Sandie Shaw [1988] Hello Angel

[01] Nothing Less Than Brilliant
[02] Take Him
[03] Hello Angel
[04] A Girl Called Johnny
[05] Strange Bedfellows
[06] Please Help The Cause Against Loneliness
[07] Hand In Glove
[08] Cool About You
[09] Flesh And Blood
[10] Comrade In Arms
[11] I Will Remain



cduniverse: On this 1988 recording, the U.K.-based vocalist performed material composed especially for her by Morrissey ("Please Help The Cause Against Lonliness") and Jesus and Mary Chain ("Cool About You") and 15 more, including "Lover Of The Century," "Jeane," and "I Don't Owe You Anything."
(amg 7/10)

Sonic Youth [1987] Sister

[01] Schizophrenia
[02] Catholic Block
[03] Beauty Lies In The Eye
[04] Stereo Sanctity
[05] Pipeline - Kill Time
[06] Tuff Gnarl
[07] Pacific Coast Highway
[08] Hot Wire My Heart
[09] Cotton Crown
[10] White Cross
[11] Master-Dik



amg: EVOL was a major leap forward for Sonic Youth, but Sister is a masterpiece, demonstrating the group's rapidly evolving musicality. More than ever before, Sonic Youth's songs sound like actual songs, and their collages of noise, distortion, and alternate tunings are now used to provide texture and depth to the music, which is original, complex, and rewarding. Not only is there the full-throttle roar of "Tuff Gnarl," but there are shimmering layers of ambient harmonics and dissonance that are as haunting and challenging as any of their barrages of feedback. Furthermore, Sister has a warm sound, which lures the listeners into music that's defiantly arty but never indulgent. It's one of the singular art rock records of the '80s, surpassed only by Sonic Youth's next album, Daydream Nation.
(10/10)

Sinead O'Connor [1987] The Lion And The Cobra

[01] Jackie
[02] Mandinka
[03] Jerusalem
[04] Just Like U Said It Would B
[05] Never Get Old
[06] Troy
[07] I Want Your (Hands On Me)
[08] Drink Before The War
[09] Just Call Me Joe



amg: Sinéad O'Connor's debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it's entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what's striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound — an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking "Mandinka" or the sexy hip-hop of "I Want Your (Hands on Me)." Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since "Troy," "Jackie," and "Jerusalem" are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It's not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it's a thoroughly impressive debut — and it's all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus.
(amg 9/10)