Annick Gagnon - River Of Love (1995) & Annick Gagnon (1999) DOUBLE POST!!

So AJ, a member of the amazing Facebook sharing group Pop Rush, has had a fascination with acquiring the music of French-Canadian pop singer Annick Gagnon.  I took it upon myself to buy her albums so I could share with AJ and the world.  I did have her self-titled album from 1999, but I remember hating it so much I sold it. Listening to it again, I'm not sure what I was thinking.  It's decent dance-pop and Britney-esque pop. Her first album, River Of Love, I've never heard before, and I can't say the same thing about it.  It may have the worst cover of The Locomotion that I've ever heard. LOL You be the judge.  Instead of writing a whole history, I'm stealing her story from Last.fm and a tribute page.  There seem to be many people with this name, including one who is a French-Canadian singer who was on the Quebec version of The Voice, but it's not our Annick. If you're out there, hit us up girl!

From the tribute page:

Name: Annick Cléo Gagnon
Nickname: Nickie
Date Of Birth: October 7th, 1978
Height: 5'1"
Eyes: Blue-Gray
Birthplace: Grand Falls, NB, Canada
Zodiac Sign: Libra
Instruments: Piano & Guitar

Music/Dance Accomplishments: By the time Annick Gagnon was 12, she had opened for Celine Dion and performed at a gala celebration for Moncton's 100th birthday. Her teenage years were filled with appearances on Morningside, Enfants Soleil, YTV's Breakfast Zone, Bonjour Atlantique and Breakfast Television. At 16, she released her debut album, River of Love. Now a veteran at 22, Gagnon's latest CD (self-titled) is gathering CHR steam across Canada with singles like "I'm Temperamental" and "Show Me". Produced by former BKS member Greg Kavanagh (who wrote most of the songs), the CD features a wide range of soulful pop and potential future dance-remix anthems. Gagnon's veteran backing musicians include Ben Riley (drums), Rob Guesus (organ), Steve Lucas (bass) and Richard Evans (piano). Annick Gagnon (the album, not the artist) was mixed by Vic Florencia at Kavasound Studios in Toronto and mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York. Gagnon, who won the 1996 ECMA Francophone Recording Artist of the Year Award, has been tapped to star in the new Vancouver late-night show, V-TV. She was also the ECMA 2001 Showcase Artist! (Written by Sarah Chauncey) She was featured on the Mike Bullard show twice in 2001 and also opened up for the band The Moffatts in their east-coast tour! She's undergone 10 years of classical voice training, 7 years of classical piano, & on and off hip hop dancing lessons!

Fav Color: blue
Fav Food: Sheppard's pie
Fav Song: I've got so many, but I guess I would have to say, "Rollin'" by Limp Bizkit
Fav Non.Alcoholic Drink: Hot chocolate
Fav Book: Élisa (French!!)
Fav Band of all time: Bon Jovi and the BIZKIT!!!
Fav Actor: Sean Connery
Fav Actress: Julia Roberts
Fav Quote: "The person who said wining wasn't important must have lost!" (I don't really believe in that way of thinking, but I think it's kinda funny!)

Hobbies: going to the gym, and hang out at the waterfront in Halifax
Musical Influences: Everything from classical to heavy hip hop grooves!

Embarrassing/Weird trait: I'm double jointed in the fingers and I can pop my hips!!
Stood out physical quality: I don't know, people say I have a nice smile... does that count?
Stood out personality trait: I have a big yap.. I talk to anybody... Maybe that's not all that good!!

From Last.fm:

Canadian-born Annick Gagnon was raised in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, and is a moderately well known Canadian pop singer.

Gagnon first sang live opening for Celine Dion in 1992 at a French Festival in New Brunswick, where she performed a medley of Disney favourites.

Annick began her career singing in both English and French, and was featured on MuchMusic's francophone show, French Kiss. In 1996, at the age of 16, she became the youngest recipient ever of an East Coast Music award for her debut album "River of Love".

Her second album, simply titled Annick Gagnon, was a nationwide success with singles such as "I'm Temperamental", "Show Me" and "Victim" solidifying her mark on the Canadian music scene well into the new millennium. At the East Coast Music Awards in 2001, she went home with the title of "Urban Artist of the Year".

As of 2002 Annick has resided in Halifax, and is balancing performing with pursuing higher education.

