Customer Reviews

Spellbound

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The title to Paula Abdul's 1991 sophomore couldn't have been better. This album in my opinion is a great artistic quantum leap forward from her excellent 1988 debut "Forever Your Girl" which while great, it has dated very quickly in its sound. "Spellbound" on the other hand has really held up surprisingly well over the years since its release and today it is a stunning classic. I got my first dose of her music when I was a young kid listening to Chicago's B96 and hearing all the barrage of awesome dance music from that period and recall hearing "Opposites Attact" and "Promise Of A New Day" on the radio around that time. I was forever hooked on her music afterwards even though it would be seemingly entire eons before I would discover that these were by Paula Abdul. After finding out who these songs were by, I had to go and get them on CD and "Spellbound" was the album I got containing the latter. For the greatest moments on this album, there's something about them that just really evokes a lot of emotion in me that few other albums do. "Promise Of A New Day" is by far the finest track not only off this album but also among Paula's greatest musical achievements. Just the spine-tingling keyboard chimes at the beginning combined with the electric bass gives this song a very electrifying and powerful feel to it. I've had strange dreams of hearing this song in my dreams for some strange reason. I don't know what it is about this track but WOW! This song has unbelievable power that I can never get enough of listening to it. Perhaps it's because it brings back a lot of excellent memories that I had around late 1991 through 1992 that this song just touches me like few others. It's also interesting to think about it as music radically changed almost overnight after this album came out going from the house techno pop of the previous two years to straight-out grunge rock by the year's end. I enjoyed both styles but techno-house has held up better in my opinion but let's not change the subject of this review.

This album isn't perfect though. There are some moments though on this album that it begins to hit some speed bumps so I'll get through them to get them out of the way. "U", "For You" and "Alright Tonight" don't really do much for me. With the song "U", the rock and techno elements clash instead of merging and the result is a less than great track. "For You" while occasionally interesting feels like a reject from the "Forever Your Girl" sessions and is too short in my opinion. "Alright Tonight" kind of stagnates in my opinion with its somewhat unappealing stab at a more tropical style. These three songs are not bad at all by any stretch of the imagination but they don't quite rank up with the others in my opinion.

However that is made up though with the ballads on this album. The number one single on this album "Rush Rush" is the greatest ballad that she has ever done in, trashing any other slow song of hers. This has a very haunting and moving tone to it and haunting violins and while her voice isn't necessarily golden, it perfectly fits on this powerful and moving song. I also enjoy this song because it brings up great memories of my life around 1991-through early 1993. It's still amazing that this powerful ballad knocked Michael Jackson's "Black or White" out of the top spot on the charts. That's saying a lot. "Vibeology" is just sheer fun with its rumbling bass lines and heavy dance hooks but the track suffers from relatively insipid and utterly silly lyrics that can be a bit jarring at times. However, if you can bypass the vapid lyrics, this is an absolutely fabulous track and is just loads of fun. However Like a previous reviewer said, it was lyrics like this that would ultimately close her career. "Blowing Kisses In The Wind" is another good song with a slightly orchestral sound to it although not on the powerful level of "Rush Rush". The album comes to an excellent close with the final track "Will You Marry Me". This song is definite beauty with a jazz-piano vibe and a dramatic and dreamy melody. The song is about a girl proposing marriage as opposed to a boy usually proposing the same thing. Yeah it's corny but the musicianship and the unique melodic structure are just excellent and negate the corniness.

I've read right and left that some have labeled her as the Britney Spears of the 1980s. Well you know what, I couldn't disagree more. Paula Abdul blows every post-1993 teen pop singer right out of the water and into the trash. Can you imagine Britney doing something as powerful as "Rush Rush" or intoxicating and powerful like "Promise of a New Day"? I didn't think so. Okay, maybe parts of her first album may have some girly-esque elements that bring Abdul close to Britney territory but even then, the slick pop and solid hooks of both FYG and "Spellbound" puts her entire oceans ahead of any of today's teen pop idols. On this album, she did a great job at sounding sexy without crossing the line into vulgarity, something that many of today's younger artists don't seem to know how to.

