Customer Reviews

How Could It Be

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

 

 

Such a great album, but you shouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg for it. The cassette is availble pretty easily on ebay, but the CD was originally produced in such small quantities that it's hard, and expensive, to find it. Party all the Time is the best song with the late Rick James. I wouldn't pay $100 for it, but if released at a normal price, I'd pick it up right away.

Most people have made countless jokes for 2 decades now on Eddie Murphy's first music album. But Eddie actually sounds good on here. The only drawback is some of the music would be better off on Rick James' funk-heavy albums than Eddie himself. I still love the rumbling grooves of Party All The Time. This album came a few months after the Mary Jane Girls' second album in 1985, so some of Party sounds similar to MJG's funky songs on there. Rick produced a lot of music that I liked the tender ballad, How Could It Be. Jokes aside, the album sold well, even during a time when Eddie had huge movie hits in Beverly Hills Cop, a massive box office hit for over a year. Rick James' passing in 2004 makes Eddie's album far more respectable because of his producing it. Murphy, just like Bruce Willis and Don Johnson afterwards, had this multimedia concept going on quite good, balancing movies, music and other areas in the '80s. His later albums were much better, but How Could It Be was an interesting start for him.

WHOA!!! Well there are plenty of one to 2 1/2 star reviews for this album based seemingly in the idea of a "comedy actor singing" kind of thing. Well guess I will have to be one of the few people here who'll beg to differ.However you cut it,fact is this is an excellent album musically featuring a pretty lean sound showcasing the based of 80's keyboard funk with plenty of pop shadings. While it is true that Eddie's singing doesn't have a lot of range the sheer fact that he doesn't try too hard on any of these songs to be a serious singer goes well with the music as his high,reedy voice works well with the kind of songs he's choosing to sing. The first two songs on the album are bare bones groove pop in "Do I",itself based in a repetitive line and there's "C-O-N Confused" which is by all means a bit fuller. The title song goes for something of the simple slower groove thing and...well isn't the place where Eddie's (I'll admit it) limited voice is at it's finest. "I Wish (I Could Tell You When)" utilizes a style of music I personally find rather appealing during this time-a mixture of a jazzy swing arrangement with 80's production. Some might find it pretty corny,mostly to do with some of the instrumentation used but by the time Stevie Wonder's blues harp comes rolling there's plenty going for it. "Party All The Time" was the big hit and while Rick James' edgy punk-funk style provides a stark contrast to Eddie's very much in opposit singing the song does have an instant radio appeal. "I,Me,Us,We" finds Eddie in a very much gospel/funk state of mind with some rapping taken from his comic skills over a song that has some strong references to James Brown here and there though no of course nearly as brilliant and individual. The piano oriented ballad "My God Is Color Blind" has a civil rights themed message that,while it borrows some from Michael Jackson's simplistic message of "universality" actually makes some excellent points,even if many have been said before. "Everything's Coming Up Roses" is a great funky dance tune on an optimistic note. So no this album isn't exactly Mozart-it was never intended to be. But even with Eddie's minuses in vocal terms this album actually succeeds highly in it's intentions and by virtue of it's concept it doesn't really get much of the recognition it probably deserves.

Im serious, this was a solid album, and his second music album "So Happy" was even better with a few powerful ballads (like 'Tonight'...so good). I really would like to find these CDs. I had them on cassette at one point...

Eddie Murphy and Stevie Wonders Studio vocalist Crystal Blake sing a beautiful duet together on this beatiful ballad "How could it be ". The song was written by Rusty Hamilton and Produced by Aquil Fudge. Other songs on the album include "Party all the Time" Produced by the late great Rick James as well as "Coming up Roses" Written and Produced by the Wonderman himself. Eddie was percieved as a Comedian and not a singer so the album was not received well by audiences.The Album managed to reach Gold in sales however due to Eddie's loyal fans of Saturday night live.I always believed he was a man of multiple talents as seen in Dream Girls. This album proves he was way ahead of his time. Glad to have it in my collection once again.

eddie murphy has voice as well as comedy. his music is a classic to own.

He was on his way to being one of the best comics that ever lived. Unfortunately, his serious attempt at pop music was just as comical, in a "we're laughing at you, not with you" sort of way. Rick James was at his coked out best on this album which I'm sure didn't help things. I have the vinyl "Party all the Time" single and I break it out for a chuckle every once in a while. The corny drum machine beats, Eddie's "Oooooh oooh OOOooohs!" and his beyond tacky leather jump suit that grace the cover enough to make anyone double over in hysterical laughter.

I don't see what's so hip about writing a song that talks about your girlfriend wanting to party all the time. I once had a girlfriend who liked to party all the time, after she heard the Eddie Murphy song, and her pancreas ended up exploding, while her liver became as hard as a granite brick. All this sent me into a tailspin of my own self-induced partying revelry.

So you see, just because a hot Hollywood star like Eddie Murphy thinks it's cool to party and "get down" on a frequent basis, doesn't mean that it is.

I myself choose to follow the clean living style of such entertainers as Slash, Robert Downey, Jr., Scott Weiland and the lead singer of Thug Three Times (TTT).

Barring the lyrics, this Murphy record was his best one of the '80s; it set the bar for future alternative music. Comes highly recommended.