Download River Of Love

1 River Of Love
2 Danse D'amour
3 If I Try
4 The-Locomotion
5 Best Friend's Boyfriend
6 Chateaux De Sable
7 Soul Deep
8 I'll Be There For You
9 Hearts In Motion
10 Believin' In You

Live version of I'm Temperamental

Download Annick Gagnon

1 I'm Temperamental (Video Mix)
2 Show Me
3 Nothing But The Best
4 Victim
5 2 Steps Forward (1 Step Back)
6 This Love Of Mine
7 Groove Thing
8 Losing A Race With The Moon
9 Cherished Lies
10 I'm Temperamental (CHR Remix)
11 Tout A Moi (Remix)

Nemorin - Creole Dance (1992) and Mission Of Love (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

So, I was looking into the work of Toby Gad, the Danish super-producer and songwriter who has worked with the biggest pop stars in the world, including Madonna, Fergie, Ricky Martin, Selena Gomez, Kelly Clarkson, Demi Lovato, and Beyonce, and I came across an artist he worked with who I had never heard of before, Nemorin.  I checked out a couple of her videos and liked what I heard, so I ordered her two CDs.  Little did I know at the time that she was once Toby's girlfriend and that she had an extensive career of her own. Jacqueline Nemorin was born in Mauritius. She moved to London with her parents, and then to Germany on her own, where she married German producer and composer Frank Diez.  In Germany she also hooked up with disco composer and producer Veit Marvo and became part of his Red Point Orchestra in 1972.  She also did a lot of session singing.  She soon changed her name to Jackie Carter and briefly became part of disco trio Silver Convention.  Before they released their first album and biggest hit, "Fly, Robin, Fly", Jackie was replaced in the group and only sang lead on one album track, "Please Don't Change The Chords Of This Song".  However, she soon signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records and released her first album Treat Me Like A Woman in 1976.  She released the moderately successful singles "Treat Me Like A Woman" and "Just Like Lightning", but then lost her deal with Atlantic. In 1977, she performed in the German musical Tell!, and in 1978 she released disco remakes of the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" and The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". In 1979, she released her second album, Ruby Shoes, which was produced by her husband.  She released the singles "Stay For The Night" and "Ohh, What A Way To Go" to little success. In 1980, she and her husband joined Eric Burdon's Fire Dept. for one album.  She did mainly backing vocal gigs after that and then released her last single as Jackie Carter, "Heat Of The Night" in 1985.  She also returned to Mauritius that year for her own TV special. Also that year, she joined the pop vocal quartet The Hornettes.  She stayed with the group until 1993, wanting to concentrate on her solo career.  During her time in the group, she released the solo single "A Ci Lelao", which took influence from her Mauritian background and took on a world pop sound. In 1990, she met Toby Gad, who at the time was best known for his work with producer Frank Farian with Milli Vanilli.  She had divorced her husband in 1987. When Jackie left the group, she and Toby started writing together, which led to her first album as Nemorin, Creole Dance.  It included "A Ci Lelao" and took it's overall sound from that.  Toby took the reigns as producer, and they both wrote the songs.  "It Feels Good To Be Loved" was the only other single released.  Working on the album began a long romantic and professional partnership between the two, and Jackie started to write and produce as well.   In 1994 she had two songs on the soundtrack for The Neverending Story III, "Mission Of Love" and "Dream On (The Neverending Story)".  "Mission Of Love", which was in the eurohouse vein, was released as a single and saw some success in clubs.  An album followed the next year, with Toby again producing and the sound again incorporating world music. "Boat On The River" was released as the only other single. Jackie and Toby also formed the group Love You that year, and released three singles. including "Countdown For The Summer". The two then moved to New York and started working together for other artists, writing and producing pop songs for artists like Enrique Iglesias, Taylor Dayne, PYT, Sita and K-Otic.   They also released a song, "Free As A Bird", as Qute in 1999. After they separated in 2000, Jackie moved back to Germany and sang with the band Rubbersoul, and later moved to London, where she continues to write, produce and record. A pretty full career, I'd say, especially for someone I'd never heard of before!

