Laura Enea - Laura Enea (1992) & Catch Me Now (1994) DOUBLE POST!!

No artist frustrates me more than Laura Enea. Here is a woman with a great voice and beauty who released two major label albums and even had a Billboard Top 100 pop hit, and yet I have never been able to find biographical information on her. Of course, she does have a Facebook account and I could write her there and ask her for some details, but I don't like hounding artists on Facebook. That's what fan pages are for! She needs one STAT! But of course, should anyone else care to invite her there as a friend and get the scoop, I wouldn't stop them (hint hint ;). What we do know is that she was signed to Next Plateau and released her self-titled album in 1992. The first single, "This Is The Last Time", was the song that made it into the top 100, to #70. It rode on the wave of the freestyle frenzy that happened in 1991, but came just as that wave was crashing and freestyle was heading back underground. While the album included several freestyle cuts (my fave being "Red Light Green Light", written by Laura herself) and the freestyle track "Our Love" was also released as a single, she also obviously had a taste for the pop of Stock, Aitken & Waterman, as she faithfully remade Kylie's "Especially For You" and "Better The Devil You Know", and Princess' "Say I'm Your Number One", and even released the latter two as singles. They were not terribly successful, but Next Plateau gave her another chance. Her next album also contained freestyle tracks, as well as remixes of "This Is The Last Time" and "Say I'm Your Number One", but this time she included some R&B flavoured tracks, as well as a remake of Evelyn 'Champagne' King's "Your Personal Touch". The title track was released as a single, but failed to generate any heat, and Laura was dropped from the label and seemed to drop off the face of the earth as well. One more freestyle single, "Can We Find A Way", appeared on the Micmac label in 1996, but other than that nothing has been heard from her since. However, she is rightly hailed as a queen of freestyle, and us fans would love to know what she's up to now (hint hint;).

Video for Say I'm Your Number One

Live performance of This Is The Last Time

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1		This Is The Last Time
2		If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
3		Red Light, Green Light
4		Especially For You
5		Love Makes The World Go Round
6		Our Love
7		Say I'm Your Number One
8		Boy, I Can't Cry
9		Better The Devil You Know
10		Take Me Back

Download Catch Me Now

1		I Don't Give My Love (To Just Anybody)
2		Catch Me Now
3		I Like Whatcha Doin' To Me Baby
4		Question Of Love
5		Your Personal Touch
6		Take Me Back
7		Close To You
8		Say I'm Your Number One
9		Change Of Heart
10		Don't You Want My Love
11		All My Love (Is For You)
12		This Is The Last Time

Hall Of Fame - Roxy Roller (1994)

From what little I can piece together, Hall Of Fame began in the Philippines as a cover band fronted by a trio of teenage sisters: Luisa, Tota and Ajie Mendez. After they moved to the west coast of Canada with their parents , Luisa and Tota somehow managed to hook up with vocalist/keyboardist Peter James, guitarist Herb Classens and drummer Steve Marshall. Together with producer James Bowers, the group concocted a pop album that covered all of the genres that were hot at the moment. The title track was a remake of the only hit by Canadian glam-rock band Sweeney Todd (whom Bryan Adams would later become the lead singer of and thus begin his lengthy career). That song was the sole reason that I picked up this album, as it was a childhood favourite. Their version isn't too different than the original, except with a dancier backbeat and a female vocal. They managed to release one single from the album, "Irie", which is a reggae-pop song, not unlike something by Ace Of Base or Aswad. The vocals on the album are shared between the ladies and Peter James. The rest of the independently released album includes a few more reggae-pop tracks, a few ballads, and three great euro-house tracks: "In Love With You", "Feel The Magic" and "You Turn Me On". Those three songs alone make this album worth the price, which was a bit more then I'd planned on paying, but I only had this album on cassette and figured you all would love it, so I got it off eBay and it arrived yesterday, and voila! ;) Anyway, they had absolutely no profile in Canada, never mind the rest of the world, and they came and went with barely a whimper. But fear not, as I discovered that Luisa is now one of Canada's premiere Tina Turner impersonators! In addition to Tina, she impersonates the likes of Donna Summer, Amy Winehouse and Lady GaGa! And she also fronts the Big Night Out Band, a cover band whose members also support her tribute acts and includes her sister Tota and Hall Of Fame's drummer Steve Marshall, whom apparently she is now married to. Go to her websites HERE and HERE for more!

