Jamie:
Overall Rating: 8.8/10
Favourite Track: I’ve been loving you too long
Least Favourite: Respect
Notes: Went into this completely unaware of who Otis Blue was, but after listening to this album 3 times u can now definitely consider me a fan! Woke up in a rlly bad mood but as soon as I turned this on I was dancing around my room naked and shaking ass in the shower. fav songs are ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ + ‘I've Been Loving You Too Long’ they stood out to me the most and u can really feel the passion in his voice. will definitely be returning to this album and have added a few songs in my playlist already <3
Natalia:
Overall Rating: 9/10
Favourite Track: A Change Is Gonna Come
Least Favourite: Rock Me Baby
Notes: This album makes me wanna learn how to dance Northern Soul baddd. A Change Is Gonna Come was incredible, shook my soul. Otis really seems like he feels his music, he def has his eyes squeezed shut while singing. The vocal slides give me chills every time. The cover of My Girl will never be as good as The Temptations though. Does lose points in Rock Me Baby bc he keeps saying little girl. 9/10 Overall, would sit in a rocking chair on a porch to this one.
Toheed:
Overall Rating: 7/10
Favourite Track: (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Least Favourite: Wonderful World
Notes: Surprised to enjoy this album as much as I did. I wasn’t overly familiar with Otis Redding before listening, but definitely will explore more now! Great variation in tempo and rhythm throughout, and I loved the guitar in ‘Rock Me Baby’ a lottttttt; however, the fave has to be ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ for me. A dynamic, energetic track amongst other emotive and romantic options, with ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water’ being one. A good choice to end the album. Overall, a good fusion of different music genres but still very cohesive and actually amazing for the time. Overall 7.5/10!!! did prefer arethas version of respect tho hunny
Aiyra:
Overall Rating: 7 /10
Favourite Track: My Girl
Least Favourite: Rock Me Baby
Notes: This album made me feel calm and comforted, mellow and nostalgic for memories I don’t have.
Overall Rating: 6.1/10
Favourite Track: Kid
Least Favourite: Precious
Notes: Some nice songs in here and i can see why this album is so highly regarded, however there are a lot of skips too. The opening track was very corny and I thought the album was not gonna be for me but I’m glad I stayed and listened to the full thing.….. ‘Kid’ was my fav. Probably won’t be returning to this one but it was worth streaming!
Natalia:
Overall Rating: 6.3/10
Favourite Track: Kid
Least Favourite: Stop Your Sobbing
Notes: Too busy trying to aura farm and sound cool without having any depth to their lyrics (expected from London creatives) unless I’m missing something.
Aiyra
Overall Rating: 5.5/10
Favourite Track: up the neck
Least Favourite Precious
Notes: I really hated the first song. I thought the album was going to be really shit after that but it suprised me because a few songs I did quite like and saved into my library. I loved the lyrics of up the neck. Lust turns to anger, a kiss to a slug
Something was sticky on your shag rug, look at the tile
I remember the way he groaned and moved with an animal skill
I rubbed my face in the sweat that ran down his chest
It was all very run of the mill
But I noticed his scent started to change somehow
His face went berserk and the veins bulged on his brow
I said "baby, oh sweetheart"
Toheed:
Overall Rating: 5/10
Favourite Track: Space Invader
Least Favourite: Precious
Notes: Nice album. Not my thing entirely, but somewhere in the middle I did begin enjoying it. The lead singer could benefit from being a bit more tuneful, but really I don't want to start dragging. It’s an alternative punk new wave album, and it’s okay. :P I didn’t pick up any detail or throughline while listening, though I presume there is one. Maybe the songs got louder as it went along?? Idk. Not bothered but not mad. One word to describe it all: contrived.
