Customer Reviews

What a Feelin'

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I owned this album when it was released in 1983 at the height of Irene Cara's fame. I loved the album back when I was a kid, and I still do. The album is filled with very fun pop music with insightful lyrics. Most of Cara's hits are here: "Flashdance (What A Feeling)," "The Dream," "Breakdance" and "Why Me?" (The only Cara hits not included are her two smashes from the film "Fame.")

The only real complaint I have with this CD is that the hit version of "Why Me?" is not included, even though it was issued on the original vinyl/cassette release of this collection. Instead, there is a seven-minute version that was not on the album. This version would have been nice as a "bonus track," but it doesn't come close to being a satisfying replacement for the original album version.

Hopefully a "Best of Irene Cara" CD will be compiled soon that will include all her hits together in their original forms. Until then, this CD (alongside the "Fame" soundtrack) is the best Irene Cara fans can do.

I orginally had this album on vinyl when it came out in 1983 and was thrilled to find it on amazon.com, since it has not been reissued in the United States. The added bonuses on this reissue is the extended versions of "Why Me"(this remix has the thunderous drum beat similar to the one in Ami Stewarts disco hit "Knock On Wood") ,"Flashdance..what a feelin", "Breakdancin" and "The Dream" omitted is the orginal mix of "Why Me" which orginally appeared on the album and the 45 single.This is definitely a great buy with the bonus remixes. I was having difficulty finding "Why Me" and "The Dream" on any 80's hits compilations...I would never have dreamed of finding them let alone the 12" remixes that orginally appeared on vinyl as well. If your wondering what happen to Irene she was recently featured on VH-1's "Where Are They Now" it's probably easy to catch the show that she was featured on since they rerun and rotate everything so much on that channel. Irene can definitely not put her herself along the ranks of one hit wonders like Toni Basil ("Mickey") This album contains 5 hit singles.."Flashdance..What a Feelin which shot to No.1 in May of 1983, "Why Me" (13# Dec 1983) "The Dream" (#38 Feb 1984) and "Breakdancin" (#8 May 1984). Also "You Were Made for Me" made into The Top 20 of Billboards Adult Contemporary Chart.

Irene Cara definitely should have gained more star status than she did. Her absolute best song is "Flashdance...What A Feeling", which is the title track of the album. It originally appeared on the equally excellent "Flashdance" soundtrack. This is definitely a great album.

"Flashdance...What A Feeling"--One of the greatest songs ever written. It is the best song on the album, and in my opinion the best song of the 80s (I'm only 14, but I'm a huge 80s fan). It is about the passion of dancing, and how the dancer feels while dancing. Not to mention that it goes perfectly with the finale from the "Flashdance" movie. Once you hear it, it will stay with you until the day you die. This is definitely the best song on the CD. 5/5

"Why Me? (12" Mix)"--Another highlight of the album. She sings about devoting herself to someone, only to have him break her heart. Despite the sad subject, it is definitely a dance song. The remix goes on a bit longer than it should, but that's ok. 5/5

"Breakdance"--My second favorite song on the album. I really don't think I have to explain what the song is about, but I will say that it is very catchy and dancey. It is bound to get stuck in your head. 5/5

"The Dream"--Very cheesy song, but I still like it. It was in another movie that I'm sure no one's ever heard of called "D.C. Cab", and is about not giving up your dream no matter what you are going through. Despite the cheesy lyrics, it is still a great song. 5/5

"You Took My Life Away"--just an OK song. I'm not too crazy about it, but it is still nice to listen to sometimes. 4/5

"Keep On"--This is another great song from the album, and another somewhat cheesy one. It is about believing in yourself, and is very similar to "The Dream". One of my favorites. 5/5

"Romance '83"--A very catchy and outdated song. It talks about Atari, and the title even has the year in it. It is a very electronic song, and my favorite part is when she sounds like a robot and sings kind of monotone-like: "Input, output, microprocessor delay/VCI, VCA, modulation for decay/DIN synch to control/And invert over stereo/Set mode channel, two selectors, audio schemactic vectors/". See what I mean by electronic? It is very catchy and gets stuck in your head almost instantly. 5/5