Much of Abdul's music has dated very quickly and has also been sadly been forgotten by many but if there is any album of hers that truly lasts through the ages, it's definitely this one. She has done a marvelous job and I highly recommend that you purchase this unbelievable classic. I haven't been more proud of purchasing an album in years and today, it's now an album that holds a special place in my life. It's just a shame that this underrated lady's career evaporated after this album's time wrapped up but I've heard that she may put out another album in the near future. I hope it's true and perhaps she could put out that album that could rival "Spellbound" with its power but it remains to be seen for now. This CD is one of the relatively uncommon occurrences when a truly excellent and creative album goes platinum and "Spellbound" is one of those instances. It's sad she went right down the toilet both commercially and artistically after this.

Until then, just put this CD on and have a swell time. Just be careful not to come down with big nostalgia attacks like I have listening to this marvelous treasure of a classic. Enough said, just go and buy this CD today!

When I was young and in a vulnerable place in my life, Paula Abdul's music meant a great deal to me and helped me to see thr bright spots in a dark cloud that was then passing over my life. Paula didn't have the greatest voice in the world, but engineering technology helped her over the hump. Her dancing style seemed so original, but she taught it to Janet Jackson first, and Janet did it better than she did, so that oddly enough Paula seemed like a clumsy imitator of Janet's moves, and her voice seemed even weaker than Janet's. The truth is that both of them are great, but for different reasons. And nothing will replace the masterpiece that is SPELLBOUND. I love the graphics on the cover that show Paula under attack by the kind of typeface that Prince used to use to show emotional distress. This is the period when she was experimenting not just with different techno beats, but with different photo looks too--partly caused by fluctuating weight gain and loss--remember the video which anamorphically stretched her out so she looked like she was eight feet tall?

"Rush Rush," the great hit single, had a romantic video of its own with Paula pursued by heartthrob Keanu Reeves; some cynics disputed whether Keanu, who looked so stoned in the video, even knew he was being photographed at the time. It is one of the key ballads of the 20th century, right up there with "If Ever I Would Leave You" by Lerner and Loewe, "But Not For Me," by Gershwin, and Cole Porter's "Night and Day." RUSH RUSH brings it all home, and it's not just about sensual longing, it's about philosophy and the pull of narrative and the way story-telling is the key to a long life:

"Here's my story, and the story goes: you give love, you get love, and more than Heaven knows." The music perfectly complements the words and imitates the adrenaline rush of that moment when you fall in love for the very first time. For me it represented the moment when someone I loved died, a miserable death of a tragic disease. I would sit in his room and play RUSH RUSH over and over again until he felt momentarily at peace. The lamp was set low so the shadows played over his face and his twitching hands. We had a joke that someday Paula Abdul would burst into the room eight feet tall and extremely thin. Or perhaps Keanu might just fall in.

I always loved Paula even when I was very young, I remember hearing COLD HEARTED SNAKE and I would think I love this woman. I own two of her albums now her GREATEST HITS and this album SPELLBOUND. I love this album more than anything...it is a top in my collection...Her ballads are strong her dance cuts are hot, her upbeat R&B sound shines. Paula was the original Britney only she has talent that is put on her albums. This is a great inprovment from her excellent debut FOREVER YOUR GIRL. Paula I will be FOREVER YOUR FAN, just for the greatness you show on your SDOELLBOUND ALBUM.

1. The Promise Of A New Day(10/10)
2. Rock House(9/10)
3. Rush Rush(10/10)
4. Spillbound(10/10)
5. Vibeology(9/10)
6. U(10/10)
7. My Foolish Heart(10/10)
8. Blowing Kisses In The Wind(10/10)
9. To You(10/10)
10. Alright Tonight(9/10)
11. Will You Marry Me(10/10)
OVERALL 107/111 96%A

Paula, Paula, Paula...how much you are my guiltiest pleasure! Long before I was glued to the TV with American Idol, I was a Paula Abdul fan when she released this album in 1991. I remember begging my mom for some LA Gear sneakers with the Paula logo and pom-pom laces (I got them and was the coolest kid in my first grade class) and everytime, "The Promise Of A New Day" and "Rush, Rush" would play on the radio I would turn it up and belt along to it. I was a deticated fan at only just a mere six years old. Well, times changed and Paula dissapered from my life till one day I was browsing CD's in my early teens and I stumbled upon this album. I brought it of course and got a fresh start at being a much more mature Paula Abdul fanatic!