Video for Accillelao

Live performance of It Feels Good To Be Loved

Download Creole Dance

1 Accillelao
2 Creole Dance
3 Aloha Mahe
4 Bajo
5 Tale About Freedom
6 It Feels Good To Be Loved
7 Around The World
8 Blood Of The Kings
9 Merry Go Round
10 Wheels On Fire


Video for Mission Of Love

Live Performance of Aloha Wahine

Download Mission Of Love

1 Mission Of Love
2 Aloha Wahine
3 Boat On The River
4 Angelina
5 Fire Of Love
6 Why?
7 Shine On
8 Le Le Kasbah
9 What If?
10 For The Children
11 Dream On - The Neverending Story III
12 Mission Of Love (Classic Version)

Connie - Connie (1986), No Tears (1995), The Best Of Connie (2002) & Party Time 1 (2015) QUADRUPLE POST!!!!

So, I guess I have left you guys waiting for a new post for a very long time.  It has been an extremely difficult year, as you can imagine, and I thank you all for your words of sympathy and support. I am in a better state of mind, rest assured. Recently I was thinking about Connie's rare album No Tears for some reason and wanted to hear it again.  After an extensive search in my messy collection, I located it and, after realizing how good it was, I felt that I needed to share it.  My partner Mark was very supportive of my blogs (and loved Connie), and with that in mind, I thought I'd come back with a quadruple post to make up for lost time. :) I originally fell in love with Connie in 1986 after hearing her song "Experience" on the radio.  This was when freestyle music was beginning to explode, and I was addicted! I managed to track the single down, and on the other side was "Funky Little Beat", which would become her biggest hit. After that, however, I never heard anything more from Connie. She had a lower profile that some of her contemporaries, and it wasn't until I found her self-titled album many years later that I could indulge in more of her fab music. Born Consuelo Piriz on July 30, 1964, in Miami, Florida, Connie dreamed of performing as a child, and in her early 20s was introduced to music producer Henry Stone. Stone was the co-owner and president of R&B and disco label TK Records, and he executive produced Connie’s debut single “Funky Little Beat”, which became an instant club hit and almost hit the Billboard Dance top 40.  Amos Larkins II produced the self-titled album that followed, and the singles "Experience“, “I Can’t Stop”, and “Rock Me” followed, though not to the same level of success.  They were instant classics in freestyle clubs, however.  While touring, Connie managed to record three more singles - a remake of KC & The Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight" in 1987 (included here on her first album), and "Tonight's The Night" in 1988 and "Rockin, Rollin Weekend" in 1989, both produced by Amos Larkins II. After touring for several years, Connie got married and decided to focus on family. It wasn't until 1995 that she would release her next album, No Tears, along with the same-titled single, on obscure label Black Olive, this time with different producers. Though the sound was still very much freestyle and Connie, both the single and album failed to have any impact, as freestyle was past its prime. Nothing was heard from Connie for 7 more years, when Thump Records released The Best Of Connie in 2002. Produced once again by Amos Larkins II, it wasn't a true "Best Of" since it contained remakes of four past songs, as well as remixes of "Funky Little Beat", three new tracks, and remakes of Trinere's freestyle hits "How Can We Be Wrong" and "All Night", and Debbie Deb's "When I Hear Music" and "Look Out Weekend" (also originally produced by Amos Larkins II). While mostly a freestyle album, the three new tracks were decidedly euro-house. By then freestyle was no longer in vogue, except for in retro clubs. Luckily, the internet would soon change that, and the demand for retro music grew rapidly as the internet did.  As with several other artists featured on this site, the demand for Connie grew as well. In 2006 she recorded the Latin reggaeton album Let's Party (Estilo Reggaeton) (no, I do not have it as I am not a fan of reggaeton, sorry!) and also released The Best Of Connie - Funky Little Beat (which is basically just a remastered version of her first album). After this, Connie toured in retro freestyle shows with other legends.  Finally, in 2015, she released another album, Party Time 1, again working with Amos Larkins II and returning to the freestyle sound that she was known and loved for.  Clearly Connie is on a roll once again, touring extensively, and we can only hope she releases new music again soon.

