Sheena Easton carved out a trail of hit albums in the 1980s with catchy, bouncy pop tunes and a powerful, easily listenable vocal style. It didn't hurt that she was extemely cute either. This CD of her fourth album is Sheena at the peak of her career in 1983 with the hit "Telefone(Long distance Love Affair)". There really isn't a bad track on the entire CD, and anyone who loves fun, easy to listen to 80s pop will enjoy this one tremendously. Unlike the female pop "vocalists" of today who seem to think that moaning and groaning is "singing", Miss Easton was truly talented, and she received a special award from Billboard magazine for being the only artist EVER to have a hit on every one of the different musical genre Billboard charts. That's talent.
Sheena Easton started to take a new musical direction with this album - edgier, catchier dance-rock material as opposed to her earlier pop repertoire. This is an album that you have to listen to while remembering its context - the early 80's - because the production is quite typical of those days. For those of us who aren't embarassed to admit that 80's music was fantastic (and there are many of us), this album is a real treat.
The debut single, "Telefone", became a top ten single, and its nervous keyboards and heartfelt vocals certainly turned it into an arresting performance. The heart-wrenching ballad "Almost over you" also became a moderate hit, but the third single ("Devil in a fast car", definitely one of the album's rare weak spots) deservedly went nowhere. But there are many other highlights on this album, such as the effervescent "Sweet talk", "I like the fright" and "Let sleeping dogs lie". Sheena has always excelled at ballads, and this album lives up to her reputation : "Just one smile" is a lovely ballad that features Sheena at her most expressive, and "Don't leave me this way" is a real showstopper where Sheena's desperation is heartfelt and as real as it gets.
There are a couple of weak moments ("Devil in a fast car", the silly "She's in love with her radio" and the dull, linear "Best kept man"), but overall the high moments of this album (and there are plenty) make it much worth the purchase.
Sheena's EMI albums were all re-released with remastered sound and plenty of cool extra tracks. This album certainly has its share : "Wish you were here tonight" is a ballad that would have become a standard (if EMI hadn't relegated it as the B-Side of "Telefone"), and "I don't need your word" is also a beautiful ballad. Also included are extended dance versions of "Telefone", and her smash top 10 hit duet with Kenny Rogers, "We've got tonight". Those extras are just an additional argument as to why you should rush and purchase this great CD.
