August 10, 2019

Stacey Q - Better Than Heaven (1986)

Country: U.S.A.
Genre: Pop, Hi-NRG
Label Number: 7 81676-2

© 1986 Atlantic Records
AllMusic Review by Bryan Buss
Stacey Q was one of the myriad of Madonna wannabes who saturated the airwaves in the mid-'80s, but, unlike many of the pack, her debut album Better Than Heaven showed panache and a knowledge that she shouldn't take herself too seriously. The sexy monster hit "Two of Hearts," synthesized and insistent, benefited greatly from Q's breathy, little-girl vocals, while "We Connect," her only other venture into the Top 40; "Music out of Bounds," which doesn't seem to mean a thing; "Love or Desire"; and "Dancing Nowhere" all followed in the same vein, without being a blueprint of the lead single. She does stray from the sex-kitten image on some cuts, and it is a cotton-candy result: lighter than air, but a tasty treat. The title track is a sweet ode to love; "He Doesn't Understand" is repetitive to the point where she's practically chanting, but the effect is almost lulling; and "Don't Let Me Down" is so frothy the song practically floats. Her vocals, hardly noteworthy, are perfect for this type of pop, and with a voice so limited, anyone can sing along. Though she became more experimental with successive albums, Better Than Heaven is Stacey Q's most accessible and most enjoyable work.

tags: stacey q, better than heaven, 1986, flac,

4 comments:

  1. Yea this is just class. Makes Madonna from the same period look ordinary. Yet Stacey got nowhere. Where's the justice?

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    1. Madonna had a bigger machine behind her, love. More press, more glam, more everything. I think Stacey Q had more substance in her music (even if it is Pop) but Stacey couldn't compete with the machine backing Madonna. There weren't that many women in the 80's who could. To quote my lovely mom "In the 80's, all of us dressed up like Madonna." And it's true. I still have a Polaroid of my mom and her girlfriends from the 80's where all but 1 were wearing the black lace gloves and the stockings that Madonna wore in her photo shoots.

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    2. More press yes, more glam definitely not.

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    3. Madonna had way more glam, love. Stacey Q didn't use nearly as much make up or lace as Madonna did in the 80's. Stacey was beautiful, she didn't need the glam and Madonna sometimes looked like a whore with all of that glam 😁. I love them both. Madonna also had a full 3 year start. Stacey didn't enter the scene until 1986 and was more a part the Hi-NRG scene than the standard Pop scene of the 80's like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper were. Stacey also came in during the middle of the boom period for the Hi-NRG scene in America. Dead or Alive was kicking serious ass in 1986. Stacey's next 2 albums were released in 1988 and 1989, during the reign of Donna Summer. Stacey Q had good albums but her arrival was during the boom period of Hi-NRG in the U.S.

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