Video for Funky Little Beat

Download Connie

1 Experience
2 Your Eyes
3 I Can't Stop
4 Fire In My Heart
5 Funky Little Beat
6 Laughter In The Rain
7 I'm In Love With You
8 Rock Me
9 Get Down Tonight

Download No Tears

1 No Tears
2 Dream On
3 Together Forever
4 La La (Means I Love You)
5 I Like It (Street Mix)
6 Round And Round
7 I'll Be Comin' Back
8 Burning Desire
9 I Like It
10 No Tears (Hip House Mix)

Download The Best Of Connie

1 The Power Of Love
2 Spinning
3 Feel The Beat
4 Funky Little Beat
5 How Can We Be Wrong
6 Rock Me
7 Experience
8 All Night
9 When I Hear Music
10 Your Eyes
11 Look Out Weekend
12 Funky Little Beat 2.0 (Club Mix)
13 Funky Little Beat 2.0 (Radio Mix)

Download Party Time 1

1 Call 911
2 Get Up
3 Don't Want You To Go
4 The Night Is Still Young
5 Must Be The Beat
6 No One
7 Rock This Party
8 Romance
9 Don't Be Jealous
10 A Boy And A Girl

Mayomi - Mayomi (1995)

A couple of days ago a delightful friend of the Isle, Konstantin, sent me several albums off of my wantlist.  Thanks a TON for that, K! One I was looking most forward to was the only album by Japanese-Swedish rapper Mayomi.  And it does not disappoint. It was impossible to find anywhere when I first looked for it, but while researching Mayomi I saw that it was re-released in 2010 and several copies are now available on Amazon and eBay, and it's even on iTunes. Ah well, now you know where to go if you want high quality versions of your own.  I didn't find out much else about Mayomi, unfortunately.  I'm not even sure where I first heard about her, though it was likely due to her involvement on eurohouse act Melodie MC's track "Bomba Deng" from 1995.  Three years prior she and a friend appeared on the The World Rap Contest as Sista's Of Soul.  They didn't win, but ended up meeting Statikk, the producer behind Melodie MC and several other Swedish pop acts. He produced a track for them, "Make It Your Way", which was their only single before they broke up in 1993.  Mayomi went solo and released "Whatever I" the following year. Apparently it had moderate success, and with the track's producers, Collén & Webb, who were collaborators of Statikk's, she recorded her debut album for Virgin.  Three singles were released from the album in 1995 - "The Best A Man Can Get", "How Can I Get By" and the title track - and they met with some success as well.  But she only released one other single, "So In Love" in 2006, and hasn't been heard from since.  But if you enjoy other Europop rappers like Leila K, Leki, or Isle postee Daisy Dee, then you should get to know Mayomi.

Live performance of How Can I Get By

Live performance of I'm There

Download Mayomi

1	Commin' At Ya
2	I Am
3	Is This A Dream
4	How Can I Get By
5	I'm There
6	The Best A Man Can Get
7	Steppin' Out
8	Women Cry
9	Time Changes
10	Lullaby
11	Whatever I (Remix)

Don't Talk Dance - Don't Talk, Dance! (1995)

Don't Talk Dance was a one-off project from three members of three successful (at the time) Canadian bands - Chris Brown Of Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, and Tyler Stewart of Barenaked Ladies.  Though I was far from a fan of the latter two groups, I must admit I was curious about this album at the time.  To my surprise I ended up enjoying it as it is a funky jam session, and includes some really good and fun remakes like Madonna's "Into The Groove", Cameo's "Word Up", and Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" (which is actually track #77 on the album, after 64 blank mini-tracks).  The whole thing was basically a joke, according to Chris Brown.  It seems the boys used to hang out at a big house in Toronto and party with several friends, many of whom were also musicians.  The partying would eventually and obviously turn into a jam session, and many of these tracks were born at these parties, which explains the loose groove of the album.  The guys decided they should perform these tracks at a club, and thanks to the popularity of their groups, especially Barenaked Ladies, they even managed a record deal with Warner Music.  A live concert was held at Toronto's Ultrasound Showbar, and most of the album was recorded at that concert, though some songs were touched up or rerecorded. The record was promoted mainly as a solo outing for the Ladies' Stewart, though it really didn't gain much popularity.  (The boys were thoughtful enough to donate some of the proceeds to the Basset/Falk Cancer Research Foundation.)  Of course, they never planned for the band to be huge, and they still had their main bands to fall back on, which they did.  Since then Stewart has been recording and touring with the Ladies, while Johnson has continued on with Big Sugar and fellow 90s Canadian band Wide Mouth Mason.  Brown has released solo work as well as albums with fellow BTC member Kate Fenner, who also appears on this album.

