The Sandra 80's/90's Rate: Done, winner crowned!

MilesAngel

MilesAngel

I thought Innocent Love had a good chance of going Top 3. It has a nice combination of verse synth and piano, a fun chorus and I like the little keyboard breakdown. My favourite part is the pre-chorus.

I love the synth horns in the Heaven Can Wait chorus, one of my favourite 'instruments' in the discography. I enjoy the dissonance between the verses and chorus, because both parts are great. I especially like the way Sandra sings the words 'higher,' 'fire,' 'liar' and 'higher' again in the verses.
 
WoW73

WoW73

#3: We'll Be Together



Average score: 9.76

What. A. Song.

@Rooneyboy: 10
@WoW73: 10
@Remorque: 9
@Maki: 7.75
@idratherjack: 10
@soratami: 10
@MilesAngel: 11
@Epic Chocolat: 9.1
@Hatbar: 11

@MilesAngel: "We'll Be Together has one of the most uplifting, feelgood choruses in the discography. Sandra's wonderful vocals convey many kinds of emotion, and the production and synths are glorious."

@Maki: "The verses sound a bit mumbled, which probably helps the chorus stand out."

@Rooneyboy: "Another (of the many) contenders for my 11, slightly remixed for release (called the 89 remix) the remix adds a little more oomph and elevates this to sound even better than the album version. Sandra's first co-write and it's my favourite released song of hers. Hubert Kemmler again interacts with her so well, always wondered what a full duet with those two would have been like? "
 
idratherjack

idratherjack

We'll Be Together (in 89 remix form) is amazing and I wanted it to win! It was an instant favourite when I bought The Very Best of Sandra, that chorus is so euphoric. This would have been my 11 had it not been for Everlasting Love.

My least favourite song of the Top 10 is so going to win this isn't it?
 
WoW73

WoW73

The Long Play is the only album with songs left....








So at number two with an average of 9.78 we find.....







































In The Heat Of The Night



My favourite song from the debut album, it has the sound of 1985 done right in every detail of the song, the production. AMAZING.

@Rooneyboy: 9
@WoW73: 10
@Remorque: 11
@Maki: 9.75
@idratherjack: 10
@soratami: 10
@MilesAngel: 10
@Epic Chocolat: 8.3
@Hatbar: 10

@Maki: "Among the biggest songs in this rate for sure. Apparently I gave it 4 points when it appeared in PJ Retro, must've been a very strong round."

@Rooneyboy: "When I first heard this song I was pretty disappointed, it seemed rather watery and tame compared to Maria Magdalena, but in recent years I have realised it's almost as good. 'You lose your heart and sell your soul' is a fab line, it's a stomper and that's for sure! "







Which means, at number ONE, with an average of 9.92.....

(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena



The break-through hit in Germany, and debut international single - and my first introduction to Sandra, and her distinct and wonderful vocals. A huge hit in so many countries, reaching number one in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, The Netherlands, Greece, Finland.... and 87 in the UK.

@Rooneyboy: 10
@WoW73: 10
@Remorque: 10
@Maki: 9.25
@idratherjack: 8
@soratami: 11
@MilesAngel: 10
@Epic Chocolat: 11
@Hatbar: 10

@Maki: "Obviously her signature song for a reason, but not one of my ultimate faves by Sandra. "

@Rooneyboy: "
Her signature song and Number 1 all over Europe yet only made number 87 in the UK which still bemuses me to this day.  Though Radio 1 ignored her and Smash Hits magazine cruelly named it I'll never be (Madonna) and said she never would be. Its sublime, Sandra's vocals are amazing, Cretu's Production is ridiculous and Hubert Kemmlers male vocals really compliment the song. It's a true 80's classic and would remain Sandra's signature song through her entire career. "


So that's it!! Thanks for participating - we were a small group, but devoted!
Thanks @soratami for doing the magic with the spreadsheet!

And who knows, we might do this again with some other 80's diva (or group...)!

@ohnostalgia and/or @2014, do you need anything from me now this rate is done?
 
idratherjack

idratherjack

In The Heat Of The Night was the second Sandra song I ever heard after Everlasting Love and was blown away by it! A storming slice of mid 80s Europop with those amazing backing vocals, it has remained a firm favourite over the years.

As you can see from my 8 I have never loved Maria Magdalena but I can't deny it's a fan favourite and I had a sneaky feeling it was always going to win.

Thanks for a great rate @WoW73, I have made some good new discoveries along the way and it has confirmed that Into A Secret Land is one of my desert island discs.
 
soratami

soratami

Thank you for hosting @WoW73! And thanks for participating everyone!

I can share some spreadsheet tidbits now:

At the five voter mark the top 5 was in a completely different order:

1 We'll Be Together 10.4
2 Secret Land 9.9
3 In The Heat Of The Night 9.8
4 Heaven Can Wait 9.7
5 Maria Magdalena 9.6

We'll Be Together got two 11s followed by three 10s, hence its extremely high average. Only the last three voters (@Remorque, @Epic Chocolat and @Maki) scored it below 10.

The whole top 4 was very close, there was a 1.5 point difference between #1 and #4, so basically any of the four could have easily won, and there were even points when there was a tie at #1.

Album averages were as follows:

The Long Play 8.555
Mirrors 8.43
Into A Secret Land 8.573
Paintings In Yellow 7.851
Close To Seven 7.694
Fading Shades 6.903

And the highest scores were @Remorque (8.577), me (8.564) and @Rooneyboy (8.509), while the lowest were @Epic Chocolat (6.738), @Hatbar (7.618) and @idratherjack (7.8).
 
MilesAngel

MilesAngel

To be honest, I was kind of hoping Maria Magdalena wouldn't win, but I can't complain seeing as I gave it a 10, and it was on my
11 shortlist too (which was 5 songs long). It will be getting a high score in the next Winners Rate.

Thanks @WoW73 for hosting the rate and giving me the opportunity to dive into Sandra's discography. I don't know why I haven't done it earlier, and I'll definitely look into her 2000s albums now.

EDIT - Forgot to say, I'm also very happy that my 11 made Top 3.
 
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Maki

Maki

I was definitely rooting for "In The Heat of the Night" out of the two but "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" is a great winner nonetheless! The former just sounds a bit more massive to me.

Thank you for organizing and hosting this rate, @WoW73 and @soratami! It was a really nice opportunity to make some discoveries from Sandra's discography. Now I'm also curious as to what her music during the 21st century sounds like..
 
idratherjack

idratherjack

Maki said:
I was definitely rooting for "In The Heat of the Night" out of the two but "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" is a great winner nonetheless! The former just sounds a bit more massive to me.

Thank you for organizing and hosting this rate, @WoW73 and @soratami! It was a really nice opportunity to make some discoveries from Sandra's discography. Now I'm also curious as to what her music during the 21st century sounds like..
Click to expand...
The Stay In Touch album from 2012 is a massive return to form and a great modern take on Sandra's classic 80s sound

 
soratami

soratami

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This rate's impact!
 
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