Madleen Kane

[BelieveInTheBeat]

Just bought myself the Madleen Kane "retrospective" "12 Inches and More" and have been reminded what a great contribution this lady made to dance music.

I am particularly struck by how fresh and contemporary Rough Diamond still sounds, even though it was her first track and dates from 1978.

Her recordings span a potentially awkward period (1978-1985) for dance and disco, but I get the impression she stayed on top of the quickly changing styles of the period. Another personal favourite of mine is Playing for Time from 1981 - this Georgio Moroder production must have had a very fresh sound at the time - just what the genre needed to keep it going.

I was also unaware of her "mini" mid-80s comeback, with some Hi-NRG productions by Ian Anthony Stephens. By this time much HiNRG was becoming formulaic and repetitive, but the three tracks on this album, On Fire, Ecstasy, and I'm No Angel, are excellent.

My only criticism is the Megamix - the mixes from track to track are rather abrupt for my liking! However, definitely a recommended album.

[SandraDee]

'Cheri' is such a great pop track too. Why wasn't it a major pop hit a la Abba? The lyrics intrigue me too; is it a lesbian love song?

[JussiK]

Sell your granny to get the 12" Jim Burgess mix of Madleen's "Rough Diamond" - it extends the instrumental passages, adds more vocals and the climatic flamenco finale is longer too. Swoon inducing stuff.

[NickNack]

Originally Posted by JussiK

Sell your granny to get the 12" Jim Burgess mix of Madleen's "Rough Diamond" - it extends the instrumental passages, adds more vocals and the climatic flamenco finale is longer too. Swoon inducing stuff.

Right On, Jussi. This was one of 'the tracks' back then. Every dj was banging on Warner Bros' door to get this. It was being played everywhere. We were like, "who is this woman"? Excellent stuff! :D

[Chap2Power]

I'd disagree that this is the consummate collection of her extended mixes, since the Warner Brothers mixes by Jimmy Simpson et al are missing from the CD..

Vincent

[djsonic]

Cheri suite is about gay love,and when i was a preteen about 13 yrs old.
i remember playing the record over and over again...because
it was what i was feeling about somone in my life at the time, i thought there was somthing wrong with me.but
Madleen made me feel,i was normal,and not alone with these
strange feelings....miss Kane,I Love You!
sonic.

[SandraDee]

djsonic, I'm all overcome with emotion!! :cry:

[Svend]

Here's another theory about "Cheri." French authoress Colette wrote a novel called "Cheri" and it was about an affair between an older woman and a younger man (Cheri was what she called him). The writers and producers of Madleen Kane's Cheri LP may have been French (?) and known about the story. Of course, the idea of Madleen (a former model) with another woman is pretty sexy too. I'm sure they didn't mind if people took it that way!

[Novelster]

Have you heard "Boogie talk" on CHALET Records?
It's a brilliant track..!

[Novelster]

Originally Posted by JussiK

Sell your granny to get the 12" Jim Burgess mix of Madleen's "Rough Diamond" - it extends the instrumental passages, adds more vocals and the climatic flamenco finale is longer too. Swoon inducing stuff.

Just remembered - i'm selling my second copy of this on ebay :-
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...tem=4021282272

Ends monday night...

[swerzer]

I agree with everyone about the 12-inch Jim Burgess remix of "Rough Diamond". It was truly a work of art. Unfortunately, that mix was not used on the "12 Inches and More" CD. I heard the reason that Madleen disappeared was because she broke up with her husband/boyfriend/whatever that produced all of her records.

swerzer