What we have here is one of the great lost Eighties pop albums. Tracie was signed to Paul Weller's vanity label Respond in the early Eighties and had a brace of good Motown/mod influenced pop singles before the album appeared. Featuring one track written by Elvis Costello and a clutch of tracks penned by Weller himself, the songwriting is of a uniformly high standard. Although wearing it's Eighties production values rather loudly (the album was co-produced by Weller), the quality of the songs and the vocal performances from Tracie shine through. I think the ballads work best, but it's all good. This is a lovely artefact in common with Weller's output at the time, featuring a heavy Sixties retro vibe and sleevenotes by Tracie herself (supposedly). Having said that, the cover itself is a disaster area and I suspect that they were self-consciously veering too far away from the "sex" angle to the detriment of the overall finished product. Ah well. That was the Eighties for you. Sexual politics all in a muddle etc.
If you enjoy this, I recommend that you buy the brilliant Cherry Red re-issue which contains those early singles and a further selection of session tracks, B-sides and extended version in a lovely package. Cherry red are hitting the ball out of the park with just about every one of their pop reissues, so you should probably go and check them out anyway.
Vinyl rip at 320 Kbps.
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5 comments:
Thank you for this. This album brings back many happy memories. I was growing up in NZ as a massive Weller fan at the time and had the album imported. It was played to death as I dreamed of life in London, where I now live. A lovely end to the year. Happy New Year to you.
Aww. Brilliant feedback. Thanks so much, Adam. Here's to a cool 2011. x You should check out the Cherry Red reissue if you're a fan. It's amazing.
Hey you must read in people's mind! You can't guess how long I looked for that Tracie's LP to download just recently... I knew about her at first as singer for the early Style Council but then I had the chance to appreciate some of her songs. Her music reminds me the freshness of the Eighties.
Have you ever watched this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prKWGe10-kQ
I love it.
I think it's a nice rendition. And she's preparing something new (I read that way).
Here in Italy she's unknown to most of the people..
A Happy New Year To You And your family hoping you keep running you music blogs so open-minded ever.
Fab
I hope to have the time to share something on Spinster's too :)
I remember buying this LP at a flea market in the late 80's without even knowing she had recorded it although I was a Weller fan! I was really glad.
Muito obrigado por esse album raro
da Tracie. Deus lhe abençoe muito.
Pessoas como voce faz com que a internet seja magica.
Abraços
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