Video for Theme From DTD

Download Don't Talk, Dance!

1		Theme From DTD
2		The Ketchup Song (Digable Potatoes Mix)
3		Jake's Rant
4		You've Been Instrumental
5		Funky Dollar Bill
6		Sweet Beets
7		Theme From Sanford And Son
8		Word Up
9		Fred And Barney Miller
10		Into The Groove
11		Bold As Love
12		Zap Beets
13		Dreams

Club 69 - Adults Only (1995) & Style (1997) DOUBLE POST!!

Though I am not a huge fan, I was offered very good tickets to Madonna's concert in Toronto tonight, so it seems I'll finally be seeing my first Madonna concert!  Which somehow got me thinking of Peter Rauhofer, one of her premiere remixers.  Which got me thinking about his albums released under the moniker of Club 69 (a very provocative name to go with the provocative album covers!).  Rauhofer was born in Vienna, Austria.  Always on the lookout for a fresh new sound in music-starved Vienna, through the radio he managed to tune into the emerging dance music scene and loved it.  This enthusiasm led to a job at a record store and then a gig with GiG Records, which specialized in and imported underground house and dance music from around the world.  Rauhofer would share these songs as a DJ, and soon moved into production.  His first release was the deep house "Unique" under the pseudonym Danube Dance in 1991, which featured American vocalist Kim Cooper, who happened to be living in Vienna.  The success of the song encouraged him to create another deep house song with Cooper, the saucy "Let Me Be Your Underwear".  The song became so successful that it was picked up for distribution worldwide by FFRR Records, and it became a huge dance hit everywhere, even reaching #18 on the Billboard Dance Chart.  Coasting on this success Rauhofer decided to move to New York to pursue his music career.  He began work on his first album as Club 69, newly signed to Tribal America.  He brought Kim Cooper along as his lead vocalist (her vocals were primarily spoken word), though he tested the waters with different singers on a few other singles released on GiG during the album's recording, namely "Take A Ride" featuring Connie Harvey in 1993 and "Sugar Pie Guy" featuring Annette Taylor and "Pleasure" featuring Leee John in 1994.  The album was released on GiG in 1994 and finally on Tribal America in 1995.  The first single in America was "Diva" which managed to reach #47 on the Billboard Dance charts.  This was followed by a re-release of "Sugar Pie Guy" backed by a remake of The Normal's "Warm Leatherette".  Though these failed to chart they still got play in clubs and led to a second album for Club 69, though label Tribal America had transformed into Twisted America after some difficulties.  The second album was released in 1997, preceded by the double single "Much Better / Drama", which ended up being Club 69's biggest success, reaching #1 on the Billboard Dance Chart.  While "Drama" again featured the spoken word vocals of Kim Cooper, "Much Better" featured up-and-coming singer Suzanne Palmer, and she helped Club 69 get their only Billboard Hot 100 hit, with the track reaching #95 in 1998.  The next two singles also featured Palmer, and both reached #18 on the Billboard Dance Chart - remakes of Diana Ross' "Muscles" and Urban Soul's "Alright".  (Of special interest to Isle devotees is the album track "I Look Good", which features the chorus from Isle postee Bernadette Cooper's semi-hit of the same name.)  The same year Rauhofer released an album as Sizequeen, which featured less vocals and deeper underground beats (and will likely be featured here in the future), and he also became a much sought after remixer.  In 1998 alone he remixed tracks for Madonna, Deborah Cox, Whitney Houston, Depeche Mode, and Cher, and his remix of her comeback hit "Believe" earned him a Grammy for Remixer Of The Year in 2000.  In 1999, along with the release of a Style remix album entitled Re-Styled, Rauhofer also started his own label, Star 69 Records, which has been going strong since, releasing dance hits by club divas including Suzanne Palmer and others like Celeda, Amuka, and Inaya Day, and also released a Club 69 "Best Of" in 2004.  Though Rauhofer releases his own music under different monikers on occasion, his focus has primarily been on his label and DJing and remixing, and he is still one of the most in demand DJs and remixers out there, this year alone having remixed Scissor Sisters, Toni Braxton and Kylie Minogue.

