Blue Angel from Phoenix, October 20, 1980

Soon after writing the following review, I indeed got to see Blue Angel, featuring Cyndi Lauper at a free outdoor concert in Forest Park, Queens. Lauper grew up in Ozone Park and went to Richmond Hill High School in my neighborhood of Richmond Hill. That concert was where I really got to see the amazing talent of this band and to witness the spectacular voice and charisma of its vocalist.

What I didn't know at the time was that Lauper had received offers as a solo artist but held out wanting the band to be part of any deal she made. When Polydor finally signed, recorded and released the eponymously titled album in 1980, Lauper hated the cover, saying it made her look like Big Bird. That didn't stop Rolling Stone from including in as one of the 100 best new wave album covers in 2003 -- which is kind of weird.

Despite critics -- including me -- giving positive reviews, "it went lead", as Lauper later put it, and Blue Angel disbanded. Their manager, Steve Massarsky (manager of The Allman Brothers) filed a suit against the band after a falling out which forced Lauper into bankruptcy. Due to her financial stress, she worked in various retail stores and waitressing at IHOP, and singing in local clubs. Every critic who saw her could see her "star potential" and like me, were blown away by her four octave range!

From the archives, here's my review of Blue Angel...

Polydor has just released the debut album of a band called Blue Angel. The cover, a garishly tacky affair, lulled me into expecting either a '50s revivalist sound, or a cheap imitation of The B-52s. While the "pop" music of the '50s and early '60s is the primary influence, this is definitely a post-punk version of that earlier revival sound as epitomized by Ruben and the Jets.

"Maybe He'll Know" is the lead-off track on Side One, replete with a classic modified Blues riff, featuring a choppy rhythmic bass line, tenor sax growling and a "cheesy" organ sound. Singer, Cyndi Lauper's vocals are soulful and impressive. Many of the songs, especially the ballads like "I Had A Love" are introduced by those "simplistic" piano triplets so beloved by Frank Zappa. 

"Anna Blue" is a sentimental covering of the same subject Pati Smith covered in "Piss Factory". Ironically, Lauper even sounds a bit like Smith circa Horses on this track. A bluesy sax solo takes it back to its main motif -- a rhythmic anticipation which drops a beat while Lauper tops off the vocal line. "Can't Blame Me" is a neat little pop tune featuring yet another rousing sax solo on the bridge; this time, the feel reminds me of the Dave Clark Five as they were on their Return album. The side ends with a 16-bar Jerry Lee Lewis blues-rocker -- a lover's response to "Chantilly Lace".

Side 2 features two covers: the 1959 instrumental, "Cut Out" (King Mack) is in the tradition of rock instrumentals popularized by bands like the Dave Clark Five and The Ventures; the vein The Raybeats are currently mining. The other cover is the sublimely mawkish ballad, "I'm Gonna Be Strong", a song I can remember my older sister playing on the victrola back in 1963. Only, here, Lauper kills it! At the coda, just when you think she's hit the highest note she's got, she goes a step higher and it always brings up chills and moisture to my eyes....

This is a really wonderful collection of party-music-dance-pop and I can imagine they would be a really fun band to see live! I'm sure this comes as a surprise coming from the guy whose typical beat is the avant-garde, but this proves I know how to have fun!