The ’80s, first 3 albums by ‘the girl with a crystal voice‘ FIONA Flanagan have been remastered by Rock Candy Records. All are wonderful slices of Melodic Rock sporting fantastic production and terrific musicians involved.
Of Irish origin, Fiona was born in Phillipsburg, New Jersey after her parents moved from Dublin to the United States.
At school, when she was a teenager, even when she was offered a grant to attend the University School of Drama in New York, she chose a musical career instead.
During the ’80s women in rock were, in many respects, unfairly treated; often cast aside as little more than irrelevant eye candy whilst their male counterparts were lauded as golden gods. This was the environment that New Jersey born chanteuse Fiona found herself battling against when launching her career.
Fortunately her voice and tenacity forced naysayers to admit that she was a major new talent in the making, one that would ultimately record a brace of albums and establish herself as in internationally known figure.
Fiona’s path to a career in music started early, singing in night clubs all the time looking for that elusive break. It wasn’t until she hooked up with producer Eddie Offord and members of progressive rock band Dixie Dreggs that she got her first break recording a set of demos that won her a contract with Atlantic Records.
This, her debut self-titled album originally released in 1985, was produced by Long Island rock legend Peppi Marchello (The Good Rats) and features a number of prominent East Coast backing musicians including Lou Gramm and Joe Lynn Turner guitarist Bobby Messano.
Containing a blistering selection of quality tracks, Fiona’s strong and confident vocals ram home the message that she was one of the few female vocalists ready to take on the competition at their own game.
Check out tracks such as the unforgettable “Love Makes You Blind” (included into the No Small Affair movie soundtrack), the AOR gold of “Hang Your Heart On Me”, or the anthemic, Robin Beck-like “You’re No Angel” (awesome solo by Messano).
This album is pure gold, and this is an excellent Deluxe Collector’s Edition by Rock Candy, with a fully remastered sound shaped from 24 BIT digital technology, 16 page full colour booklet, 3,500 word essay, enhanced artwork and rare photos. A Must Have Melodic Rock / AOR piece from the ’80s.
01 – Hang Your Heart On Me
02 – Talk To Me
03 – You’re No Angel
04 – Rescue You
05 – James
06 – Love Makes You Blind
07 – Over Now
08 – Na Na Song
Vocals – Fiona Flanagan
Guitar – Bobby Messano
Guitar – George Tebbitt
Bass – Donnie Kisselbach
Drums – Joe Franco
Keyboards – Benjy King
Sax – Rick Bell
Add. Keyboards – Aaron Hurwitz, Peter Zale
Background Vocals – The Mob, Peppi Marchello, Jimmy Wilcox