Alannah Myles - Alannah Myles - 1989

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Alannah Myles - Alannah Myles - 1989

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Biography: Few men can resist the temptations that come with a woman in tight black leather and crushed velvet with a voice like molasses and body like a Greek goddess. Alannah Myles is not only the personification of every man's fantasy come to life, but she is also a singer with a voice to die for, or at least swoon to, a feat few women have come to embody. Although Alannah did not have to sell her precious pet horse to buy a guitar for the sake of music, like the rumors say, her music trembles with devotion like music is her faith and the words are her god. Born Alannah Byles on the 25 December 1958, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, her Christmas birth no doubt propelled Alannah into a two-sided dilemma with religion; whether to be grateful or woeful for being born on such a blessed occasion-she was certainly endowed with the special gifts of beauty and song, always seemingly reserved for the super stars. Alannah wrote her first song ("The Ugly Little Cabbage in the Garden" to both tease and terrify her younger sister) at the age of 8, and continues writing, even today. Alannah came from a wealthy family and had their love and support throughout the early beginnings of the career that would one day make her a star. Over time, Alannah found Christopher Ward and David Tyson, forming a band that played both covers from other bands (mostly stuff from stars like Aretha Franklin and The Pretenders) as well as the original music that Alannah was writing in her spare time. In 1989, Alannah released her first album entitled Alannah Myles and her career took off immediately. Her single "Black Velvet" immediately took over the Billboard 100s in the United States and went platinum ten times in her home country of Canada (her album became and remains the best-selling debut in Canadian music history), as well as being extremely successful in three other countries. As a single, "Black Velvet" sold more than five million copies and snagged Alannah dozens of awards, including three Juno awards and a Grammy award-not too shabby for a debut album from a completely unknown artist. Although not a hugely successful, Alannah's other single, "Love is" did make the Top 40 in the U.S., peaking at number 36. Alannah spent the next year and a half touring the country with performers like Tina Turner and Robert Plant. And in 1991, she sang the Canadian National Anthem at the All-Star Game in Toronto. Although Alannah has not continued her strides in music full-time-who would need to after a hit like "Black Velvet"?-her music continues to be a stronghold in the religion we call pop culture, having even appeared on the ever-growing American Idol. So whether you next hear her music on a old time Rock-n-roll radio station or when another American Idol contestant decides to butcher it (although that first girl did okay), Alannah and her one major hit wonder song "Black Velvet" turned music into a new religion, one that she was trying to convey when she wrote the words that immortalized Elvis Presley in a sexy drawl forever.

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Alannah Myles - Alannah Myles - 1989

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* Born: December 25, 1955, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
* Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
* Genres: Rock
* Instrument: Vocals
* Representative Albums: "Arival", "The Very Best of Alannah Myles", "Alannah"
* Representative Songs: "Black Velvet", "Love Is"

Review: With a hard rock bluesy guitar that later isn't a bad imitation of early ZZ Top, and a rousing cry in that rough voice of hers, kind of a more refined variation on Joan Jett, Alannah Myles kicks off her debut album with "Still Got This Thing For You". That's followed by the second single, "Love Is", which is punctuated by a throbbing bass and a 80's hard-rock guitar. Here's how she defines love: "Love is ( love is )/Heaven to the lonely/Show me/What you want me to do/Cause love is/What I got for you". The slow bluesy "Black Velvet", with more of that punctuated bass, is of course, hands down, the best song here, and the one that topped the charts in 1990. Who can forget that chorus: "Black velvet and that little boy's smile/Black velvet with that slow southern style/A new religion that'll bring ya to your knees/Black velvet if you please." There's another lyric that's visually cool: "The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky." However, don't let naysayers tell you she was a one-hit wonder. There's more great stuff on this album and on her followup, the more melancholy Rockinghorse. "Rock This Joint" is the hardest rocking song here even replete with Def Leppard-like backup vocals. There is a slight nod to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" while that ZZ Top-like guitar plays. She wants to rock the joint to the point that, "I wanna die with a smile on my face." That is followed by the first ballad and third single, "Lover Of Mine" which deserved a place in the Top Ten at the very least. Her voice when smooth, shows she has slow-song talents. The chorus and guitar at the end puts shifts into minor power ballad mode. The mid-paced "Kick Start My Heart" has shades of New Jersey-era Bon Jovi, specifically "Bad Medicine" down to the synthesizer, horns, and guitar. Not to be confused with the Motley Crue song of the same period, of course. The engaging "If You Want To" has a rhythm reminiscent of Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs" but again plays with the Bon Jovi sound and hard-edged guitar. "Who Loves You" is the other ballad here, mellow in the verses with Ann Wilson vocals before launching into her hard-edged guitar in the chorus. The blues ditty "Hurry Make Love" urges her lover to do the title act instead of watching TV. Smoky, hard-edged, bluesy, gentle in ballads, Alannah Myles' eponymous debut deserves revisiting for unique tough and tender female vocalists. Alannah Myles,… if you please. ~ Amazon Customer

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Alannah Myles - Alannah Myles - 1989

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