Download Roxy Roller

1		Roxy Roller
2		Irie
3		Grab Dat Butt
4		What Could Be Better
5		It Must Be Love
6		Takin' Our Time
7		In Love With You
8		Down By The River
9		Feel The Magic
10		You Turn Me On
11		Falling In Love Again

Candi / Candi And The Backbeat - Candi (1988) & World Keeps On Turning (1990) DOUBLE POST!!

Once again I present a group who I have had overwhelming demand for, and I finally located the CDs in my collection, so here we are. ;) This is the epitome of 80s dance pop. Candi was a group of Italian-Canadians who initially toured the wedding circuit as a cover band apparently called Sensation. It consisted of singer Candita Pennella, bassist Nino Milazzo, drummer Paul Russo and keyboardist Rich Imbrogno. Somehow they got the attention of I.R.S. Records and signed on, changing their name to Candi, a moniker obviously taken from their lead singer, and also a good description of their music. Their first single, "Dancing Under A Latin Moon", was an instant hit in Canada and soon also blew up in the US, reaching number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100. It's Latin sound was in vogue at the time thanks to the popularity of the freestyle genre as well as Latin influenced artists like Gloria Estefan (though the rest of the album wasn't very Latin-flavoured). Three other singles were released from the album (which was produced by popular remixer David Shaw with assistance from hot pop production duo Sergio Munzabai & John Morales) and they were all big hits in Canada: "Under Your Spell", "Missing You" and the ballad "Love Makes No Promises". (Also check out the song "Pleasure Island", which uses the melody from Isle postee Liberty Silver's "I Do Love You".) The group and Candita were even nominated for several Juno awards. But their success didn't continue south of the border, unfortunately. This didn't stop them from releasing a second album, but this time as Candi And The Backbeat, thanks to people often confusing 'Candi' as Candita herself and, thus, a solo act. The name change made sure people acknowledged the boys as well (though Imbrogno left the group to become a successful freestyle producer). Though they were now produced by relative unknown Robert Brown, their sound stayed very much the same, and they had more Canadian hits with "The World Just Keeps On Turning", "Friends Forever", and "Good Together" (but likely the most interesting track for pop lovers here will be their remake of the SAW song "Getting Closer", made famous by Haywoode and also recorded by Kylie ;). But their success remained within Canada's borders and quickly waned, and they soon ceased to be. It is said that Candita married Russo and now teaches music at a high school somewhere in Toronto. Oh, how I would love to run into her, and if I do, I'll be sure to get the scoop on her time with Candi and what she's done since, and I'll definitely share it here! ;)

UPDATE: I recently discovered that Candita did the lead vocals for a track in 1986 called "Humpty Dumpty" by Rainbow.  It's a cute kid-centric Hi-NRG song.  Download it HERE.

Video for Dancing Under A Latin Moon

Video for Under Your Spell

Video for Love Makes No Promises

Video for Missing You

BONUS: Thanks to Steve, here are some Candi remixes. Thanks Steve!!

Download Candi

1		Under Your Spell
2		Missing You
3		Shine On
4		Independent
5		Love Makes No Promises
6		Dancing Under A Latin Moon
7		Dance With Me
8		Lucky Night
9		Pleasure Island
10		Closer Than Ever

Video for The World Just Keeps On Turning

Video for Good Together

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1		The World Just Keeps On Turning
2		Friends Forever
3		What's In A Love
4		Dream Train
5		Good Together
6		Time For A New Life
7		Getting Closer
8		Someone Like You
9		Find Love (Don't You Wanna)
10		Saving All The Love

Candyflip - Madstock... (1990)

Candyflip, which consisted of Brits Danny Spencer and Ric Peet, is yet another group that had a huge hit but couldn't maintain the momentum, mostly because that hit was a remake of a very popular song and it was not particularly exemplary of their sound. Originally known as Yin Yang, they came out of the ravey acid-house and 'Madchester' scenes that spawned more renowned groups like Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses and The Soup Dragons. Their name was slang for mixing the drugs LCD and Ecstasy, so they were definitely into the scene. Though they had a bit of the Madchester sound, their sound was much more like synth-dance groups like The Beloved and The Pet Shop Boys. Their version of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever" became a huge hit in the UK, and got attention overseas as well, where it was a big hit on the Modern Rock and dance charts. This was likely due to the song's familiarity, and it's lyrics and psychedelia were fitting for the druggy rave scene. But their other singles "Space", "This Can Be Real", "Love Is Life" and "Redhills Road" failed to reach those heights. They still managed to keep a fairly high profile in the UK thanks to the popularity of the rave scene, but they only managed one more non-album single in 1991, "Keep The Faith", before they called it quits. Of course their careers didn't end there. Danny Spencer went on to record in many different dance oriented groups, the most successful being Sure Is Pure, who did many well-regarded remixes, and Soul Mekanik, who produced several tracks on Robbie Williams' (underrated, IMO) Rudebox album. Ric Peet continued on as a producer, with his greatest success being producing Brit sensations The Charlatans. It's unlikely the two will join forces as Candyflip again, however, mostly because there is another group from the US that now goes by that moniker.

