After releasing 1983's What A Feelin', Irene Cara was one of the hottest female acts in town. However, in 1985, legal battles soon ensured between her and her label over unpaid royalties for her smash hits, Fame, and Flashdance...What A Feelin'. While she would ultimately win these claims in 1993, throughout all of this she was labeled difficult to work with and blacklisted in the industry.
While this served to stall her music career, Cara would pick up roles in films City Heat (1984), Certain Fury (1985), and Busted Up (1986). It wouldn't be until 1987 that she'd secure a deal with Elektra, and record her final solo studio album, Carasmatic. Unfortunately, a lot had changed in the music scene, mainly with the emergence of hair metal bands, shifting focus away from your traditional pop album. Her record was considered a failure, not charting anywhere, and not producing any successful singles.
But is that fair? Is the album really that bad? Or was it just an unfortunate outcome from an industry which relishes in destroying the careers of those who don't accept being taken advantage of?
From the opening notes of track one, Get A Grip, I can tell you my first impression was, "This feels dated." Meaning, it sounds like an immediate successor to her 1983 album, out of touch with the evolved music sounds of 1987.
To put that in perspective, by 1987, I was listening to the heavier Guns 'N Roses Appetite For Destruction, Def Leppard's Hysteria, and Aerosmith's Permanent Vacation. When I did turn my attention to pop music, it was albums like Michael Jackson's Bad, Prince's Sign 'O' The Times, Whitney Houston's Whiteny, and George Michael's Faith. The point I'm making is that Carasmatic sounds like none of these. Instead, the best comparison I can make is track three, We're Gonna Get Up, which sounds like Pointer Sister's Neutron Dance from 1983. It just doesn't jive with the year it's from, and in retrospect, I can understand why this wouldn't resonate with critics at the time.
Even if I take the year it was released out of the equation, and look at it strictly as an 80's album, it fails in comparison to many of the other bigger and better releases. It's mediocre at best, and that, I think, is giving it more credit than it deserves. Yes, Cara's voice is as good as it's ever been, but there's no catchy hits here that make the album worth listening to, let alone buying.
It's honestly disappointing. I really wanted to find a hidden gem here. To point at the rest of the world, and say, "You missed out!" Unfortunately, that's just not the case.
Irene returned to the screen, acting in various television series in one-off roles, while also providing vocal work in films for various animated films between 1989 and 1996. She formed the band, Hot Caramel in 1999, and released in 2011 their only album, Irene Cara Presents Hot Caramel. She also saw a return to form, and brief resurgence in popularity when in 2005 she won first place on NBC's Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing Flashdance...What A Feelin', which she performed with her new band. She would also perform the song as the opener to the 2006 AFL Grand Finale. Sadly, Cara tragically passed away in November 2022.
On a side note, if you're a fan of "older" acts getting another fifteen minutes of fame, I definitely recommend checking out the 2005 show, Hit Me Baby One More Time. You'll catch acts from the likes of Gloria Gaynor, Howard Jones, Limahl, Tiffany, Belinda Carlisle, Doctor And The Medics, Junior, Sabrina, Shalamar, Loverboy, A Flock Of Seaguls, Tommy Tutone, The Motels, Wang Chung, Greg Khin, Club Nouveau, Glass Tiger, Animotion, Missing Persons, Shannon, and so many more! I mean, come on, what are you waiting for? Head to Youtube!
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