David Atlanta, 2006
Bananarama is ripe again after overcoming 'Drama'
FANS HAVE BEEN PANTING for new music from Bananarama for half a decade, but their wait is finally over. The '80s just-for-fun girl group Bananarama is back and at the top of their game with their new album "Drama," a fun trip around the dance floor packed with songs sure to have gay men dancing the night away.
"Drama" definitely has a modern sound, but it retains the classic Bananarama bop fans love. "Waterfall" sounds like fellow Britpop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and "Rules of Attraction" could be modern-day Kylie Minogue.
The album starts off with the lead single "Move in My Direction," which was a smash in U.S. and European dance clubs. The track begins with sultry strings and then breaks into an upbeat dance groove that makes us tap our feet and move to the rhythm.
The track asks the age-old question, "Why does wrong/ Feel so right?" Why indeed!
"Look on the Floor (Hypnotic Tango)" was the pulsing follow-up single, with the drama of the album's title. Both "Move in My Direction" and "Look on the Floor" are already remixed by some of the biggest names in European dance music. The Solasso remix of "Look on the Floor" helped propel "Drama" sales into the stratosphere in Europe.
A STAND-OUT PAIR OF TRACKS show up toward the end of the CD. "Lovebite" is laced with dramatic flair as the women sing about that undeniable pull between two people.
"Your Love is Like a Drug," the final new track on the album, already sounds like a dance remix thanks to the Midas touch of Ian Masterson, who also worked with Dannii Minogue, the Pet Shop Boys, Geri Halliwell and Donna Summer.
Masterson uses his talented, frenetic style to create a track that closes the album's new material in high, gay, dramatic style perfectly suited for the dance floor.
The final two tracks on "Drama" are new remixes of classic Bananarama. The Marc Almond Hi-NRG Showgirls Mix of "Venus" and the Solasso Mix of "Really Saying Something" bring the women of Bananarama full circle on their dance journey, creating new sounds from old songs.
THIS INCARNATION OF BANANARAMA is made up of two of the original members, Sarah Dallin and Keren Woodward. Dallin and Woodward founded the group with Siobhan Fahey, who does not appear here. Makes ya think "Drama" may describe Bananarama's personnel history.
In 1983, the trio released "Deep Sea Skiving," spawning the European hit "Shy Boy" and their cover of "Na Na Hey Hey," which made its way to American radio. Their 1984 follow-up, "Bananarama," put the group on the map, with the smash single "Cruel Summer" and the international hit "Robert de Niro's Waiting."
Bananarama's first No. 1 hit in the States was "Venus," from 1986's "True Confessions." The song was the group's first collaboration with British hit makers Stock, Aiken and Waterman, who then produced their entire 1987 album, "Wow!," spawning the singles "I Heard a Rumor" and "Love in the First Degree."
FAHEY LEFT THE GROUP in 1988, shortly before the production of the group's greatest hits package and their inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful girl group of all time. Fahey went on to form the group Shakespeare's Sister.
Dallin and Woodward recruited Jacquie O'Sullivan to join them for their 1989 world tour and one album, 1991's "Pop Life." Dallin and Woodward then continued as a duo, releasing three albums from 1993 to 2001.
After a dramatic ride to firmly establish themselves in the pantheon of '80s music, Bananarama grew and stretched, while retaining their core appeal. "Drama" is a fine example of a group keeping themselves relevant to a new audience in a new era.