Sheena Easton

The_Rani

The_Rani

Sheena's final studio album 'Fabulous' turns 20 years old on Friday. I remember being intrigued by the idea of the album when it was mentioned in Record Collector a few months before it came out. At the time, I don't really recall hearing 'Giving Up Giving In', the lead single or seeing the video. The first I knew, I saw the CD/cassette of the single in the local record store and bought it by chance. I loved it and had the album and promo of the follow-up single 'Love Is In Control'. Despite the album doing horribly, I got into Sheena's fabulous back catalogue and even saw her live in concert on a trip to Las Vegas a couple of years later. Whilst she has never troubled the charts ever again, or really recorded anything of note, I do think the album stands up well for what it is and the remix packages for the singles were so good.



Giving Up Giving In


Love is in Control
 
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WhatKindOfKylie?

WhatKindOfKylie?

The_Rani said:
Sheena's final studio album 'Fabulous' turns 20 years old on Friday. I remember being intrigued by the idea of the album when it was mentioned in Record Collector a few months before it came out. At the time, I don't really recall hearing 'Giving Up Giving In', the lead single or seeing the video. The first I knew, I saw the CD/cassette of the single in the local record store and bought it by chance. I loved it and had the album and promo of the follow-up single 'Love Is In Control'. Despite the album doing horribly, I got into Sheena's fabulous back catalogue and even saw her live in concert on a trip to Las Vegas a couple of years later. Whilst she has never troubled the charts ever again, or really recorded anything of note, I do think the album stands up well for what it is and the remix packages for the singles were so good.



Giving Up Giving In


Love is in Control
Click to expand...

Fabulous indeed!! Great version of Love Is In Control too.
 
Tommy Johnson

Tommy Johnson

Looking forward to Cherry Red reissuing her early EMI albums. I know these aren’t favourites on here, but I’d love deluxe editions of A Private Heaven, Best Kept Secret and Take My Time. Especially if they’re packaged and put together like the Kim Wilde titles from earlier this year.
 
IEngineered

IEngineered

The_Rani said:
Sheena's final studio album 'Fabulous' turns 20 years old on Friday. I remember being intrigued by the idea of the album when it was mentioned in Record Collector a few months before it came out. At the time, I don't really recall hearing 'Giving Up Giving In', the lead single or seeing the video. The first I knew, I saw the CD/cassette of the single in the local record store and bought it by chance. I loved it and had the album and promo of the follow-up single 'Love Is In Control'. Despite the album doing horribly, I got into Sheena's fabulous back catalogue and even saw her live in concert on a trip to Las Vegas a couple of years later. Whilst she has never troubled the charts ever again, or really recorded anything of note, I do think the album stands up well for what it is and the remix packages for the singles were so good.



Giving Up Giving In


Love is in Control
Click to expand...

I’ve never really dared to dip into this album because of the way it was marketed (OTT). I’d hate it if it were too camp. Your notes suggest the album has been misrepresented somewhat by the campaign. Should I take the plunge?
 
d2019

d2019

The BBC documentary from that time 'Never Can Say Goodbye' is brilliant. Should still be on youtube.
What's curious about the campaign is that they were pushing the whole 'Sheena's back and she's current' rhetoric, which was at odds with the album of retro covers...
 
tylerc

tylerc

I obviously would rather her late 80's/early 90's material get the reissue treatment, but I'll definitely grab the early years if they are done well. A Private Heaven is my favorite of hers, and I do like the debut/Do You quite a bit. It's You Could Have Been With Me and Madness, Money and Music that I find particularly dull and unexciting.
 
The_Rani

The_Rani

IEngineered said:
I’ve never really dared to dip into this album because of the way it was marketed (OTT). I’d hate it if it were too camp. Your notes suggest the album has been misrepresented somewhat by the campaign. Should I take the plunge?
Click to expand...

Well it is called 'Fabulous', so you would assume it was a poppers-o-clock trash fest, but there are actually quite a few mid-tempo songs on there - That's What Friends are For, On My Own, and the two original tracks at the end are a bit classier than some of the more OTT covers. Get Here To Me is arranged a bit like a Donna Summer song starting off slow and then upping the tempo. It is a shame is that it's not on streaming and whilst the songs are on youtube they aren't in a proper album playlist.



I found this clip of Sheena being interviewed by Kirsty Wark on Youtube that probably exemplifies why a lot of people didn't warm to Sheena at this point. It is quite funny in retrospect, and certainly, she has become a bit softer as the years have passed. I love snippy Sheena though, I can imagine she'd have been a nightmare to work with at her worst.

 
WhatKindOfKylie?

WhatKindOfKylie?