Video for Strawberry Fields Forever

Video for This Can Be Real

Video for Space

Video for Redhills Road

Download Madstock...

1		Love Is Life
2		Strawberry Fields Forever
3		Wonderland
4		This Can Be Real
5		Madstock
6		Redhills Road
7		See The Lights
8		Theme
9		Space
10		Ask Why
11		Strawberry Fields Forever (Raspberry Ripple Remix)
12		Space (Funny Mix)

Lori Yates - Untogether (1997)

Lori Yates was raised in Toronto, and began her singing career at 19 in a new wave band. But despite her city upbringing, her heart was more in the prairies and roots country music. She formed the band Rang Tango and was successful with the "cowpunk" sound made famous by k.d. lang in her early years. This got her the attention of Sony Nashville, who signed her on as a solo artist. She relocated to Nashville, and in 1989 released her first album of contemporary country music, Can't Stop The Girl, but it was not a big success and the label dropped her. She moved back to Canada and Virgin Music, who released the album Breaking Point in 1993, which was still country, but also roots rock and soul. This album also met with only minor success and it would seem she took time off to rethink her direction. Apparently looking for a new audience and perhaps pop chart success, she came back with Untogether, which was a total departure from her previous work. This time she chose to hook up with a group of trip hop musicians called Opium Concepts. She was clearly taken with the sounds and success of groups like Portishead, Morcheeba and Sneaker Pimps and attempted to emulate their sound. While she came close, with a poppier and more accessible sound, she could not emulate the success of those groups. While the single "Lost Highway" received minor radio play in Canada, a second single, "Frequency", tanked, as did the album, and the label dropped her. The audience just could not accept that a country thrush could transform into an electronic diva. Realizing her strengths, she formed the band Hey Stella! a couple of years later and returned to country and roots rock. Over the years she played in various venues and with various bands, and in 2007 she independently released another solo album, The Book Of Minerva, which remains in her comfort zone - acoustic country music. Unfortunately, she stands as a sad example of an artist who shouldn't have strayed so far from their niche, even when the results are as good as this album.

Download Untogether

1		Lost Highway
2		Free Me
3		Frequency
4		Winterland
5		Superstar
6		Untogether
7		Make You Stay
8		My Oh My
9		Sweetest Times
10		The Future Is Here

Elisa Fiorillo - Elisa Fiorillo (1987) & I Am (1990) DOUBLE POST!!

