get Enough", go to my sister blog HERE.)

Download Tempted

1		Tempted
2		I Wanna Be There
3		Never Get Enough
4		Free
5		I Don't Want Your Love
6		Nolion Doll
7		Take My Breath Away
8		Supersonic
9		She Must Be In Love
10		How Does It Feel?
11		Work It Out
12		Close To You

Móa - Universal (1999)

Móa (full name Moeidur Juniusdottir) is another artist who no one would have expected to have a massive pop career. Her music is too eclectic. But no doubt her label Tommy Boy noticed the huge following that Bjork had and they snatched up this equally eccentric Icelander in the hopes that they could snatch some of that audience. Móa began her music career focusing on jazz music, releasing a jazz/lounge album locally in Iceland in 1993 entitled 'Syngur Login Vid Vinnuna'. But she also gained a love for electronic and dance music along the way, and in 1994 released an album as half of industrial/techno duo Bong with Eythor Arnalds. They were apparantly quite successful in Iceland, but Móa had other ideas. She wanted to merge the electronics with the jazz, and thus 'Univeral' was born. It was actually originally released in 1997 as 'Cool, As In Hot', but only in limited countries and soon grabbed the attention of Tommy Boy, who released it with some song changes and remixes. But the album was lost in the influx of eclectic electronic music that was being released at the time, and Móa remained relatively unknown. And the album is an acquired taste, despite the production by primarily pop producers (as well as Eythor Arnalds). More than anything, her voice was likely challenging to some. If you know and like Helicopter Girl or Nicolette, then you'll love this. If not, maybe you won't. Whatever the case, Móa's very Uma Thurman-like looks attracted Calvin Klein, who used her in a campaign, and she later went on to form the synth-pop/new wave group Lace.

Video for Joy & Pain

Download Universal

1		Joy & Pain
2		Toy
3		Memory Cloud
4		Rockets
5		Can't Forget You
6		Tenderly
7		Declaration
8		Raining in My Heart
9		Forever
10		Overcome
11		Virtual Affair
12		Raining in My Heart (Remix)

Baz - Psychedelic Love (2002)

Once again, one of the things I love about doing this blog is that you guys introduce me to new acts when asking me to post their albums. I'd never heard of Baz until someone requested her, so after reading a bit about her and listening to some samples, I had to order her album. It just arrived the other day, and it's a delight. Baz's real name is Rosanna Sharian Gooden (Baz was her father's name), and she is sister to famed techno producer/DJ Dave Angel and, even more exciting to me, Britain's first female rap sensation, Monie Love! After being signed to One Little Indian, Baz released her first single, the very Gabrielle-esque "Believers". The song became a top 40 hit in the UK and she seemed on her way to a bright future, with a lot of support from the label. Subsequent singles "Smile To Shine", "Promises" and "Never Ending Story" didn't fare as well, however, and Baz didn't reach the heights everyone anticipated. She's been MIA ever since. A shame, as she has a lovely voice, and her album is also very much like Gabrielle, but much trippier, thanks to production by Guy Sigsworth (Madonna, Bjork, Imogen Heap, etc.). She coined her sound "undersoul". Definitely an artist who should have had greater success, and a great addition to my collection. Keep the recommendations coming! :)

Video for Smile To Shine

Download Psychedelic Love

1		Believers
2		Smile To Shine
3		Only With You
4		Promises
5		Ghetto Lady
6		Deeply Needing
7		Psychedelic Love
8		It's A Shame
9		Choices
10		Never Ending Story

Outloud - Out Loud (1987)

Outloud was a group formed by super-producer and Chic-member Nile Rodgers. After a ton of success in the early and mid 1980's as a pop producer for the likes of Madonna, David Bowie and Duran Duran, Nile decided to form a new group, as Chic had been dormant for some time. He recruited singer/guitarist Felicia Collins and multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Philippe Saisse and formed Outloud. All three members wrote and produced the album and provided vocals and instrumentation. The result was a funky workout with a pop sensibilty, much like Rodgers' work with the aforementioned pop stars. The first and only single "It's Love This Time" failed to attract attention, and apparently their label Warner Bros. considered the album to be too experimental to be bothered promoting it. And though the cover is what made me buy the album in the first place, as it's an awesome image, it makes the group somewhat anonymous, which couldn't have helped. What was planned to be a multi-album act became a one-album wonder. But all three members continued on with great success, Rodgers as a producer and member of a reunited Chic, Collins as a session guitarist and member of David Letterman's house band, and Saisse with solo and session work of his own.

