Customer Reviews

One Night in Bangkok

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

 

 

Having recently discovered Louise Robey, the Countess of Burford, hidden away in a recording studio in Suffolk, England, it was a reminder of her earlier career accomplishments. Of late, she's been associated behind the scenes with the death metal group, Cradle of Filth. Robey is best known as the red-haired beauty, Micki Foster, who bewitched viewers on TV's three-year series, "Friday the 13th: The Series." Before that, she had mild success as a recording artist. This album, "One Night in Bangkok," released in 1984, represents her best effort. She's been reported to be working on a new album, but no release date has been promised.

On "Bangkok," she collaborated with producer Joel Diamond, who since then has accumlated 36 gold and platinum recordings and has produced hits for many artists, from Laura Branigan, Gloria Gaynor, Jay Black, Sister Sledge, Helen Reddy, and Australia's The Deadly Nightshades, to the more mundane Lorna Luft, Engelbert Humperdinck, Milton Berle, and Britt Eckland. Diamond's name came up in conversations over the years with other show biz people I've met who were happy with his work, including Dick Clark, Dr. Hook, Mike Doublas, Soupy Sales, and my good friend and Las Vegas star Clint Holmes. Often, a more successful career will stimulate interest in the earlier works, good or bad. In the context of 1984 when "One Night in Bangkok" was released, this is an excellent first album for Louise.

The title song is a cover of the Murray Head recording from the Broadway show "Chess." Robey's version hit number one in the dance clubs and various mixes of the song have circulated, but America was in an anti-disco mood by the mid-80s trying to cast off the musical vestiges of the 1970s. Prince, Madonna, Huey Lewis, a reinvented Tina Turner, even the unlikely pop dual of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney signaled that music was trying to write a new chapter. Movie soundtracks were in ("Footloose," "Ghostbusters"), Broadway show tunes were out. While this album will have you dancing, it did not get enough promotion to find it's niche in 1984. Had it been released during the run of "Friday the 13th," along with the show's theme song, it might have hit the upper levels of the pop charts.

Still, "Moth to A Flame," a song co-written by Robey, is an edgy, infectious song that should have been the first track leading off on this digitally remastered CD. Many artists underestimate the importance of the first three-tracks on a CD, but in 1984, artists will still pushing vinyl and cassettes, so it didn't matter. "L. Robey" also co-wrote her femme fatale track, "Killer Instinct," not bad for a new artist having two writing credits on an album. Besides "Moth" and "One Night," "Turn My Head" and "The Right Combination" are two other great dance songs, although I would have suggested a better orchestral arrangement for the intro of "Right Combination." Covers of the hits "Tighter, Tighter," and "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," are excellent arrangements and full of the energy and the sexy wink of a young singer who had an uncanny awareness of her potential at the time. The one quality that comes across on this album is that Robey seemed to be having fun recording this album and her positive energy comes across in her recordings. I would have left off one song--"Bored and Beautiful," a tongue-in-cheek satire of the boring and beautiful and replaced with something more primal or danceable...maybe a cover of Branigan's "Gloria," Bowie's "Let's Dance" or a hundred other songs, just not this one.

You have to remember to judge this album in the context of 1984. The technology and the way albums are produced and recorded have changed. Audio engineering and computers today can make a few instruments sound like a full orchestra and slight glitches in vocal efforts can be smoothed out with a few electronic tricks. With Robey's album, what you hear is what you get, but still a well produced album given what was possible more than two decades ago. Once "Friday the 13th: The Series" becomes available on DVD or replayed on TV, or, as I suspect, she returns to entertainment from her intermission as a mother and real countess, Louise will bring new interest in this early effort. If you're a fan of Louise Robey as I am, then having this momento of her career is a must.

I am a Robey fan from her work on "Friday the 13th:TV series." I would recommend this CD for any true die hard fan of Robey or of "Friday the 13th:TV Series." If you are not a fan or do not know who Robey is, then I suggest that you try something else. There are only a couple of good songs on this CD. The best one is "One Night in Bangkok." I think that Robey has a great voice, but this CD does not "rock my world."

I got this for the remake of One Night in Bangkok, the other songs arn't my cup of tea.

It wasn't a disco classic, like the remastered package will claim, but I've owned it on vinyl since I was a trendy wee lass of 22 in 1986. Okay, so I'm old, but anyone from the 80s is "old" to some whipper schnapperz. The point is, I can still shake my booty without breaking my hip (so far), an' I still has all my chopperz.

All kidding aside, Louise Robey's One Night in Bangkok was always an irresistable wapatui blend of disco, pop, and soul that sounds dated and yet sounds great now that it's been remastered. True, she was a highly paid fashion model who would risk anything to become a highly paid disco singer. Her voice wasn't all that great, but she sure knew how to have fun. You will have fun listening to her if you like to do aerobic walking, and I'm living proof that Robey's music works. I've lost over 30 pounds!

Her cover of the old ABBA-Tim Rice penned "One Night in Bangkok" seriously rules it over Murray Head's, and "Killer's Instinct" is...well, just totally killer. She attacks the old Honeymoon Suite tune, "Turn My Head" with the gusto of any rocker with true grit and spirit. While her version of "Tighter, Tighter" is lacking compared to Alive and Kicking's, her marvelous tongue in cheek ode to being a fashion model in "Bored and Beautiful" is comical and commendable. Good version of "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show," but the Honeycomb still did it better. I don't like "Moth to a Flame" outside of the beat very much, but "The Right Combination" is a cute and bouncy pop song.

Okay, so it's not a landmark artistic effort, but it's an album I have always liked for the sheer light pleasure and fun of it all. If you like 80s pop and dance, how could you ask for anything more?

I picked up this CD fully aware that most of it wasn't going to be all that great. I just wanted a hard copy of her version of One Night in Bangkok to play on my fairly nice stereo, since I find MP3's generally don't sound as good.

WHAT A MISTAKE. This 1996 'remaster' sounds horrible! The MP3 version of this song sounds much better. The whole CD is bass heavy, sounds slightly muffled, and distorts on the challenging sections. It sounds like a CD-R made from crappy low bit rate MP3's made in 1996, and that probably exactly what this is. I'm appalled at the sound quality on this disc.

Don't waste your money on this. Try to find an original copy of the disc if you can.

My question is, where does the better sounding MP3 come from??

To be perfectly honest I only bought this because of Robey. She was one of the stars of FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES. And I was curious. Though short in the number of songs (8), it is well worth the listen. Songs are disco. Though not a big fan of the disco I found them very enjoyable and entertaining. Probably dued to Robey. What a voice. Sounds like that chick that was on FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES. Because like I said above it was. This is one CD I will continue to listen to.

I got one song Robey did from my cousin in India 21 years ago (One Night In Bangkok). I really like Robey's version of One Night In Bangkok. Equally as good as the original version by Murray Head. I am pleased to see it available on CD. I purchased it as soon as I saw it on Amazon.

I just got one night in bankok and I thoght it was great its sounds a littel different from the origanal but I still thought it was great

The tracks on this CD contain simplistic melodies and minimal artistry. Robey carries the tunes, but without any apparent vocal training or richness in her "style."