UPDATE:  Sadly, Peter Rauhofer lost a battle with brain cancer and died on May 7, 2013.  He will be missed, but his music will live on.  RIP

Video for Let Me Be Your Underwear 

Download Adults Only

1		Diva
2		Let Me Be Your Underwear
3		Sugar Pie Guy
4		Pleasure (Nothing Better)
5		Take A Ride
6		Fantasy (Deep Dominatrix Mix)
7		Unique (Is What You Are) (New York Underground Mix)
8		My Secret Wish
9		Riding Into Battle With Her High Heels On
10		Love Is The Message
11		Warm Leatherette
12		Diva (Pier Queen Mix)
13		The Theme

Download Style

1		Style
2		Much Better
3		I Look Good
4		Twisted
5		Muscles
6		My Orchard
7		Alright (Garage Club Mix)
8		Drama (Overload Club Mix)
9		Take Me To The Sky (The Theme)
10		Always Unique (Peter's Disko Mix)

Secret Life - Sole Purpose (1995)

The British group Secret Life began as producer/pianist Andy Throup and producer/guitarist Jim Di Salvo. They released the instrumental dance single "Spanish Lullabye" in 1991 on their own label. They soon added two more members, producer Charlton Antenbring and vocalist Paul Bryant. Together in 1992 they released the single "As Always" on indie Cowboy Records, a house remake of the Stevie Wonder classic. It climbed the UK charts to #45. Di Salvo left the group soon after and recorded throughout the rest of the 90s as part of dub-reggae acts Juggler (with Jason Carty), Bong Brothers and Salvo Jets. In 1993 the remaining members then released an original, the soulful "Love So Strong". It would be their biggest British hit, reaching #38 on the charts. This success led to their signing to Pulse-8 in the UK and Critique in the US for an eight album deal. With the label change, Antenbring left the group. Now a duo, they released two more house singles in 1994, "She Holds The Key" and "I Want You", both of which made it into the bottom end of the UK top 100, as well as a remixed version of "Love So Strong". Their only album debuted the following year and "Love So Strong" returned to the UK top 40 reaching one spot higher at #37, in large part due to new house remixes, most notably by Brothers In Rhythm. No other singles were released from the album, but in 1996 they released two more stand alone singles, "Vehicle" and "Love Love Love". Unfortunately Pulse-8 went bankrupt soon after and folded, preventing any other singles or albums from being released. Throup is said to have changed his name to Andrew Grainger and moved to the US to concentrate on being a lounge pianist. Bryant contributed guest vocals on a few tracks by other artists and is since believed to have left the music industry.

Video for Love So Strong

Video for As Always

Download Sole Purpose

1		Love So Strong (Single Version)
2		I Want You
3		Got To Have Your Love
4		Borrowed Time
5		Sweet Inspiration
6		She Holds The Key
7		As Always
8		Fantasy
9		Again & Again
10		46 Chromosomes
11		Love So Strong (Album Version)
12		Lullaby

Ariél - Ariél (1995)

Here is another little-known 90's gem for you, in response to a request to feature more 90s R&B girl groups. Ariél were an R&B trio consisting of Zwehla Taylor, Simone Harrison and Alana Wilson. From what little info I can gather, the group was formed by multi-talented jazz trombonist Gregory Royal (not to be confused with hip hop producer Greg 'Ski' Royal), who was also their producer. At least one member, Simone, attended the 'Fame'd LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in New York. The other two members were perhaps Canadian, as Royal's Wikipedia entry claims that the group was Canadian and charted in Canada with two songs, "Can't Let Love" and "Trust The Love You See". I find this unlikely as I am from Canada and I had never heard of them until I picked this up for $1 several years ago. Whatever the case, Royal constructed a 'new jack swing' sound for the girls, which was popular at the time. He also added plenty of jazz flourishes, as is evident on tracks like "Jazz Horn Players", "Ariél's In The House" and "Traffic Cop", which utilizes an unreleased track by Duke Ellington, whom Greg Royal worked with extensively. There is also some rap and spoken word courtesy of Zwelha. The first single was "Do The Boodiewop", which was one of the most straight-forward 'new jack swing' tracks on the album. The song was not a hit, and it would seem that no other singles were released, despite the claims of the Wikipedia entry. The group likely broke up soon after. What Zwehla and Alana got up to remains to be seen, but I did find out that Simone is working as an adviser with The Artist's Playground Theatre in her hometown of Brooklyn and also does voice work. She has also kept busy as an actress and apparently works behind the scenes on the TV show 30 Rock. She also released an independent solo album, Spoken Emotions, in 2002. As for Greg Royal, he has kept busy in many different areas, as a musician, author and even a football player. And, surprisingly, he has kept the music of Ariél alive. His off-Broadway musical play, It's A Hardbop Life, which debuted in 2004 and still continues to run in New York City, utilizes seven tracks that first appeared on Ariel's album. Royal has also been in the news recently for an odd lawsuit against Sarah Palin, claiming that she failed to issue a proclamation in Alaska in 2007 for a celebration commemorating the freeing of U.S. slaves! I truly never know what to expect when researching for this blog! LOL