Natalia:
Overall Rating: 6.8/10
Favourite Track: She Bop
Least Favourite: All Through The Night
Notes: Didn’t feel very excited at the thought of this album as the 80s is my least favourite music era. However, I was pleasantly surprised with some tracks, namely She Bop - a saucy number which I found out is about female pleasure - pretty groundbreaking for the time. I already had Time After Time locked and loaded to put as my favourite but after two listens of She Bop I was hooked! The album starts strong with some deserved nostalgic classics that I’ve heard many a time at family doos, GJWHF and TAT. The lyricism of her songs surprised me and some were more experimental than I expected. The audio clips of Betty Boop in He’s Unusual were a delightful treat and really lend themselves to Cyndi’s faux childlike persona. When You Were Mine showed me a different side to her, a more emotive and desperate way of singing which I loved - why did singers stop doing that? Overall the first five songs were nice and strong but the latter half of the album loses itself to basic nothingburger tracks. I love how she’s so happy to sound a mess, she really lives up to the album name and I absolutely love that. Cyndi explores themes of money, love, girlhood and having fun which really sets the tone for how the 80s was beginning to be defined at the start of the decade. Probably wouldn’t listen again but will take She Bop with me.
Toheed -
Overall Rating: 8/10
Favourite Track: When You Were Mine
Least Favourite: Witness (but I wouldn’t call it bad)
Notes: Omg. Didn’t know how I was gonna react to this one as I rarely listen to music from people who cannot sing. So naturally I was unfamiliar with Cyndi Lauper, but this album was fierceeeee. The first 4 songs had an amazing run on them, just a perfect opening to this album. ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun ’ and ‘Time After Time’ are two standout classics and load-bearing pillars responsible for conveying the “New Wave Synth Pop 80’s Independent Girl Boss” moment that began Cyndi’s legacy. I imagine it must have taken a village to make this album, considering it’s her solo debut, and it definitely shows to me. How they managed to take her shrill, strident voice and use it to her benefit is beyond me, but I shall always applaud hard work, and I did enjoy it in the end, too! Her cover of ‘When You Were Mine’ was so good and lowkey; it has a quality that the original lacks for me. Still prefer Prince’s version tho. Noticing now, after Otis Blue, the girls used to cover their peers’ songs for their own albums, which is so cute to me, and I wish everyone would do this more again. Unfortunately, the album lost its nerve for me after ‘Witness’ and followed up with a few middle-of-the-road songs. If I were alive at the time, I probably would’ve gagged for those songs too, but I wasn’t. All in all, it’s not particularly an album I’d listen to altogether. Or one I’d run to if I had that 80’s pop craving. But individually, some of the songs are really good and trailblazing, so I have to respect it. I’d put this on while cleaning or ironing to have in the background, or it could be a fab road trip album, but not one I'd pick and choose to listen to all that regularly.
Jamie:
Overall Rating: 7.8/10
Favourite Track: She Bop
Least Favourite: Witness
Notes: This album was really fun and camp and I enjoyed listening to it, especially ‘Girls just wanna have fun’, ‘Time after time’ and ‘She Bop’. The first half started off really strong, but it fell off towards the end for me. Cyndi Lauper created a vibrant album full of life and personality and I still enjoyed it overall. a great example of good pop music from the 80s <3
Aiyra:
Overall Rating: 6/10
Favourite Track: When You Were Mine
Least Favourite: He’s so unusual
Notes: I’ll listen to this album when I am a girl who just wants to have fun
Jamie
Overall Rating: DNF
Aiyra
Overall Rating: 1 /10
Favourite Track: bitches brew but I don’t have a favourite track
Least Favourite: everything else
Notes: I don’t like this type of jazz girl bye
Toheed
Overall Rating: 2 /10
Favourite Track: n/a
Least Favourite: n/a
Notes: Not doing her.
Natalia
Overall Rating: It is so bad, I wanna give you a zero. But that’s not possible, so I give you… a 1/10
Favourite Track: The minute long silence in Sanctuary
Least Favourite: John McLaughlin
Notes: I can’t imagine what inflated sense of self critics must have to think this album is in any way interesting, boundary-pushing or relevant. Another example of something is old and niche, therefore people think it’s good. I feel like I’m stuck on a bad trip the whole time - what a waste of a good album name
