Carolyne Mas: Hard Rocking Gal
Carolyne Mas is one of those singers I fell in love with back during the early eighties. I have two of her records, both on vinyl. Her self titled "Carolyne Mas" was released in 1979. It was a pretty hectic time in my personal life. I drove a truck for FedMart Stores, and put in 12-15 hours a day, with only one day off a week. I was partying pretty hardy when time would permit. I thought I had lost the first record, and miraculously, after I hooked the receiver and record player into the computer yesterday, I found the album exactly where it should have been, and it still sounds utterly fantastic. I put two songs from Carolyne's first album on my server, and they are available either as streaming media by clicking the song titles, or by download by right clicking and "saving" as an mp3 file on your computer. I lost track of Carolyne's music after the second album, "Hold On" but she has continued recording, and I have supplied links to her offical site and a couple of fan sites.
Often I would get completely zonkered and pass out with this record playing. It's a miracle that it isn't completely destroyed, as I remember the kind of abuse it would take while I was utterly drunk, depressed, and ready to hear Carolyne's plaintive voice.
Quote Goodbye Quote from the 1979 album "Carolyne Mas"
The music on this site will be available for about a week after the entry is featured, and then I will have to take it down so that I don't fill up my server with large mp3 files. In future entries, I will only feature one song from each artist, but for the inaugural entry, I am showcasing two excellent hard rocking songs from the first album, both recorded from vinyl into the computer.
StillSane is the first song on Side 2 of the first Carolyne Mas album, "Carolyne Mas" and was her first single.
Here is a page from Carolyne's bio on her official site: JULY 1979: Carolyne's self-titled debut album is released on Mercury Records. The sound is polished and the cover shows her in classy tophat, jacket and scarf--though Carolyne later tells the RALEIGH, NC NEWS AND OBSERVER: "That picture was taken in my bathroom and I was wearing unbelievably ripped-up pants. That all got cropped out." There are full-page ads in BILLBOARD ("She gives street-smart rock 'n' roll and new elegance.") And ROLLING STONE ("She's street elegant.") Much of the album's press coverage includes other women with new albums, often with terribly sexist headlines like THE VILLAGE VOICE: "They're Cute, but Can They Sing?" ROLLING STONE, who extends the Springsteen comparison to Ellens Foley and Shipley: "Boss ladies? Three women who don't Bruce easily." Even MUSICIAN: "Rockettes," though Carolyne is singled out with high praise from their Vic Garbarini: "Mas is the most talented and compelling American singer-songwriter to emerge since Bruce Springsteen, and this is her 'Born To Run.' She pumps more heart and soul into her superbly crafted three-minute pop anthems than anybody I've heard in years." And though TIME's headline is: "Chick Singers Need Not Apply," at least their Jay Cocks makes a refreshing new male comparison: "Mas' songs vary from reveries to roughhouse declamations without missing a beat, and if she keeps up this pace she may be dogging Randy Newman's tracks in a few years." HIGH FIDELITY gives Carolyne's album a full page to itself, their Steven Rea praising her "Sheer Moxie" and comparing her ballads to Patti Smith, Barbra Streisand, and Carly Simon; then ending with: "The world needs more rock & rollers like her."
SEPTEMBER 1979: Carolyne's first single, "STILLSANE," makes BILLBOARD's Hot 100. In March 1980 their Ed Harrison praises her live show: "Mas is the rock world's best kept secret. Onstage, she is as explosive as a 20 megaton bomb, with a voice that can send shivers running through your body." Carolyne performs all over the U.S., Europe, and Canada (where "STILLSANE" reaches #9 and "QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE" #16). She opens shows for Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Cheap Trick, Rick Derringer, Nils Lofgren, Robert Palmer, The Boomtown Rats, Sammy Hagar, Steve Forbert, and others. Some of Carolyne's opening acts include Bon Jovi, Billy Burnette, comedienne Elayne Boosler, and Jerry Seinfeld. Tony Bennett (whose sons opened for Carolyne) and Bruce Springsteen are both in her audience one night at THE FAST LANE in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Mr. Bennett does a caricature drawing of Carolyne. The Pointer Sisters want to record her "QUOTE GOODBYE QUOTE," but Carolyne's manager wants it released as a single by Carolyne instead. Carolyne hears through a friend (Robin Zander of Cheap Trick) that Barbra Streisand, collecting songs for her "Wet" album, heard "SNOW" (another single for Carolyne) and called her "a great singer." Carolyne makes the first-round draft of GRAMMY nominations in several categories
I've always had a large "chick singer" section in my record collection. A great rock band with a female singer, a la "Jefferson Airplane", has always been one of my favorite types of music. And Carolyne could rock like no other. I'm glad I "found" my lost record, and glad I can share this still powerful rock and roll with my readers.
Unofficial Carolyne Mas Website
Images obtained from the various Carolyne Mas websites already online and for which links are featured above.
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