RAW LIKE SASHIMI'S 100 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME : #62 : Tiffany : "Tiffany" (1987, FULL CD, MUST-HAVE)
NO, THIS IS NOT A JOKE! THIS IS TRULY A CLASSIC ALBUM!
Tiffany is the self-titled debut album by Tiffany, released in May, 1987 .
Tiffany had begun working with manager/producer George Tobin several years earlier, with some of the tracks recorded as early as when she was 12 years old, in 1984; the album was released early in 1987. Her "shopping mall tour" was called "The Beautiful You: Celebrating The Good Life Shopping Mall Tour '87". Tiffany's tour included performances in various malls across the United States, at first to small, indifferent audiences, but by the end to large crowds as her fame grew. [1] The first single released from this album was "Danny", but radio stations decided instead to play Tiffany's cover of the Tommy James & the Shondells hit from 20 years earlier, "I Think We're Alone Now", and this was soon released as a single and became Tiffany's first #1 pop hit (U.S./UK). It was followed up by "Could've Been", which also reached #1 and was popular on the adult contemporary format as well. On the strength of these hit singles, the album went to the top spot of the Billboard album chart, (replacing Michael Jackson's "Bad"). Tiffany's rendition of the Lennon/McCartney standard 'I Saw Her Standing There' as "I Saw Him Standing There", provided a final hit from the album. Over 4.1 million copies have been sold in the U.S. alone.
Later single releases from this album did not do as well, however, and critics, who called Tiffany a "manufactured pop star" from the beginning, already began to say that her newly-begun career was faltering, though it would be another year before her popularity underwent a complete collapse, and her platinum selling second album yielded some pop hits of its own before that. Tiffany's life and career also hit some rough spots in the spring of 1988 due to a much-publicized battle between Tiffany, her mother, her stepfather, and her manager/producer, with many accusations made on all sides. Tiffany's mother, who had approved Tiffany's contract with George Tobin (as required because Tiffany was a minor at the time), had some regrets about doing so without consulting an entertainment attorney (she had only run the contract by a family attorney who was not an expert in entertainment law), and felt that Tobin was exploiting Tiffany through contract terms that gave him complete control of her career and 50% of the proceeds. Tiffany, on the other hand, was at the time siding with Tobin and felt her mother and stepfather were the ones acting in an exploitative manner. Ultimately, she asked a court to grant her emancipated minor status, but this was denied. In her 1988 summer concert tour, she gave a break to struggling pop group New Kids on the Block by letting them be her opening act, which helped them become a major teen craze, ultimately eclipsing Tiffany herself in popularity.OK, Tiffany's turn.
Her debut was one of the three albums my dad bought me on Xmas Eve 1987.
Her voice sounds like a juvenile Stevie Nicks at times in the opening "Should've Been Me", with a beat reminiscent of John Waite's "Missing You". The title The hurt she feels at seeing her beau's new girl Her voice rises to an angry hurt crescendo, intensifying the scratchiness of her young voice, reflected by a loud burst of synths and a sax solo. "call it jealousy call me a fool/it's more than my eyes wanna see.""Danny" has a good keyboard beat to recommend it and her vocals near the smoothness of her hit singles. "Spanish Eyes" has a bass and keyboards sporting a typical polished pop sound that was in vogue in 1987."Feeling Of Forever", the fourth single, bombed on the charts, but it's a great ballad. I wonder if people thought it a rip-off of Bryan Adam's "Heaven", because the way the chorus goes to a crescendo, down to the guitar and rhythm of the words, matches "Heaven." "Cause all I want, is for you to hold me now/and we can make it through this night forever/all I need/is for you to show me how/cause nothing can stop this feeling of forever." I still like this song even if it does seem derivative."Kid On The Corner" has a strong bass and a tenderness in her voice that tries to mimic 60's soul like the Drifters with 80's pop sensibilities and a guitar solo. She asserts she's not gonna be just the title character, which shows some maturity in her.On "I Saw Him Standing There", which was a gender change on the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There": OK, there's no way the bursts of synth and guitar that tries to mimic George Harrison's original can match the first song off the Fabs' first album. Some scratchiness comes into her voice as she tries to match the intensity of John Lennon's voice. A valiant effort, but... At least it hit the Top 20.There is a throwaway cut, "Johnny's Got The Inside Moves", but that's followed by a mid-paced ballad. "Promises Made" uses the "Missing You" rhythm once again, but with her smoother vocals. "Promises made are promises broken" she sings. "Oh it's not fair." Another standout cut.The pulsing bass and keyboards, with a catchy sound made her remake of Tommy James' "I Think We're Alone Now" shoot straight to #1. Definitely a standout cut and deservedly one that merited the top spot."The flowers you gave me have are just about to die", Tiffany sings plaintively in her #1 ballad, "Could've Been" There's some nice piano and string arrangements. "Could've been so beautiful/could've been so right/could've been my lover/everyday of my life" goes the chorus, but she puts on a brave face when she sings "still what could've been is better than what could never be at all." There's a guitar solo that accompanies the crescendo of drums and strings. The best song here hands down.Tiffany's voice seems more genuine instead of pre-fab than her main rival, Debbie Gibson. I liked both their albums, but even with the filler cut, this album, using more guitar and synths, isn't as plastic as her rival.
THIS REALLY IS A CLASSIC POP ALBUM COMPARABLE TO THE BEST THAT WERE RELEASED IN THE 1980s. I SUGGEST BURNING THIS TO CD, AND TAKING IT ON A NICE LONG RIDE JUST BY YOURSELF TO TRULY EXPERIENCE THE MAGIC OF IT. SERIOUSLY, TREAT YOURSELF TO THIS ONE!
RAW LIKE SASHIMI'S 100 GREATEST ALBUMS OF ALL TIME : #62 : Tiffany : "Tiffany" (1987, FULL CD, MUST-HAVE)
Labels: tiffany 1987 pop music