Glorious debut from Sheena
barry | Boston, MA United States | 01/26/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album was a huge success for Sheena Easton in the UK when released in 1981. There it was titled TAKE MY TIME. A little later when it made its debut in the US the title was changed to simply SHEENA EASTON and the same songs were put in a different order. The US first promoted Sheena with the very popish MODERN GIRL which was radio friendly magic. It is great to see the album as it was meant to be released for this set is filled with amazing tracks and has many of the best performances of Sheena's entire career. The set has a definite continuity from beginning to end that makes you never stop listening.
Sheena has an amazing voice, one that can sing softly or belt with the best of them but her most amazing quality is her artistry in her emotive delivery. Ballads become personal explorations for her and she shares them with us the listener. A lot of her songs have a pop/rock quality and the set begins with DON'T SEND ME FLOWERS which immediately lets the listener hear the full effect of her great vocals. TAKE MY TIME, ONE MAN WOMAN and SO MUCH IN LOVE WITH are perfect songs for her. Her voice soars and caresses each note as she explores each song. Ballads have always been a place where Sheena shines and standouts on this set are CALM BEFORE THE STORM and the lovely NO ONE EVER KNOWS.
When Sheena was in her prime I saw her live many times and her perfomances were always very strong and emotional but most of all dramatic. The drama with PRISONER clearly shows signs of the great music to come from Sheena. She would continue to have a huge career during the 80s as she developed as an artist. But even as her music got better her albums got to have more filler. None ever matched the perfection of this first release. The bonus tracks here, while enjoyable, are not of the quality of the others and show what filler can do. I find it very sad that Sheena is not still recording today. She tried many different genres in the 80s and followed mAny trends in music at the time. With each she brough her great voice and artistry but I think it turned her into a hit machine and took away her chances of lasting beyond her prime. The voice and the talent never left but by tackling so many genres fans became confused.
But this cd is a must for all Sheena fans. It is her best and it is beautifully remastered. Since I put it in my cd player it has not been taken out. I play it over and over. When music is as good as this it is forever timeless."
First and best?
bobby morrow | United Kingdom | 11/14/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Released at the start of 1981, after her success in the BBC show 'The Big Time', 'Take My Time' became the best selling UK album of Sheena Easton's career. Indeed, after this, none of her LPs did much in England and Sheena soon made the States her focus where her fame was far more enduring.
'Take My Time' was released in America as 'Sheena Easton' minus 2 songs and was very popular there too, but in the UK the album yeilded 4 top 40 hits including 2 that hit the top 10.
In many ways, it's Sheena's simplest and poppiest album and I wish she'd continued her association with producer Chris Neil a bit longer. Perhaps she does now! Anyway, this Cherry Pop edition features 4 bonus tracks, 3 of which were strong enough to have been included on the initial release, IMO. Only 'Paradox' lets the side down a bit.
The packaging on this re-release is OK. The original vinyl LP was a pretty stark affair so they didn't have much to work with. It's very similar to the 1995 Japanese version of the CD and I would question it's been recently remastered as it sounds indentical to that. Still, it's cheap enough and it is one of her best albums so it's worth the upgrade."
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1