Spirit of St. Louis [Extra tracks]

Ellen Foley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 30, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B000UZDGGU
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,507 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Reissue of the 1981 & second album by this pop/ rock vocalist/ actress from St. Louis, Missouri. Foley's then boyfriend, Mick Jones of The Clash, wrote and produced most of the 13 tracks on the record. While most famous for singing opposite Meat Loaf on h --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellen Foley's Long Unavailable Masterpiece Resurfaces, August 16, 2002

By 

KSG "ksgnyc" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

Ellen Foley (remember her from Bat Out of Hell and Night Court?) is in possession of one of the great voices of modern pop music. Originally released in 1981 and ignored by the general public, this brilliant collection of songs has been remastered and released in the UK. If you like, The Motels, Ronnie Spector and The Clash, you may love this. Most of the songs were written by the Clash and it was produced by Joe Strummer. She covers so many genres here, that it might have been a bit confusing for the general public. My favorite cut is The Death of the Psychoanalyst of Slavador Dali written by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. Her performance on this song is an emotional rainstorm. She covers an Edith Piaf standard, Mon Legionaire, and again, pure emotion is what it's all about. The bonus track of Le Palais Secret is a great suprise. A jewel that should not be missed.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Atlantic crossing, April 26, 2005

By 

Bo Persson (Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

Ellen Foley was born in St Louis (hence the albumtitle, also illustrating the journey she made from America to Europe with reference to the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927) and will probably be best remembered for her femme fatale-singing on Meat Loaf's "Paradise by the dashboard light". Her solodebut in 1979, "Nightout", sounded very all-American (although produced by Hunter/Ronson) with songs like the Springsteenesque "We belong to the night", coverrippers like Stones "Stupid girl" making Jagger's original recording sound like a lullaby and Graham Parkers "Thunder and rain", along with a bunch of hypnotic songs like "Young lust", "Hideaway" and "Sad song". But "Spirit of St Louis" is a new scene altogether. Instead of pursuing the American road of rock Foley took a giant leap of music and landed in Europe. Just as American as the debut sounded, the European influences flow through this album.

Produced by former boyfriend/Clashmember Mick Jones (who shares the mike with Ellen on "Torchlight"), with songs mainly written by Mick Jones/Joe Strummer and with The Clash as her backinggroup - how could this album be anything but sensational? An outstanding masterpiece, one of a kind - although not five stars (due to a couple of halfhearted tracks) - but sentenced to silence by radiostations, since there's virtually no possible hitsingle. This is an album which demands concentration from the listener. The journey begins with the beautiful opener, "The shuttered palace" - an alltime classic and beautifully arranged. The final song, "In the killing hour", revokes memories of Edith Piaf's "Non, je ne regrette rien". In between, you have weird-but-lovely songs like "Theatre of crulety" and "The death of the pscyhoanalyst of Salvador Dali", "My legionaire" and Tymon Dogg's "Beautiful waste of time" and "Game of a man", to mention some.

I love this album just as much as "Nightout", because they're each others total opposites. From the heavy rock and all the promises made on "Nightout" to the Europeanstyled challenge of "Spirit of St Louis", it is like travelling from one music pole to another. Both albums illustrate the musical diversity of this singer and "Spirit of St Louis" is in every way remarkable. Hats off to Jones/Strummer naturally, this must be on the top of their musical CV in the alltime musical Hall of Fame.

After this record, Ellen did "Another breath", in 1983 - produced by Vini Poncia. Not a very memorable record, sorry to say. From then on, mainly silence. Come back, Ellen, wherever you are!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Sung & Produced, February 19, 2009

By 

gassy goon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spirit of St. Louis (Audio CD)

Ellen Foley's 2nd album, released in 1981, is a total about face from her 1st album, NIGHTOUT. She retreated to England where this gorgeous album was produced by Mick Jones of The Clash. But it's not really indicative of their music. It really has an eclectic, European vibe to it. It's got ballads, a few rockers, and some esoteric songs bordering on the eccentric. At the center is Foley's gorgeous singing. She can sing a song, and this 2nd album is without the bombastic production of her 1st album.

Most of the songs were written by Mick Jones with help from other Clash members. The songs are from a woman's point of view, & Ellen's voice is never enveloped too much by the production. MPH is the rocker on here, a very catchy one that has the refrain " more miles per hour " rockin' on to the end. Ellen's own PHASES OF TRAVEL is a rocker also, one of the highlights on this album. It was included on the 2 album various artists EXPOSED album in 1981, so many people may know this song. TORCHLIGHT is a very melodic, mid-paced rocker that Ellen & Mick Jones share lead vocals on. It should have been a big hit. The balance of the album is on mid-tempo songs & ballads. BEAUTIFUL WASTE OF TIME is nothing but beautifully sung, a real Foley classic that Ellen just breezily sings . So many of the songs have an atmospheric sound . THEATRE OF CRUELTY, GAME OF A MAN , THE SHUTTERED PALACE and INDESTRUCTIBLE are all hypnotic-like songs, all with a female slant , yet universal with their lyrics of daily living and survival. HOW GLAD I AM is an oldie from the 60's that La Foley effortlessly sings, with some nice horns in the background. A real nice change of pace. You also get 2 rather eccentric songs, including Ellen's dramatic, yet soft interpretation of French legend Edith Piaf's MY LEGIONNAIRE, which is nice, but not essential and the really odd THE DEATH OF THE PSYCHOANALYST OF SALVADOR DALI. The album ends with a bang, with the very dramatic IN THE KILLING HOUR. This song about an execution is propelled with a marching sound & very dramatic vocal by Ellen. It's a real tour-de-force ending to a great album.

This album is not to be missed. It's off the beaten path of her other 2 albums, and that's what makes it great. It has many faces to it. Don't be deceived by having members of The Clash playing it. It's not a prototype new wave album. It's a gorgeously sung & produced album that somehow was made at the height of new wave , yet very diverse in it's sound. This re-issue also has the bonus tracks LE PALAIS SECRET, [ the French version of THE SHUTTERED PALACE ], BLACK BOYS [ a song from the Film " HAIR " that Ellen appeared in , & which she shares vocals on ], and THE TIME IS NOW [ from the Cleveland International charity album CHILDREN OF THE WORLD, sung with Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie ].