I am completely satisfied witht time of deliverance and condition of this record. This was the first time i ordered something from amazon.com and would gladly do it again. To those people who still haven't - do it! You won't be disappointed.
I chose this CD because I had Harmony on cassette and loved, loved, loved it. I checked to see if it was on a CD, and found that it was and was combined with another cassette. I felt like I was double blessed when I found it. It was delivered promptly and was in great shape. I have listened to it several times.
"Something to Talk About" was just THAT. And it wasn't a very good topic of discussion either.
After a string of Platinum and/or Gold records throughout the late 70's and early to mid-80's, Murray decided to spike up her hair and go for a new sound a la Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes." Sadly, this decision resulted in the beginnning of her eventual decline.
Although these two albums DID possess some typically warm and soothing Murray moments, those moments would end up being lost in the mix of some of the worst songs of her entire career. I mean, SERIOUSLY..."Gotcha?" Maybe the Pointer Sisters would have fared BETTER with THAT ONE. Maybe Anne should have traded them for the "Neutron Dance!" LOL!
Although the first single, "Now and Forever (You and Me"), was a bonafide #1 Country hit (in 1986), the rest was more of a bid for Pop crossover. The same fate was met with 1987's "Harmony" with a gorgeous first single in "Are You Still in Love with Me" and an obvious attempt to cross over to the larger, more trendy Pop audiences by employing the use of synthesizers and drum machines. Come 1986, she was a little too late chasing this particular "sound." In spite of this, the album was a sleeper which eventually was RIAA-certified Gold in The States.
It's always good when an artist chooses to shake things up (a little) after a hugely successful run on the charts, but with these two offerings, Murray (and Capitol) literally threw the fans a curve ball that left many with raised eyebrows and an intense dislike for what they where hearing. The better second single would have been "When You're Gone," which harked back to her "Broken Hearted Me" era.
Thankfully after these two offerings, she returned to her safer roots in 1988 with "As I Am," which brought her partially back via two minor Easy Listening/Country hits, "Flying On Your Own" and "Slow Passin' Time." Anything HAD TO BE better than what came off sounding like bad 80's soundtrack music a la "Footloose" or "Top Gun." DEFINITELY NOT her comfortable, slow and easy, string-laden Adult Contemporary niche. The miniskirt and high heels WERE sexy though and thanks to Tina Turner, similarly middle-aged women were ridding their wardrobes of the pants suits and flats and trying out a more daring fashion sense.
If you're an avid fan and/or a completest, you'll need this two-fer. If you're a beginner, this is NOT the place to start when exploring Murray's 40-plus year catalog. Stick with "A Love Song"/"Highly Prized Possession, "Let's Keep It That Way"/"New Kind of Feeling" (1978, 1979), "I'll Always Love You/"Somebody's Waiting" (1979) or "A Little Good News"/"Heart Over Mind" (1983, 1984) instead. Oh, and ignore the first commenter. He CLEARLY had a bad hair day. :-)
