Customer Reviews

The Essential

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

SANDRA is, as you might know, Germanys most successful female popstar! At the age of 12 she got her breakthrough. Shortly, she joined the female pop group ARABESQUE and in 1985 she went solo again, topping the charts with her single "MARIA MAGDALENA". "ESSENTIAL" is a compilation album to sum-up her 18 hit singles from 1985 to 1992. However, without no reason the single "I NEED LOVE" is missing. In other words this album is an exact copy of Sandras former compilation "18 GREATEST HITS" released in 1992. Since "ESSENTIAL" was released in 2003 I would have appreciated if Virgin tried a bit harder and added singles from the albums "FADING SHADES" (1995) and "THE WHEEL OF TIME" (2002) to this compilation, to make it more complete. That would have made "ESSENTIAL" a five star album. But in the end - for every old - and new - Sandra fan this is an incredible collection of great songs. Those who want more can check out the two latest titles mentioned above and of course all Enigma albums on which she sings a whole lot!

Germany's greatest singer Sandra's 18 greatest hits-this is euro dance at it's greatest-some of my favourite songs-Around My Heart, We'll Be Together, Innocent Love- if you remember Ibiza in the 80s-you will love this collection of sensual euro dance hits-every one is a classic-how she never charted in the UK I will never know-the UK missed out again thanks to the Radio 1 playlist!

Boy did I miss this girl out. The wretched UK gave her no chart placing it seems, except for the conveyor-belt produced sounding old song 'Everlasting Love' though I must add that on this, though the weakest song, the Enigma-like etheral treatment of it compliments it much nicer than how I was used to it on an old 80s compilation of artists. But what a singer. While her voice is admittedly strident in the first two power-house shriekers that open the album-'Maria Magdalena' and 'In The Heat Of The Night', her voice becomes tenderly beautiful on the unsettlng and sorrowful third single 'Little Girl'. Then on she fires with the crackling 'Innocent Love', anthemic 'Hi!Hi!Hi!' and ups the ante even further with the energetic firecrackers 'Midnight Man' and the urgency-plea 'Stop For A Minute'. Not that she stops for one and it's onto the soaring 'Heaven Can Wait'. Meanwhile the achingly beautiful 'Hiroshima', atmospheric 'Secret Land' and 'Loreen' show a thoughtful side in direct opposition to the usual dancefloor power pop and rockouts, much like the brilliant Kim Wilde does, of which Sandra sits neatly behind her along with other hot female singers with a brain like Toyah, Kate Bush, Kirsty MacColl, Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks and Aimee Mann. But then the 80s were full of them, unlike now!

As brilliant as this collection is, 'Maria Magdalena' used to sound too reminiscent of Laura Branigan's 'Self Control', though Sandra far outstripped that woman with her cool and hot European sounding commercial, but intelligent and etheral pop. Yo can't ignore, though, that one song on this set sounds terribly like a Janet Jackson/Jam&Lewis cut and the pulsating 'Don't Be Aggressive', though a great song undeniably, veers a little too close to the sound Madonna was stealing in 1992, but then Madonna steals everything. Not to worry, though, as all these songs are essential, and I must name the lovely 'Around My Heart' too, aching ballad 'One More Night' and 'We'll Be Together' is another poptastic rocker complete with her very own resident male backing singer (her husband?) who lends his deep melodious lilt to her electrifying delivery on many of the songs. As if she couldn't have done more to please me, she ends the album on the lyrically ingenious, achingly sad plea for animals to keep their coats against the sick fur industry in 'Johnny Wanna Live'. Yes he does and thank you.

As with all great singers and bands (apart from the most arrogant/better represented) there are a few songs left off here before the album went to press first time around in 1992, and I'm hoping (in vain) they're no good! Not that I wouldn't want them to be but it's the best way to handle the absence. One reviewer here was right though-she's been around long enough to have an updated collection adding the new songs done since the 1992 collection and this should have been more than an update.

But what an update. So good is she and so bowled over am I, that I had to mention every song there-they are all an entity by themselves and Sandra takes her place behind the flawless Kim Wilde and up there with the other best girls of the best decade of music when talent and fresh sounds mattered as opposed to plastic pop tarts and their naff offerings in weak, loser voices shedding what clothes they can to take away as much attention as possible they lack even the minimalist needs to write/deliver an average, tuneless, pointless 'song'.

No two ways about it. Sandra rocks and swells my terribly small music collection a little further. Everyone, go buy. It only took one listen for me to love these songs-instant brilliance and melodies galore-and atmosphere and intelligent musical construction and writing too. The Nena lovers are wrong-this girl Sandra is the German equivalent (almost) to the great Kim Wilde and Madonna be damned!

Better than '18 Greatest Hits' with the same tracklisting but the songs here sound slightly fresher and remastered. The only track I'm not keen on is 'Don't Be Aggressive', the other 17 are brilliant and mostly new to me as I am a fairly recent Sandra convert (too young to know her work in the 80's). Overall a great first introduction to Sandra.

I'm a fanatic sandra fan and this cd is not essential by far fro simply two reasons.

1. The last two "cretu" albums fading shades and wheel of time are completely missing.
2. The song i need love is missing. the songs maria magdalena, innocent love and secret land ARE CUT and not presented in their full album versions.

So avoid this cd and buy instead the full sandra albums from the long play to the wheel of time which is the best era for sandra.

This album is one of Sandra's best albuns.

Good to buy! Calm and easy listening music.