Download Out Loud

1		Out Loud
2		It's Love This Time
3		Am I On Your Side
4		Square Business
5		KAK
6		Feeling Good
7		Camouflage
8		Good Together
9		Fundamental
10		Circle Of Love / Music Lover

Cherrie Blue - Chemical Messiah (2002)

Here is an artist who has been involved with two of my fave bands ever, Lords Of Acid and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, both raunchy techno-meets-industrial-meets-disco-meets-pop-meets- the-kitchen-sink geniuses. Cherrie Blue is the stage name of Ruth McArdle, who has also used the stage name Lady Galore. Her first taste of fame was as the vocalist on Lords Of Acid's album Voodoo U, as well as on the Voodoo U tour. The group toured with My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult (I would have KILLED to see this concert!) and Cherrie defected from the band to join the Kult's female entourage The Bomb Gang Girlz. While with the Kult she collaborated with their mastermind Buzz McCoy, and the result was this album, which was released on the Kult's own label, Sleazebox Records. The music here is very reminiscent of both the Lords and the Kult, with perhaps a more female influence. Danceable house, techno and rock grooves combine to make a very strange and fun musical journey. Obviously this was not made to appeal to a mass audience, which makes it all the better. According to her Myspace site, Cherrie is working on a new album, Shamaness Warrior Princess, with a new producer, and I, for one, can't wait! And expect to see more from the Lords and Kult camps in the future, and check out the work of those two groups. If you like this, you'll like them, and they are an Isle MUST!!!

Video for Psycho Bitch Sister

Download Chemical Messiah

1		Psycho Bitch Sister
2		Kultural Thermostat Theory
3		Mama's Sugar
4		Psychedelic Professor
5		Chemical Messiah
6		Not Like Me
7		Cyber Sex Man
8		V.R. Skyways
9		The Ritual
10		Spirit
11		Reality Distortion

Stephanie Marano - Symphony Of Love (1995)

Since there seem to be many fans of the genre who visit here, I am featuring a rare album by another, lesser-known freestyle diva, Stephanie Marano. And when I say lesser-known, I mean it, as there is no info on the lady on the internet. The only thing I can find is that she is the sister of Adam Marano, who wrote and produced the album (and I think does the male vocals on it as well). Adam was one of the few producers who kept freestyle alive after it's general demise in the early 1990's. He worked with artists on smaller labels including Metropolitan, which was also April's label, who along with Mic Mac was one of the only labels still releasing freestyle tracks. There was a brief and small resurgence in popularity of the genre in the mid-1990's, especially in Canada. Stephanie fit well into this 'new school' sound, with a serviceable voice over updated 'Planet Rock' beats. The album also included a couple of house tracks for good measure, including a remake of Prince's "I Feel 4 U", made popular by Chaka Khan. Five singles were released off of the album, but all only found limited popularity in freestyle venues. The album is going for $150 or more on the internet, however, so it appears there are some people very eager to get their hands on this. Perhaps if Stephanie had included her image on the album cover (she's a VERY attractive lady) she would have attracted a larger audience. Hopefully freestyle will get it's third wind soon (it seems to be possible with the popularity of these artists on Myspace) and we'll see the likes of Stephanie and her fellow divas grab some of the limelight they missed the first time around. We can only pray!

Download Symphony Of Love

1		Symphony Of Love
2		Loverboy / Lovergirl
3		I Feel 4 U
4		Secret Garden
5		I'll Be There 4 U
6		Edge Of A Broken Heart
7		Take Me Down
8		Wait 4 U
9		I'll Be There 4 U (Remix)
10		Loverboy / Lovergirl (Miami)
11		Loverboy / Lovergirl (Tekno)

David Burrill - Bump Da Booty Blue (1993) and Sinner (1998) DOUBLE POST!!