Download Ariél

1		Can't Let Love
2		Jazz Horn Players
3		Poem Of Love
4		Afrika
5		Do The Boodiewop
6		Traffic Cops Oops
7		Ariel's In The House
8		I'll Hold On To The End
9		If I Had The Chance
10		Work Me!
11		Feel The Beat Rock The Beat
12		Trust The Love You See
13		Traffic Cop
14		Wonderland
15		Can't Let Love (Smooth Mix)

Sheree Jeacocke - Feel It (1985) & Jeacocke (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

The gorgeous Sheree Jeacocke is a Canadian institution. From the mid 80s to the late 90s she released a lot of music, in her homeland and abroad. I was fortunate enough a couple of weeks ago to locate her very first album, which is quite rare (though I'm sure one recent misinformed visitor to this blog would tend to disagree - wink wink) and can also feature her self-released EP from 10 years later. Born in Toronto in 1958, Sheree began touring with her band in the late 70s and eventually also joined Canadian disco/funk band Crack Of Dawn on tour, but her only recorded work was as a session vocalist for other singers and commercial jingles (her voice was everywhere on TV when I was a kid!). Then in 1985 the Canadian government organization FACTOR, which existed to fund fledgling artists, gave her money to record her own solo album. Feel It was released in 1985 by the Canadian Talent Library with very limited distribution. It featured dance-pop songs with an occasional rock or new wave slant, and showcased her versatile vocals. She released the single "You Get To Me", which garnered enough attention to get her a Juno nomination for Most Promising Female Vocalist and a deal with a major label, BMG. The label asked her to drop her last name and the album Sheree was released on BMG sublabel RCA in 1989, following a very similar formula to her first album. The first single, "Woman's Work", became a Canadian hit and also got her some international attention. The follow-ups, "Before We Fall", "Forever You Forever Me" and "Bang On", didn't do as well, though the housey "Bang On" was a minor club hit. Despite the failure of the follow-up singles, BMG kept her on and she released her next album, Miss My Love, in 1993, this time on BMG sublabel Arista and using her full name. Her sound on the album became more R&B and adult contemporary flavoured, as evidenced by the first single, "Miss My Love". It and the next two singles, "Serious" and "Everybody Needs A Love", managed to get radio play but were not hits. As a result, her association with the label soon ended. Not to be discouraged, Sheree recorded and released an EP on her own label in 1995 titled simply Jeacocke. The first single, "Mr. Big Stuff", a remake of the Jean Knight hit from 1971, became a Canadian club hit in it's remixed form. The EP itself went even further into a soul sound and included a remake of her own "Woman's Work". Perhaps encouraged by her dance club success, that same year she renamed herself J-Cock and appeared on the Pleasure Beat eurohouse hit "First Time", which I featured already on Lost Pop Treasures. The following year, again as J-Cock, she released an eurohouse remake of Alanis Morissette's "Hand In My Pocket" with Pleasure Beat, as well a solo single, a reggae-tinged remake of Stevie Wonder's "Sunshine Of My Life", which I also featured on Lost Pop Treasures. In 1997, the J-Cock eurohouse singles "All In All" (a Joyce Sims remake), "Sexuality" and "Come Together" were released as downloads only and didn't attract much of an audience. Since then, aside from a few vocal appearances here and there, Sheree has stayed away from the music scene and has instead concentrated on her career as a real estate agent, now going by the name of Sheree Cerqua. Still, I hold out hope that she will return to the music scene one day to grace us with her powerful voice once again.

