Review: “What A Feelin’” by Irene Cara (Vinyl, 1983)

Today’s POP RESCUE from an uncertain future, is the 1983 album What A Feelin’ by American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress, Irene Cara. Will this album leave you Feelin’ great, or will it leave you with a feeling of dread? Read on…

Irene Cara - What A Feelin' (1983) album cover — Irene Cara – What A Feelin’ (1983) album

This 11 track LP, all but one track of which is produced by Giorgio Moroder, opens with second single Why Me?, we’re straight into chugging guitars with a lovely repeated riff. The beat races along, and chords that Status Quo would be proud of lead us toward Irene’s vocals in the first verse. It’s a simple 80’s track, in which Irene gets a few opportunities to show off her range of vocals. However, when released as a single, it failed to capture the success of her previous ones in the UK, where it stalled at #86.

Breakdance follows this with some wonderful sounding synths and drum machines in rapid succession. A funky bass drops in, giving the occasional riff amongst what sounds now as somewhat chaotic but probably sounded very fresh and exciting in 1983. Here, Irene sounds nice in the chorus alongside backing vocalists and synth pads, but in the verses she’s almost doing a Monster Mash with her spoken vocals. Whilst Breakdance suggests it might be related to Flashdance, the hit qualities did not follow when it was released as the fourth single – falling at #88. It is still (and likely to remain) her final charting UK single to date.

Next up is You Took My Life Away, and this leads us back to a mid-tempo pop song about heartbreak. Irene gets plenty of space and time to sing here, allowing her to show off her vocal power. She’s joined by some nice backing vocals and harmonies during the chorus, allowing her to reach further before returning to the gentle plod of the track.

Receiving is next, giving a nice up-beat little track. Here Irene gets to show off some more lively vocals, and there’s echoes of The Jacksons in the music, but its simplicity once again makes it as spacious for Irene’s vocals and harmonies as it does to be predictable. It’s a nice enough song, even if I’m not really sure what it’s about.

That’s followed by Keep On, which feeds a little bit of a percussive start, and vocally Irene sounds a little like the later 80’s Gloria Estefan and 00’s Alphabeat. Again, it’s another fairly nice little bouncy pop song, and it works quite well.

This side closes with third single The Dream (Hold On To Your Dream) which starts off as if it’s going to be an epic synth-laden ballad like part of Moroder’s Together In Electric Dreams with Human League’s Philip Oakey. However, the track then picks up pace with a simple pop beat, allowing Irene to soar through the song accompanied by the synths and electric guitar.

Side Two opens with the lead single, and the 50% of what is one of Irene’s career-defining hits, Flashdance… What A Feeling. The track is an absolute classic, and Irene’s vocals here are perfectly controlled, rich, and powerful. It reached #2 in the UK charts – thwarted by Baby Jane by Rod Stewart.

Then we’re on to Romance ’83, and this is delightfully robotic, almost Kraftwerk in a musical and vocally paced. Irene puts in a great performance here as the song evolves, and she even gets a load of robotized vocals as she sings the praise Romance ’83 before she learns of Romance ’84. Wonderful!

Next is Cue Me Up, and this is another nice little guitar chugging track whilst a simple beat and wave of synths flood the background. Irene puts in a nice performance, again flanked by backing vocals. It’s a simple track and that helps it work well.

Following that is Talk Too Much, which as you might expect is another synth filled song, but here Irene gets to show off her vocal range, but she is a little bit buried in the mix at times, which is a shame because she has some nice little lyrical moments to deliver.

The album closes with final single You Were Made For Me, produced by James Newton Howard. This track allows us to hear Irene unlike we’ve heard her in this album so far. She’s given some fantastic big notes to hit, and she does this with seemingly great ease.

Irene Cara’s lead single ‘Flashdance… What A Feeling’ (1983).

Verdict

Over all, this album is a nice Giorgio Moroder album, and it’s great that Irene Cara is here too.

There are some fantastic songs here of course – with Flashdance… What A Feeling, Romance ’83, and You Were Made For Me leading the way – all of which sound brilliant still, these 40 years later (at the time of writing this). There are certainly some fillers though, and whilst this still feels okay, it’s Breakdance that comes in as the lowest point but it’s likely because this sound now sounds so dated.

With a little stronger writing, and some more musical variance, I’m sure that Irene would have sounded fantastic here, but the good tracks still make it perfectly listenable, and it stands as a nice warm 1980’s LP.