posted by all-musicrecords
Take one listen to the first and only LP by Laurie and the Sighs and it won't surprise you to learn that vocalist Laurie Beechman is best known as a Broadway star.
The 1980 album is a showy burst of energy that mixes hard-edged arena rock a la Pat Benatar with spiky, tongue-in-cheek power pop to create consistently fun results.
Prior to the album's release, Beechman played in famous theater productions such as Annie and The Pirates of Penzance.
After signing with Atlantic Records, Beechman and the Sighs hoped to find success venturing into rock and roll territory.
During a time when Benatar was at the top of the charts, it would seem that Beechman, whose physical and musical similarities to the popular singer were not exactly subtle, would be a marketable act for her label. Unfortunately, Laurie and the Sighs received little support from Atlantic and soon faded into obscurity.
The LP rocks harder than you might expect, and it's clear that Beechman put everything she had into belting out the tunes. Some of the material, such as the brief jolt of Face to Face, an amped-up cover of the 60s Claudine Clark hit Party Lights and the aggressive Stop Telling Me No, even shows traces of punk. The LP only slows down once with the rock opera ballad Your Bridge Is Burning.
After the album failed to make a dent, Beechman turned back to musical theater, going on to star in Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Les Miserables. Unfortunately, after a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 1988 - which went into remission and then returned in 1995 - Beechman passed on in 1998 at the age of 44.
Tracklist
A1. Midnight Love - 3:19
A2. Touch Me - 3:40
A3. Party Lights - 3:07
A4. Love Hostage - 2:53
A5. Face To Face - 1:41
B1. Never Go Back - 3:51
B2. Your Bridge Is Burning - 3:17
B3. Runaway - 2:14
B4. Stop Telling Me No - 2:15
B5. Burning Up - 2:40
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