Customer Reviews

She's Strange

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

She's Strange is one of Cameo's most essential albums. Released in 1984, it was an interesting mix of musical styles. Cameo experimented with many different styles such as Reggae(Tribute to Bob Marley),Rap(The explosive title cut She's Strange),Rock(on the dynamic New Wave-Inspired track,Talking Out The Side Of Your Neck & Le Ve Toi)and even Jazz(with the smooth nite time grooves of Love You Anyway & Hangin' Downtown,Check out those Jazz Guitar Licks!). Of course, there's always room for a full-out dancefloor funk jam like Groove With You. All in all,Cameo flawlessly blends various musical genres and makes it their own sound without compromising the Funk. Even with all these musical styles,Cameo still makes this a funk album and manages not to get lost in the translation. She's Strange is a Remarkable mid-1980s effort from Cameo. Cameo's Originality & Innovation on this album & others puts to shame the artists in today's Urban music industry. Their brand of High-Tech,Rock-Influenced Funk,starting with 1982's Alligator Woman LP and ending with 1988's Machismo,provided a soundtrack for the Urban Funk Scene of the 1980s and ultimately signified the sound of that era. The highlights on this album include She's Strange with its undeniably funky groove & some sizzling electronic drum kicks and Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck for its political undertones & Hard-hitting Rock Riffs. As well as Le Ve Toi cuz the Cameo dudes sing the lyrics entirely in French! And Groove With You,a slick keyboard-driven jam. This album is definately a must have if you wanna get down with the Funk! I would also recommend Cameo's 1985 follow-up,Single Life,that album is slamming! "I've Got Your Image" is a classic groove!

THIS ALBUM IS GREAT TO LISTEN TOO. AND SONG GROOVE WITH YOU.
ALSO CHECK OUT THE ARTIST HEATWAVE AND SLAVE, THEY GROOVE TOO.

This is one of those albums that puts groups on the map. Cameo blends a good mixture of funky bassline, ripping guitar riffs, and "offbeat" vocals. Blackmon and Singleton have always seemed to make Cameo stronger when dance on the edge.

This album is as funky as Larry Blackmon's red cup!!!
For all you cameo lovers out there if you dont have this album I
suggest you buy it.

This was one of Cameo's best albums. It featured R&b, rap, ballads and more. The songs to check out on this album are She's strange, hangin' downtown, and takin' out the side of your neck.

She's Strange is still the cut it is so Funky&Dope.Larry Blackmon with His Cool Rap.Talkin'out the side of your neck is Bangin'.Hangin' Downtown is a Great Slow-Jam.but Love You Anyway was The Song here.Tribute to Bob Marley was cool.Cameo was Bad Back in the 80's.they along with Rick James,Roger&Zapp&Very Few Others Kept the Funk Alive in The 80's.

Cameo's "She Strange" album has a variety of music: r&B, rock, reggae. If you like that combination then this is a good album to get on cd. I wanted to get this on cd so i can have it in the car especially when i'm on the highway.

Cameo are a band that get's a lot of props from me-always have and always will. At the same time while I have a high opinion of them,after hearing this album I just upgraded my opinion! Despite being constantly written off (very wrongly)as a novelty by too many critics and books Cameo set a standard in their time for musical excellence that not only showcased funk resiliance in the musical world but gave them a great reputation as a band. In every respect this album brings all of that to the forefront as Cameo,again put it all out with their terrific melodies and musicianship on seven cuts that all jam and jam hard while all also being excellent songs in and of themselves. During this time the band was still relatively large and was still basing a lot of their sound in horns and that all important bassline. They never abandoned the latter one bit but in many ways this is still very much a mid 80's variation of their 70's sound;the heavy techno funk strains of the Word Up! era is still a little ways off but they are acknowledging that sound. The title song is one of the best examples as rap is an influence as are synthesizers but it's all totally in the spirit of Cameo's classic sound. Even though the hits on this album are top notch and great to hear on their compilations there's no question Cameo are also a great album act and "Love You Anyway" is a great example.It starts off in the vein of a melodic funky pop tune and by the end shows this great jazz sensability with Charlie Singleton's guitar and the vocal scat all getting off on this George Benson kind of thing. "Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck" goes for this punching funk/rock kind of hybrid with Larry Blackman rapping hard about the socio political economics of the period with this strong sense of defiant wit that is wonderfully refreshing:a message song from the mid 80's that isn't the LEAST bit corny-in fact very much the exact opposit. "Tribute To Bob Marley" flexes the band well earned musical diversity on a synth-reggae jam about......reggae jamming as well as throwing in the idea that Marley's music was not quite as appreciated before than it was after his early passing. "Groove With You" gives the horns a bit of a workout on a great melodic funk number that proves once and for all that Cameo were no mere jamming one hit wonder,if there is any possible doubt. "Hangin' Downtown" is a MONSTER!!!;slow grooving funk that not only gives the one a major workout but again showcases a jazz influence especially in the sax solos. "Le' Ve Toi!" is a great concept:French naked funk where not only does every groove to the very end up the words are actually in French too. If your interested in finding a Cameo album that showcases all their best qualities as well as one that has a few songs you might know this would be a great place to go. It embodies everything great about this band and never ever falls off in quality for a nano second!

Killer Cameo. I've lost and bought this thing several times. Simply cannot be without it. She's Strange, the title track is a classic. And Love You Anyway and Tribute To Bob Marley are fine tracks.

Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck is a Ten.

Overall the whole thing is a little more raw and fresher sounding than the more polished and produced Word Up. Cool Sound!

Cameo's second studio album, ( their first was 1983's Style) on their new Atlanta Artists label( distributed by Polygram records) was their breakthrough release, and heralded a eight year run of major label success. This 1984 release was one of my first forays into the musical genre called funk, and is one that, happily, has stood the test of tome. The big hit of this album was the title track, but I would agree with a fellow reviewer, in saying that it is not best track on offer. 'Love you anyway' would be the winner for that accolade, and even now, it still gets my feet moving, (which is no easy feat!) I love the mellow mid-tempo, 'Hangin' Down Town', and groove with you.
I wasn't feelin' 'Leve Toi', and the Bob Marley ( which, whilst it is great to see the boys paying tribute to such a great artist, doesn't work as a song, and is out of place on the album) I also like the sentiments expressed in 'Talkin' Out The Side Of Your Neck' but musically, it's no more than OK.This is a good album that lovers of funk will enjoy.