The 1980 Listening Post - Blue Angel - Blue Angel

Blue Angel - Blue Angel

#80

by Carl Hays

1980 Housekeeping

Blue Angel

Blue Angel

Genre: Pop, Rockabilly, surfer pop

Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Carl’s Rating 2.5 out of 5

Carl’s Highlights

I'm Gonna Be Strong

Late

Anna Blue

Genre: pop, rockabilly, surfer pop

My first attempt into the Blue Angel album ended quickly. I made it through the first two songs, a preview of the identity crisis this album ended up being, but something nagged at me. Who was the lead singer on this? She was too familiar. I had never heard of Blue Angel. I did not know who they were, and by the second song I remember running through a few comparisons that ended with Cindy Lauper. The lead singer was trying to sound like Cindy Lauper.  I am being clever in this moment feeling like I get 80's music. No you fool. The lead singer IS Cindy Lauper... I would later learn this rummaging through a dusty Wikepedia post. Then I have a WTF moment like I just discovered Diana was Wonder Woman.  After listenting to I'm Gonna Be Strong, I found vulnerability - and power.  Her vocals are mesmorizing.  I can see why she went solo after this awful album because she sings the shit out of a few of these songs and she is the only reason it did not get a 1 or 2 of 5.  I did not find any lyrical poetry in these tracks, they are pretty straight forward genre music, like Fade and esepcially Late which was fun and had a 50's feel to it. Cut Out was a surfer blast.  Can't Blame Me has parts that come close to sounding like something I know - The Goonies r Good Enough - and there are a few decent balads - Anna Blue - but nothing remotely close to Time After Time. If you like saxaphone solos they are peppered throughout and absolute slay the Red Adventure Dragon.  This group and this album feels like Cindy is just warming up...Tom Cruise in A Few Good Men making steak knife bargains before for he takes down Col Jessup.  She doesn't take a Marine down in this album but her vocals are an absolute Code Red.

https://open.spotify.com/album/4eYxHzpaWUmS4neKCy0Zyr?si=ral_v3qZThqRDaOvStOiMQ