For her Sheree and Miss My Love albums, my friend Rich has already featured these on his blog The Music Spectrum, so please go there to download. And for a site dedicated to Miss Jeacocke's discography, please visit Woman's Work: The Sheree Jeacocke Discography.

Download Feel It

1		I Wanna Be Your Girl
2		You Get To Me
3		Gimme Some Motion
4		It's Got To Be Love
5		Shakin In Stereo
6		Feel It
7		Slowly I Turn
8		Be My Boy
9		This Love Song
10		Can I Do It

Live performance of Mr. Big Stuff

Download Jeacocke

1		Mr. Big Stuff
2		So This Is Love
3		When In Rome
4		Midnight Train To Georgia
5		Womans Work

Legacy Of Sound - Holy Groove (1993) & Tour De Force (1995) DOUBLE POST!!

While Legacy Of Sound was a collective of sorts, it nucleus was producer Anders 'Bag' Bagge. Bagge joined forces with the mysterious "Snowman" and Gerry DeVeaux (not an official member of the group, BTW) to create a soulful and upbeat house sound, similar to American counterparts like Steve 'Silk' Hurley. They were considered among the forefathers of the 'happy house' sound. Appropriately enough their first single was entitled "Happy", and it was an instant dance hit internationally. It featured the vocals of fellow Swede Meja. Their second single "I Can't Let You Go" also featured Meja but wasn't near as popular, yet still they managed to get an international album release on RCA/BMG in 1993. The album featured Meja and James Gicho alternating on vocals. Gicho took the lead on their third single "Feel So Good", but it went largely ignored. They lost their international deal and DeVeaux and Gicho in the process, but managed to release another album in Europe on BMG/Ariola a couple years later (I didn't even realize this until I found this CD used a few years back). This time vocals were shared by Meja and Lori Perry, who was once a member of soul sister quartet Perri, and the sound remained mostly the same, with some more downbeat and eurohouse touches. But even though five singles were released - "Livin' & Learnin'", "Woman In Me" and "I Wanna Give You My Lovin'," all featuring Meja, and "Boy Don't Miss The Train" and "Wait (For Our Love To Find Us)" featuring Perry - none made any impact outside of their native Sweden and the collective disbanded. Perry continued to record as a solo artist, as did Gicho, though under the moniker of St. James he also found much greater success with another house act, SoundFactory, who had a huge hit with "Understand This Groove". After dropping some weight, Meja would have the most success as a solo artist, with the remixes of her song "All About The Money" burning up international dancefloors, and her featured duet with Ricky Martin, "Private Emotion", appearing on his hugely successful English debut album. She has maintained a successful career in Europe and Japan ever since. Gerry DeVeaux would also go on to a solo singing career, but had greater success as a producer, working with acts such as Kylie, Ultra Nate and, most notably, old friend Angie Stone. A fashion plate, he was also a judge on both Scandinavia's and Britain's Next Top Model. And the mysterious Snowman is no longer a mystery thanks to Kevin, as he happens to be music industry success Peter Swartling, a renowned record producer and talent scout who was a judge on the first four seasons of Swedish Idol. Anders Bagge was likely the greatest success story of all, however, as alone and as part of BAG & Arnthor, he was at the forefront of the pop resurgence in the new millennium, having produced acts like Robyn, Gina G, Ace Of Base, J Lo, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson and Madonna. He also replaced Swartling as a judge on Swedish Idol in 2008, along with his ex-wife Laila, whose solo album will definitely be making an appearance on the Isle in the future. ;)

Video for Happy

Download Holy Groove

1		Happy
2		I Can't Let You Go
3		Suddenly
4		When Is It Love
5		Feel So Good
6		Someone's Waitin'
7		Better Late Than Never
8		Where R U Now
9		Feel It In My Heart
10		Gimme Love
11		Takin' Me Higher
12		Feel So Good (Live Vibe)
13		Happy (Club Mix)

Video for Woman In Me

Video for Wait (For Our Love To Find Us)

Download Tour De Force

1		Interlude
2		Boy Don't Miss The Train
3		Wait (For Our Love To Find Us)
4		Woman In Me
5		If You Ever Turn Around
6		I Wanna Give You My Lovin'
7		I Got What You Need
8		Interlude - PT 2
9		Everybody
10		Black Rain
11		Am I Dreaming?
12		Keep Livin' & Learnin'
13		Bitchitude
14		Loving You