Yeah, Emerald City I find a difficult listen but it's due to the production values. I just find the sonics and to some extent the arrangements offputting. I don't think the material per se is the problem.
Are all of Teena's remastered discs from this century to be avoided, or are there any that are listenable? (first six albums are what I'm focused on)
I hadn't realized that her 21st century output was that egregiously mastered. Gimme a minute to get the low down.
I recently listened to the 2002 Motown Classics remaster of It Must Be Magic and it's so annoyingly bright and shrill, compared to the fuller, warm sonics of the original 1981 US vinyl.
I played Irons in the Fire and Robbery last week and thought the same thing as I was listening strangely enough. And I am someone that seldom thinks about whether the performer is alive or not when listening to music. That might be due to the amount of classical music I listen to. But I do remember the feeling that I missed her and regretted her passing.
Somehow I missed this thread. Teena Marie is still on regular rotation for me. I don't have any albums after Ivory. Are they any good? Any recommendations?
I love Passion Play but like all 90s CDs it is a song or two overlong. Of course you can reprogram it to your taste.
I love the drive on this track. Really, something that could have been in Top Gun or one of those 80s fighter pilot films. But the lyrics and melody kill it (imo). I love Teena - her musical chops are unquestioned. And I realize that this track is part if the musical portrait of the Emerald City album. But if she had ever purposely put out an instrumental track on any one of her albums this could have been it.
“So you say you’re leaving for the southern tip of Spain To soak up local color and forget my name” Lyrics for days... Ed
On one hand, it amazes me that Prince and Teena never worked together, yet on the other I somehow think Teena would've never let herself play sidekick to the purple one. Anybody know what they thought of each other?
Stopped by the used cd store on my way home from work today and they happened to have a copy of the original Starchild cd for $6 (almost half what I've seen it for at Amoeba a few times), so I finally picked it up. Somehow I'd never heard the whole album Made it through the first five tracks on the way home and really loving it so far. Can't wait to hear the rest!
How'd you like it? Your post made me want to revisit it. I was sitting here thinking that I hadn't heard her in a while but couldn't think of what to play. Thanks!
I was hankering for an instrumental version of T's Playboy mostly because I like the track's rhythm and horn arrangement but I couldn't find one. So I settled for the extended cut - In my search other tracks from Robbery ('83 album, first on Epic after her break from Motown) popped up - I had forgotten how good the album still sounds! To me the title track is the weakest cut in an otherwise strong collection of songs. Good to hear it again.
"Casanova Brown" destroys everything else on this album easily. There's some decent stuff here but "Casanova Brown" is just a timeless song, production, and vocal performance. Ed
Destroys? Ok. Doesn't ruin Stop The World, Shadow Boxing or Playboy for me but yeah, it's a signature Teena jam.
Oh agreed all day. It’s not that the album is that bad; it’s only that “Casanova” is that good. It’s one of the best songs by anyone that I’ve ever heard. Heartbreak has never been so elegant. Ed
Yes, and her live performances of Deja Vu, which continued until she passed, were always showstoppers. It's inexplicable to me why no one bothered to produce a first rate recording of any of her concerts. There are a few bootleg/video Cam recordings on YouTube but nothing on a professional level that I've seen. If anyone is aware of any please leave us the info!
I used to listen to her on the radio. I guess it's about the only music from the 1980s that I can remember liking. Mostly I was listening to 1970s. Anyway I looked into this and found out she died almost 10 years ago. How can I explain it? I just feel sad for the loss of such a great performer. Time has not been kind lately. We lost Aretha and a whole lot of other giants. I don't have much hope for the new breed. Let's hope for some new young musicians who can keep it going. Is there a good place to find the whole discography with comments? Tidal does not have some of the albums mentioned in this thread and no other hires service is available here. I can buy CDs if I know what to look for. Thanks guys. BTW Tidal has a Master of Beautiful. This is a superb production, great sounding album. You guys gotta hear it if you have not yet.
I'm rockin' out to Congo Square. This has similar production values to Beautiful. Great album with very good sound quality.