Carolyne Mas

[Sweet Jane 61]

Wasn't sure if this is where to post Carolyne Mas but she definately isn't mainstream. Here is a review of her debut album of which I have and just found again last night looking through my albums....

JULY 1979: Carolyne's self-titled debut album is released on Mercury Records. The sound is polished and the cover shows her in classy tophat, jacket and a bath robe belt as a tie--and Carolyne later tells the RALEIGH, NC NEWS AND OBSERVER: "That picture was taken in my bathroom and I was wearing unbelievably ripped-up pants. That all got cropped out." There are full-page ads in BILLBOARD ("She gives street-smart rock 'n' roll and new elegance.") And ROLLING STONE ("She's street elegant.") Much of the album's press coverage includes other women with new albums, often with terribly sexist headlines like THE VILLAGE VOICE: "They're Cute, but Can They Sing?" ROLLING STONE, who extends the Springsteen comparison to Ellens Foley and Shipley: "Boss ladies? Three women who don't Bruce easily." Even MUSICIAN: "Rockettes," though Carolyne is singled out with high praise from their Vic Garbarini: "Mas is the most talented and compelling American singer-songwriter to emerge since Bruce Springsteen, and this is her 'Born To Run.' She pumps more heart and soul into her superbly crafted three-minute pop anthems than anybody I've heard in years." And though TIME's headline is: "Chick Singers Need Not Apply," at least their Jay Cocks makes a refreshing new male comparison: "Mas' songs vary from reveries to roughhouse declamations without missing a beat, and if she keeps up this pace she may be dogging Randy Newman's tracks in a few years." HIGH FIDELITY gives Carolyne's album a full page to itself, their Steven Rea praising her "Sheer Moxie" and comparing her ballads to Patti Smith, Barbra Streisand, and Carly Simon; then ending with: "The world needs more rock & rollers like her."

I forgot how she can rock...I saw her twice at the Cleveland Agora in the late 70's. Check her out www.carolynemas.com She has been through bad times, being totally broke and now back on her feet with a new album. I need to go through my albums more often.