One of the albums I've had the most requests for is Elisa Fiorillo's I Am. Since I aim to please, here it is, along with her first album.  Elisa Fiorillo grew up in Philadelphia with a love of singing. This led to her appearing on and winning Star Search in 1983 at the age of 15. The combination of good looks and powerful pipes led to her being signed to Chrysalis Records a few years later. Her first recording was on the soundtrack of the film Summer School. The track, "Jackie", was also recorded that same year by Blue Zone, Lisa Stansfield's first group, and became a hit for them. Elisa also attracted the attention of super-producer and labelmate Jellybean, and she did guest vocals on two of the tracks from his Just Visiting This Planet album. The track "Who Found Who" became a top 20 Billboard hit, so Elisa quickly recorded a solo album to capitalize on it. The song "Little Too Good To Me" from Jellybean's album was included on her album as well and was released as a single as 'Elisa Fiorillo Featuring Jellybean'. It was a dance hit but didn't become a pop hit. Two more singles, "How Can I Forget You" and "Forgive Me For Dreaming", did reach the Billboard pop chart, but not the top 40. The final single, "You Don't Know", didn't chart, and Elisa's moment in the spotlight seemed over. To be honest, I was never a fan of any of the singles and didn't bother getting the album. Though she worked on the album with Jellybean and another of Madonna's collaborators, Reggie Lucas, and was appealing to Madonna's audience, her songs lacked the excitement of Madonna's work, in my opinion. But a few years later she appeared on my radar when she began working with my idol Prince. She recorded her follow up at his Paisley Park studios, and also did back-up vocals on some of his songs. The album was mainly produced by Paisley Park stalwart David Z., and it was much funkier and Prince-influenced. The first single, "On The Way Up", became her biggest hit, reaching the Billboard Top 30. But although she seemed destined for greater success, the follow-up single, the Prince-produced "Oooh This I Need", barely dented the Top 100 and Elisa once again faded from view. She did keep busy doing backing vocals and jingles over the years, as well as concentrating on being a mom. She managed to release three more independent albums - the poppier Undecided in 2001, and the jazz-inflected Teach Me Tonight in 2002 and Labour Of Love in 2006/7. Also in 2007 she released the independent country album Light That Shines, under the moniker E.J. Dease, taking her husband's last name. She continues to record new material to this day, including a couple of collaborative albums. For more info on her recent music, go HERE. She also hooked up with Prince again in 2009, appearing with him as a backing vocalist on The Tonight Show, and continued on as a permanent member of his band the New Power Generation.  You can also see her perform weekly in Las Vegas with the Bruce Harper Big Band.

Video for How Can I Forget You

Live performance of Forgive Me For Dreaming

Download Elisa Fiorillo

1		You Don't Know
2		How Can I Forget You
3		Gimme Special Love
4		Forgive Me For Dreaming
5		Do Something Foolish
6		Little Too Good To Me
7		More Than Love
8		Headin' For A Heartache
9		Lover's Prayer
10		Two Times Love

Video for On The Way Up

Live performance of Ooh This I Need

Download I Am

1		I Am
2		On The Way Up
3		Out Of My Mind
4		Playgirl
5		Love's No Fun
6		Ooh This I Need
7		Ain't Right
8		Something So Strong
9		Don't Change
10		Purpose In Your Life

Forest For The Trees - Forest For The Trees (1997)

Forest For The Trees was basically a one-man show, masterminded by producer and musician Carl Stephenson, with a little help from his friends. Stephenson initially found success as a hip hop producer in the late 1980s, his greatest success coming from his work with the Ghetto Boys and Paula Abdul's animated friend MC Skat Kat. He eventually moved on to work with alternative rock bands, and this combined production experience attracted the attention of musical provocateur Beck. Beck enlisted Stephenson to co-produce the majority of his 1994 major label debut, Mellow Gold, which itself was a hip hop/alt rock hybrid. Obviously the album was a huge success, and this afforded Stephenson the profile to embark on a career as a recording artist in his own right. He gathered many diverse musicians, including Beck, to assist on an a largely experimental album, which included doses of rock and hip hip but also utilized various world music sounds and electronic flourishes. Interestingly the album took much longer to complete than anticipated due to Stephenson's having a nervous breakdown after the success of Mellow Gold. It has a similar vibe to Mellow Gold but is even more "adventurous", if possible. Surprisingly the first single, the trippy "Dream", was a minor hit, reaching #72 on the Billboard Hot 100. But follow-up "Planet Unknown" didn't catch on and nothing else was released from the album. Though he did release an EP entitled The Sound Of Wet Paint in 1999 that included two versions of the track "Wet Paint" as well as three new songs, nothing else has been released under the Forest For The Trees moniker since. It is rumoured that another album exists but has yet to be released, and Stephenson continues to dabble in production work for others.

Video for Dream

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1		Dream
2		Infinite Cow
3		Fall
4		You Create The Reason
5		Tree
6		Wet Paint
7		Stream
8		Ohm
9		Algorithm
10		Green Light Street
11		Planet Unknown
12		Thoughts In My Head

Bruce Roberts - Intimacy (1995)

