Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - 1979

This record has been sitting around waiting to be posted forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but at least 6 months. This, I think, is the last in the long line of records from the infamous new wave/power pop purchase of '08. For you long time readers you'll remember back in the spring and early summer when I was posting all kinds of new wave and power pop records from the late 70's early 80's. They were all bought at the same time at a thrift store and I was so excited I quickly digitized them all and began posting them. Somehow this one has been sitting around and I never posted it. Maybe because it isn't the strongest of the records. That doesn't mean it stinks, but it isn't as solid as the others. I certainly wasn't as excited about it. If I had been it wouldn't have taken this long to post.

This record caught my eye not only because it was part of that big purchase or what had to be someone's record collection, but also because I knew Cindy's name from the Grease soundtrack. She sang "It's Raining On Prom Night". That song cracked me up as a kid. It's not really funny, but to a little boy the line about about something falling down the sewer "with my sister's I.D." cracked my brother and I up. Dumb huh? I like the song so much that it showed up on my "Happy When It Rains Mix" that I posted earlier this year. If you haven't checked that out, do yourself a favor and do so. Might come in handy with the cold wet month upon us.

But back to this record. Off the top of my head, "Fult Tilt Rocker" though the title is kind of cheese ball the song is kind of catchy and good. In general the album was a surprise for me on how much it rocked because I was kind of thinking it may have a 50's vibe given my experience with Grease. It isn't, though, at all. No retro posturing here, just straight a head pop rock numbers. It is 1979, so you can hear a little residual disco influence in the rhythm tracks, but hey even The Stones succumbed to that.

"Real To Real" sounds more New Wave and like it could have been in "Valley Girl". It's lighter and bouncier. It holds it's own among other girl vocal bands like Scandal or The Waitresses or Josie Cotton. That should give you some point of reference. "Powerless" is another one that has a nice bounce to it. Kind of a post punk New Wave thing going on in this one as well. The opening rhythm reminds me a little of something from The Clash. I probably shouldn't compare this to The Clash, because I think that may get hopes a little too high, but it is just what came to mind while listening.

Actually, now that I'm listening to the record again, "Raincheck On Romance" does have a little retro vibe to it. I can even hear a little "It's Raining on Prom Night" in there. I'm sure if I didn't know it was the same person I wouldn't make that connection, though.

The last recommendation on the record is "Holding Me Crazy". The song has lots going on with background vocals, and musical change ups. I like it for it's ambition. It kind of stands out from the other songs on the record just for that reason.

I must say that felt good writing this much. I need to get back to posting LP's because there is always more to write about and since I've slowed down the posting I've been going through a little withdrawal. This definitely felt good. I'd love to hear what you readers think as far as what kinds of posts you like. LP's? Singles? Mixes? Genres?

So until next time,

Enjoy!

01 Full Tilt Rocker.m4a
02 Real To Real.m4a
03 Trust Me.m4a
04 Hurry Up Forever.m4a
05 Steal The Night Away.m4a
06 Too Close To Home.m4a
07 Powerless.m4a
08 Raincheck On Romance.m4a
09 Two-Track Mind.m4a
10 Holding Me Crazy.m4a

Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - Side 1.zip
Cindy Bullens - Steal The Night - Side 2.zip

5 comments:

Unknown said...

By any chance, will you be posting Christmas from Pepino the Italian Mouse by Lou Monte for the Christmas Season?

Thanks for the great posts!

Spencer said...

Sadly I do not have that record to post. The closest I may come is posting a Christmas mix I did a few years back that had Dominic The Donkey.

If I ever do come across that record I will for sure buy it and probably share it, but it isn't in the cards this year. Do check back because I do have a great December planned with lots of out of print odds and ends Christmas records to share. It should be a fun time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Thanks for reading and asking though.

George said...

can you repost this? would love to hear it

Spencer said...

E-mail me and I'll hook you up.

sfilichia@sbcglobal.net

Anonymous said...

In those days Cindy Bullens was a very special lady as the late host Dick Clark from American Bandstand made good comments about her. She was born female in the beginning and most everyone loved her. From the start she was soprano since her friend Bob Crewe made her sing that range. She was good-looking as a tomboyish woman as part of the women's lifestyle. She would have been on the cover of the magazines, like "Journal", "Family Circle" and "Woman's Day". Now she is not a woman anymore since Cindy Bullens died as a female in early 2011 when transition began. Furthermore, she changed herself into a man looking terrible with new name, Cidny Bullens. Cidny Bullens is the worst name I dislike and that's the incorrect name I react to. How dare the queen of pop and rock of the 20th century messed up her tomboyish female image with that horrible transition by switching from being feminine to being masculine! I don't like it! Don't you know how worse it gets in the world of today? Look at her now. She has gone sick in the head with no femininity at all. She's got her breast removed and her hair shaved for no reason since her female years are gone forever and she is no longer part of women's history when she looks too masculine. Boy do I feel sorry for her. The tomboyish womanly days are over and now she is a mixed-up, confused manly transgender with female image being shed off. If you watch Sidney Bullens from now, it doesn't teach you anything. But if you watch Cindy Bullens from yesterday, it teaches you the importance of being a woman. So goodbye, Sidney Bullens. Hello, Cindy Bullens.