The_Rani said:
Well it is called 'Fabulous', so you would assume it was a poppers-o-clock trash fest, but there are actually quite a few mid-tempo songs on there - That's What Friends are For, On My Own, and the two original tracks at the end are a bit classier than some of the more OTT covers. Get Here To Me is arranged a bit like a Donna Summer song starting off slow and then upping the tempo. It is a shame is that it's not on streaming and whilst the songs are on youtube they aren't in a proper album playlist.



I found this clip of Sheena being interviewed by Kirsty Wark on Youtube that probably exemplifies why a lot of people didn't warm to Sheena at this point. It is quite funny in retrospect, and certainly, she has become a bit softer as the years have passed. I love snippy Sheena though, I can imagine she'd have been a nightmare to work with at her worst.

Click to expand...

Never ever seen this interview before and think this so needs to be put right!
 
The_Rani

The_Rani

After 20 years it's not likely she'd be interested. I'd like a proper reissue campaign for her MCA Records era, or even a Greatest Hits spanning her whole career and capturing some of her soundtrack songs including So Far So Good, Christmas All Over The World, A Dream Worth Keeping (how was that one not a hit!) and some of the later songs from the Japan albums and of course Fabulous. This is my fantasy second disc, probably a bit long... Only the ones I've underlined are available on Spotify in their album version forms...

U Got The Look (with Prince)
The Lover In Me (7")
Follow My Rainbow (7")
Days Like This (7")
101
Arms of Orion (with Prince)
What Comes Naturally
To Anyone
A Dream Worth Keeping
I'm In The Mood For Love / Moody's Mood For Love
The Nearness of You
My Cherie
Flower in the Rain
Too Much in Love
Modern Girl '97
Love Will Make You Wise
My Treasure is You (Radio Edit)
Carry a Dream
Giving Up Giving In (Radio Edit)
Love is in Control (3eee Radio Mix)
 
WhatKindOfKylie?

WhatKindOfKylie?

The_Rani said:
After 20 years it's not likely she'd be interested. I'd like a proper reissue campaign for her MCA Records era, or even a Greatest Hits spanning her whole career and capturing some of her soundtrack songs including So Far So Good, Christmas All Over The World, A Dream Worth Keeping (how was that one not a hit!) and some of the later songs from the Japan albums and of course Fabulous. This is my fantasy second disc, probably a bit long... Only the ones I've underlined are available on Spotify in their album version forms...

U Got The Look (with Prince)
The Lover In Me (7")
Follow My Rainbow (7")
Days Like This (7")
101
Arms of Orion (with Prince)
What Comes Naturally
To Anyone
A Dream Worth Keeping
I'm In The Mood For Love / Moody's Mood For Love
The Nearness of You
My Cherie
Flower in the Rain
Too Much in Love
Modern Girl '97
Love Will Make You Wise
My Treasure is You (Radio Edit)
Carry a Dream
Giving Up Giving In (Radio Edit)
Love is in Control (3eee Radio Mix)
Click to expand...
Good list that!
 
IEngineered

IEngineered

The_Rani said:
Well it is called 'Fabulous', so you would assume it was a poppers-o-clock trash fest, but there are actually quite a few mid-tempo songs on there - That's What Friends are For, On My Own, and the two original tracks at the end are a bit classier than some of the more OTT covers. Get Here To Me is arranged a bit like a Donna Summer song starting off slow and then upping the tempo. It is a shame is that it's not on streaming and whilst the songs are on youtube they aren't in a proper album playlist.



I found this clip of Sheena being interviewed by Kirsty Wark on Youtube that probably exemplifies why a lot of people didn't warm to Sheena at this point. It is quite funny in retrospect, and certainly, she has become a bit softer as the years have passed. I love snippy Sheena though, I can imagine she'd have been a nightmare to work with at her worst.

Click to expand...

So. I ordered the cd off eBay upon reading your words of wisdom. It’ll arrive in a few days. I really want to like this - I’ll keep you posted!
 
tylerc

tylerc

The_Rani said:
Well it is called 'Fabulous', so you would assume it was a poppers-o-clock trash fest, but there are actually quite a few mid-tempo songs on there - That's What Friends are For, On My Own, and the two original tracks at the end are a bit classier than some of the more OTT covers. Get Here To Me is arranged a bit like a Donna Summer song starting off slow and then upping the tempo. It is a shame is that it's not on streaming and whilst the songs are on youtube they aren't in a proper album playlist.



I found this clip of Sheena being interviewed by Kirsty Wark on Youtube that probably exemplifies why a lot of people didn't warm to Sheena at this point. It is quite funny in retrospect, and certainly, she has become a bit softer as the years have passed. I love snippy Sheena though, I can imagine she'd have been a nightmare to work with at her worst.

Click to expand...


Watching this interview, I'm shook at her candor and general iconicness. I knew she had a reputation for being snooty but I am living for her answers!
 
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