"Spellbound" is a completely 360 from what 1988's "Forever Your Girl" offers. "Forever" is an excellent piece of late 80's New Jack/Pop but "Spellbound" introduces Paula as the quirky dance/pop queen. Some of the tunes off of "Spellbound" are off-the-wall dance-a-thons and they have a quirky yet cheese factor behind them that make them just sugary-rot-your-teeth dance music, that's fun and not to be taken seriously.

"The Promise Of A New Day" has that earthy, drum laden dance vibe scribbled all over it, plus the message is quite nice saying that there is always...well, the promise of a new day! "Rock House" is an odd political piece (I wonder who she is talking about on this track!) that is verry early 90's dance and has a thunderous effect to it. The sweet, oozing soul of "Rush, Rush" (Keanu Reeves in the video...great choice for a lead! :) is possibly one of Paula's crowning acheivements, and she shows that she can pull off a ballad without having diva lungs. Nice touch with the violin solo. The title track is quirky and insane. It has a sort of witchy feel to it. "Vibeology" is a great dance number that has some funny little voice-overs and it makes for a great video. One of Paula's best dance tracks. The Prince produced, written and performed (!!!) "U" is basically a Prince song with Paula singing it. It's odd, quirky and Prince, what more can you ask for? "My Foolish Heart" is pure early 90's dance that has a driving bass beat to it. "Blowing Kisses In The Wind" is a gorgeous, soul-stirring ballad that was another hit for Paula. Great trickling keyboard intro and Paula sings this song with great ease. "To You" can be considered filler, but good filler at best. Verry early 90's dance with some strident keyboard work throughout. The oddball of this set is "Alright Tonight", a honky-tonk stomper of a tune. I was surprised when I heard this. It's not good and it is out of place on here, and it's just a terrible song to place admid some great dance tunes. "Will You Marry Me?" is a sweet and almost sappy lush ballad. It's great for the first few listens but it grows to be very very cheesy and almost nauseating. Still Stevie Wonder (!!) saves the day when he comes in with his supurb harmonica solo.

"Spellbound" is a an album that Paula should be very proud of. It showcases her dance abilities (especially through the music videos) and now Paula gets to show off her ballad chops. Though Paula will never be remembered for towering vocal abilities a la Whitney Houston, she is not a dull performer. I find Paula's albums and music for that matter to be enjoyable, fun and totally dance worthy. My friend's laugh at me for owning this album and "Forever Your Girl" but then turn to American Idol and go "Oh, I love Paula!" Yeah, for being a sweet judge! Long before "AI" Paula had a great music career, though relatively and sadly short, it still had a great impact on the music industry and I'm glad that she is still in the spotlight today. Paula you go girl and keep your dancing shoes on!

JEN'S TOP 5

1. The Promise Of A New Day

2. Rush, Rush

3. Vibeology

4. My Foolish Heart

5. Blowing Kisses In The Wind (tie w/Rock House)

This is an AWESOME album! It starts out with 'PROMISE OF A NEW DAY', which is a great, upbeat, uplifiting song! Next into 'ROCK HOUSE', which is also upbeat and fun, though not quite as good as 'PROMISE OF A NEW DAY'. 'RUSH RUSH' is a great, touching ballad that you can't help but let touch you. 'SPELLBOUND', 'VIBEOLOGY', and 'U' are great! 'U' is a little weird.. definatly not the best on the cd... the other 2 are great though! 'MY FOOLISH HEART' is good also... not my favorite though. 'BLOWING KISSES IN THE WIND' and 'TO YOU' are also great songs... 'ALRIGHT TONIGHT' has odd lyrics... especially towards the end, but it's very upbeat and fun to dance to. 'WILL YOU MARRY ME' is an awesome song! Slower, but a great end to the album. Some people have been talking that Paula shouldn't be known as a singer, but this album proves them wrong! This one is probably Paula's best album. Some more touching songs, but also some very upbeat and fun. A MUST buy for people who enjoyed the later 80's early 90's pop music!