Though you likely don't know Bruce Roberts by name, you know his music. This American songwriter has written hits for Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand ("No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", "I Got Your Love", "The Main Event"), Celine Dion ("Unison"), Laura Branigan ("The Lucky One"), Pointer Sisters ("Twist My Arm"), Jermaine Jackson ("Dynamite"), as well as Dolly Parton, Roberta Flack, Dusty Springfield and Cher, among many others. It's like a gay man's fever dream! The first song he wrote was recorded by Bette Midler for godsakes! LOL Anyway, Bruce actually started out wanting to be a performer, and he was in musicals and reviews as a child. His first "big break" was doing vocal overdubs for Danny Bonaduce's first (and last) album. Yes, Danny from the Partridge Family! That led to more work in the studio and eventually to his first self-titled album on Elektra in 1978. It was pretty straight-forward 70s pop-rock. Though it didn't spawn any hits, they let him record another album, Cool Fool, that was (barely) released in 1980. With his failure as a recording artist, Bruce concentrated on where his success (and the money) was: songwriting. He maintained a very healthy career as a songwriter throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. But he got tired of other people having success with his songs and wanted to sing them himself. He signed to Atlantic and finally got his chance once again as a singer. The first (and only) single was "When The Money's Gone", a dance pop number that featured Elton John on back-up vocals. It didn't really hit except for in a few clubs. The rest of the album was nothing like this single, unfortunately, and consists of mostly MOR ballads. Think of a male Celine Dion. The album also includes his version of friend Donna Summer's "All Through The Night". Though a great songwriter and vocalist, and with assists on the album by people like David Foster, k.d. lang, Luther Vandross, Ashford & Simpson and Sir Elton, his talent and connections weren't enough to get him an audience, so he went back to songwriting. He did record one more track, this time a ballad with Donna Summer for the soundtrack to the movie Daylight called "Whenever There Is Love". It was this track that introduced and endeared him to me, as I heard a Junior Vasquez remix of it that was absolutely awesome. In 1999, a 'euro' remix of "When The Money's Gone" was included on the Flawless soundtrack, with additional vocals from Kristine W and Sir Elton, and was a hit in gay clubs. Bruce also scored some other tracks on that soundtrack. Then, in 2003, "When The Money's Gone" would appear again, as Cher recorded it for her Living Proof album and it was released as a single. It didn't do much better than Bruce's version, however. Bruce created a website sometime in 2006, though it would appear that he hasn't been back much since. But his songwriting career still carries on successfully.

Download Intimacy

1		Intimacy
2		Real
3		Let Me Steal Your Heart
4		When Love Goes
5		My One Joy
6		When The Money's Gone
7		Raise The Population
8		All Through The Night
9		Emerald
10		The Man Who Loves You

The Beatmasters - Anywayawanna (1990)

The Beatmasters consisted of Brits Richard Walmsley, Amanda Glanfield and Paul Carter. The three got together in the late 1980s with hopes of being a dance music production and songwriting team. Their production for acts like The Cookie Crew and remixes for the likes of Depeche Mode got the attention of Brit dance label Rhythm King, who wanted them as an act in their own right. Their first single, "Rock Da House", which featured The Cookie Crew, was an instant top ten hit in the UK. Each of their successive singles, "Burn It Up", "Warm Love" and "Hey DJ (I Can't Dance To That Music You're Playing)" were also British top ten hits. The last one featured Betty Boo, formerly of rap duo She Rockers, and jump-started her career as a successful solo artist. The Beatmasters were considered among the forerunners of the hip-house sound, and their success in the UK got the attention of Sire Records in the US, who picked up their album for North American distribution. Though "Hey DJ" had some dance club success, the Beatmasters sound obviously did not translate overseas and they were mostly ignored in North America. They did manage to release another album in the UK entitled Life & Soul, and the sound was more straight-forward hip hop and acid jazz. But it and it's singles were much less successful and the album was not distributed internationally. The trio soon ceased as a recording act. They continued on as successful remixers, however, and after Walmsley left, Glanfield and Carter continued on as a duo and had success as producers, most notably with Betty Boo on Girls Aloud's debut album. For me their most exciting work was in 2008 on one of my fave acts Helicopter Girl's awesome album Metropolitan. It is proof that they have managed to successfully adapt with the times.

Video for Rock Da House

Video for Hey DJ (I Can't Dance To That Music You're Playing)

Video for Warm Love

Download Anywayawanna

1		Who's In The House?
2		Hey DJ/I Can't Dance To That Music You're Playing
3		Burn It Up (On The Groove Tip)
4		Warm Love
5		Ska Train
6		Rok Da House (W.E.F.U.N.K)
7		Make Me Feel
8		Don't Stop The Beat
9		Midnight Girl
10		Sarayet-Sayam Sembtaé (Pt.1)
11		Rok Tha House (7" Original)
12		Burn It Up (7" Original Radio Edit)