As the 80's were headed towards the finish lines, some great artists were still emerging, impacting hard with debut albums which would launch them into the stratosphere. Among them was twenty-five year old, Leslie Wunderman. AKA, Taylor Dayne.
Before emerging as her alter ego, Wunderman first took on the persona, Les Lee, and under that name released the dance singles, I'm The One You Want (1985) and Tell Me Can You Love Me (1986). In a retrospective review, they're not bad, but definitely not her best work.
When Taylor Dayne's debut album, Tell It To My Heart, was released in 1988, it was already making waves with it's lead single released in 1987, coincidentally of the same name. Of the ten tracks, four would go on to crack the top ten.
It's interesting to note that when Tell It To My Heart was first released that it featured a very colorful and almost provocative album cover, featuring Dayne in a tight black dress, decked out in makeup against a pink background. So basically, the cover to the left.
While it's unknown why Arista ultimately changed the cover, many speculate it was a result of the track, I'll Always Love You, which reached number two in the adult contemporary charts, and became the biggest success for the album. The more toned down, and I suppose, "mature", cover purportedly replaced the original so as to draw in an older audience (alternate cover shown below).
Whatever the reason, Taylor Dayne impacted in a big way with a broad age ranged audience, and this helped to propel her debut album to double platinum status in the US.
For me, the stand out tracks are easily, Tell It To My Heart, Don't Rush Me, and my favorite, Prove Your Love. These three songs alone make the album a must buy. It's a staple of the 80's as far as I'm concerned. With that said, the remainder of the album is pretty hit or miss. Some songs definitely feel like filler material, such as the three minute Want Ads. While others, such as The Darkness, almost resonate, but just don't punch as hard as the hits. Overall though, if you're an 80's fan, this one definitely belongs in your music collection.
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