This album is a good album but is nothing like Forever Your Girl. This album features the number ones "Rush Rush" and "The Promise Of A New Day" Top Ten Hit "Blowing Kisses in The Wind" and "Vibeology" hit 16 and "Will You Marry Me?" hit 19. This album shows the slow progression of how Paula losing her steam. Have four number one hits on the previous album is a hard act to follow and she followed it pretty well. Forever Your girl sold 7 million Copies. Released the 14th of May 1991, it debuted at 5 and quickley shot to Number 1 for 2 weeks. This album sold 3 million, 4 million less than her previous album. This is what people were listening to in the early 1990s. It is too bad she did poorly on her third album. Paula should release another album to prove people that she can still be on top of the charts!

This is my favorite Paula Abdul album for one main reason I wore the album out. "Rush Rush" the albums' first release and Paula's first superballad, went straight to #1 and stayed there for 6 weeks, next came "Promise Of A New Day" also #1, a very uplifting song, then came "Blowing Kisses In The Wind" also top 10(but explain the video), next come the song that we were waiting for off of this album although it missed the top 10 hitting #14, is "VIBEOLOGY"(the study of the chemistry between you and me) this is the song from the album the I simply could not stop listening to, I would just listen to it over and over until I wore the tape out, this is just a classic dance song that Paula knows what to do with. The final release is where I think she could have gone with something else, like "Spellbound", "My Foolish Heart", or two songs that are so good they should have been released, "Alright Tonight" is an excellent song is so unique in the way it sounds, that it sounds like nothing I have heard before, and the song that definitely should have been released was "U", this had hit written all over it, it was written by Prince and in the late 80s' early 90s' you could not go wrong with a Prince written song, even "To You" was very releaseable, but the one song that should not have been released was "Will You Marry Me"? this was just a goofy song, and it tends to be the least favorite of mine out of any of her songs, and the video for this song is absolutely ridiculous, but this album despite that song is one of my all time favorites.

This is one of the most impressive sophmore albums. It shines from the wonerfully joyous "Promise of a New Day," to the liberating "Will You marry Me?." An effort extremley different from it's predecessor and much more diverse, Paula proved she was more than a mere dance diva. After a huge debut album that consisted of almost all upbeat dance tracks, she followed up with the beautifully creative "Rush Rush." This was a bold move and it paid off. "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" was another great ballad on the album. Paula revealed not only her softer side, but also mixed in funk and rock this time around. "Rock House, Spellbound, Vibeology and U" are unique, and combined with Paulas 'one of a kind' voice are unlike anything I've heard then or since. One of my favorite cuts is "Alright Tonight." Although some may think this song is silly, it's a great cover and shows Paulas versatility. Every track on here sizzles with maybe the exception of "To You." I'll forever treasure "Spellbound," for it is an extraordinary album by one of musics most missed artist. If you love quality pop music that's not like most junk out there "Get this album!"

Absolutely love Paula Abdul's 'Spellbound'. Awesome mix of music. I reccommend this CD for anyone who loves great upbeat music.

Paula Abdul became one of the most popular artists in 1988 when she recorded her debut album "Forever your Girl" that eventually would sell over 17 Million copies, 3 years later in 1991 she was still popular, and that wasn't strange since she had been on the charts constantly since. This album isn't as full of dance-pop as her debut though. Here she'll even try a few ballads and shows other sides of herself then choreographic uptempo songs. She had clearly matured and wanted to deliver something more personal (She even co-wrote songs this time) which we can see on slower songs like "Will You Marry Me" and "Blowing Kisses on the Wind", both hits but most of all the big hit "Rush Rush" a ballad that reached #1. The song had an very special video directed by George Lucas! and feauturing Keanu Reeves portaying her boyfriend. Midtempo "Promise of a New Day" also reached number 1 and "Vibeology" a classic uptempo became a decent hit aswell, most other songs of this album that weren't singles are biuncy uptempo's kind of like on her debut. Eventhough this album is 15 years old, it doesn't sound dated at all, many of the songs would still sound fresh today. "Spellbound" eventually sold 8 million copies, which isn't bad, but unfortunately she wouldn't have any more hits afterwards and her third and last album "Head Over Heels" didn't sell good at all. Possibly cause she tried to emancipate herself from the youthful dance-pop girl she was in the beginning of her career. However, another good album from a good artist that sadly doesn't record albums anymore.