In celebration of my ranking on Pop Trash Addicts Best Blogs of 2008, I offer you another juicy double post! This time I'm featuring a male vocalist (there are too few on here, I know) who also had an illustrious career in gay porn!! In fact, David used his porn work to boost his profile and thus garner adoration in gay clubs everywhere, where his dance music no doubt went down very well. He is said to be straight, and despite the provocative titles of his albums and some of his songs, this is likely true, as he did 'solo work' in the movies he was featured in. ;) He also posed nude for several magazines, including Playgirl. This gave him enough of a profile to pursue his first love, music. Apparently he released an album called Cover Boy in the early 1990's, but this album is impossible to find. Then he released Bump Da Booty Blue on the Macola label in 1993. It was self-produced, and the music is primarily house, with traces of techno, not unlike Snap! or Technotronic. In 1994 he teamed up with another hottie, Chad Spikes, and they released an album together as DV8, also on Macola (an early version of the Sinner track "Let The Walls Fall" is featured on it). It took him five years to release his next solo album, Sinner, which was also self-produced and was on another indie label. This time the music was much more electro, with heavy traces of freestyle and house (and it includes an electro remake of Prince's "Little Red Corvette"). It was hoped to help him cross over into the mainstream, but it didn't. Overall his music is better than expected, well-produced and well-sung, especially on Sinner. His attempts at rap on Bump Da Booty Blue are more Marky Mark than 50 Cent, but they surprisingly work. He has not recorded anything since, as far as I can tell, and there is no info on his current whereabouts on the internet. But with the success of Colton Ford, there is obviously an audience for an aging male gay porn star, so he should strike while the iron is hot!

**UPDATE: Leave it to Consolecharlie to dig up the latest info! David is the founder and lead producer for the Sample Factory recording studio in Raleigh, North Carolina. Go to their website for more info and recent pics of David.

Download Bump Da Booty Blue

1		Bump Da Booty Blue
2		Face In Your Place
3		Stay With Me
4		Do It With Me
5		Make A Little Love
6		Do The Dance (Ext)
7		Lost Without You
8		Face In Your Place (Ext)
9		David's Dub

Download Sinner

1		Jump The Rump
2		40 Days & 40 Nights
3		Little Red Corvette
4		Let The Walls Fall
5		Show Me Now
6		Let It Go
7		Maria's Eyes
8		Need No Loving
9		Out Of My Life
10		Make A Little Love
11		Boom Boom (Sound Of The Rhythm)
12		Sinner
13		Jump The Rump (Giuseppe D.'s Ironbound Sound Radio Edit)

Fem 2 Fem - Woman To Woman (1993) & Animus (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

Happy New Year, everyone! I'm back! And to make up for my absence, I have a double dose of pop cheese for you (also, it's my b-day and I'm feeling generous. ;) Here we have Fem 2 Fem. They were formed primarily by producer and songwriter Peter Rafelson after he got the idea to create a female pop group that promoted open sexuality, and thus appealed to both a hetero and homosexual audience. The ladies got quite a bit of press with the release of their first album, mainly due to the fact that some of the members were lesbian or bisexual, and their videos and stage shows were suggestive and controversial. I saw them interviewed on a talk show at the time and was very intrigued by them, their vision and their music, which was primarily techno-house. They presented themselves very provocatively and got the attention of Playboy. They posed for the magazine the same year, though half of them refused to pose nude, claiming that the vision of the group was changing. They had a minor Billboard Dance hit with "Obsession" and toured with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson. Soon after they began work on their second album, though by it's release a few members had left, due mostly to the sexier direction the group was going. They were accused of changing from an expression of gay and lesbian acceptance and positivity to more of an exploitation of a straight man's lesbian fantasy. And indeed, their London stage show, Voyeurz, featured the ladies in various states of undress and sexual scenarios, all while being made up like strippers. Their second album featured some songs from the show, and the music was poppier and more euro-house. Again they had a minor hit on the Billboard Dance charts with "Where Did Love Go". But the album garnered even less attention than it's predecessor (probably because the initial shock wore off), and the group split. Since there were so many revolving members, I've updated their entries as much as I could on Discogs, so you can all find out more on the individual members and their whereabouts if you'd like. (One particular note of interest - Ali Navarro aka Alitzah Wiener of Nobody's Angel, who are also featured here, was once a member!) Let's face it, at that time, the public wasn't ready for a sexy 'lesbian' pop band, though years later Tatu would take the idea to the bank...

(For the CD maxi-single of "Where Did Love Go", go to my sister blog HERE.)

Video for Switch

Video for Obsession

Download Woman To Woman

1		Switch
2		Obsession
3		Woman To Woman
4		All About Eve
5		I Lose Myself
6		Coming Out
7		Waiting In Tangier
8		Charmed
9		Freedom Of Choice
10		Switch (Erotic Trance Mix)
11		Woman To Woman (Extended Mix)

Download Animus

1		Animus
2		Sin
3		Insatiable
4		Naked Heart
5		Swing
6		Compulsive Jane
7		Where Did Love Go
8		Cruel & Unusual
9		Make Me Love U
10		Scream Queen
11		Worship
12		Animus Reprise
13		Where Did Love Go (Bak2BASSiks Remix)
14		Take Control