"Cue Me Up"--A good song. The chorus is basically "Cue Me Up For Your Love". Not as groundbreaking as "What A Feeling" or as catchy as "Breakdance", but still worth a listen. 3.5/5

"Receiving"--a boring, yet not boring song. The words are pretty much repeated too much which is what makes it kinda boring, but the song is still pretty good. 4/5

"You Were Made For Me"--The ballad of the album, it is a pretty song. The title pretty much explains the meaning of the song. 4/5

"Talk Too Much"--A bonus track not on the original album. It is about a guy that drives Irene crazy because he doesn't shut up. She tries to tolerate it, but she can't after a while. Another OK song. 4/5

"Breakdance Remix"--Awesome! A longer version of Breakdance with slightly different music. Very good addition to the album. 5/5

"The Dream Remix"--Basically applies to the same thing as the Breakdance remix. Just like the original, just longer with slightly different music. 5/5

"Flashdance...What A Feeling Remix"--This remix is awesome! It is much longer than the original (about 7 minutes long), extra musical intermissions. I wish that they would have included the music from the finale in the movie with the synthesizers that appear as she is breakdancing. I still love the remix though! 5/5

"Flashdance...What A Feeling Instrumental"--It's basically just the music of the song, but extended to 8 minutes. It is OK, but tends to get boring since it's just 8 minutes of the same music. But because its the Flashdance music, I still listen to it. 4/5

This album didn't sell too well in 1983, only because the title song was too overplayed and everyone already had the soundtrack, so they didn't exactly rush out to buy this album. It is definitely a great album though, so you should definitely buy it if you like 80s music or just the title tune.

This Irene Cara masterpiece includes the #1 movie title track "Flashdance...What A Feeling," which dominated the top of the chart for an amazing 6 weeks. The album is a feel good collection of pop/dance tunes that highlights the unmistakable sensuous and sultry vocals and songwriting talent of Cara (she co-wrote 9 of the songs on the original album).

There were 5 chart hits on this album and it's surprising that the album didn't take off as expected.(It peaked at #41 on the charts). (This is probably due to the overexposure of the movie theme which was released about a year before the release of this album or perhaps due to the underexposure of Cara after her acclaimed performance in the movie, "Fame.") The remastered CD version is a real treat offering the album in its entirety (featuring liner notes and lyrics) and includes one bonus track ("Talk Too Much") as well as 4 extended remixes of Cara's classics ("Breakdance," "Why Me," "Flashdance" "Flashdance/ Instrumental.")

"Why Me" is an upbeat, energetic tune equipped with the signature state of the art production from Giorgio Moroder, which made a substantial debut single(#13). This is followed by "Breakdance(#8)," a rhythmic jaunt honoring the highly popularized dance craze at the time. "The Dream (Hold Onto Your Dream)(#38)" is a wonderful, uplifting tune, that was also a movie theme (from the flop "DC Cab" featuring Mr. T.). This is followed by the track,"You Took My Life Away." "Keep On" perserves as Cara's statement concerning the importance of uniting to make this planet a better place in which to live.

"Romance '83" is a fun, heavy synthesized love song in which Cara's search for romance is impeded by the technological age! "Cue Me Up" and "Receiving" are predictable dance numbers about opening the heart and learning to love in the classic Cara vein. "You Were Made For Me" is a gorgeous power ballad that was a moderate adult contemporary hit (#78 on pop charts).

This is the one album to own from her limited catalog. It is long overdue that a greatest hits compilation for Cara be released. My only gripe with this album is that I would have skipped releasing some of the remixed versions of the songs on this album in favor to include the hits from the "Fame" soundtrack ("Fame"/"Out Here On My Own"), from 1982's overlooked "Anyone Can See" ("Anyone Can See"/"Reach Out {I'll Be There}"), perhaps even a track from 1987's elusive "Carasmatic" album, which has been out of print, almost from its inception!

For now, this is the best representation of the artist's work. An essential collection for any pop/dance enthusiast.

Any particular reason the idiots at this record label slapped a 12 inch remix of Why Me on this cd instead of the 3 1/2 minute radio version that was a hit??? The 12" mix would be nice as one of the extra tracks and we could EASILY do without an instrumental version of Flashdance, especially since that song is on here twice already (as a single and as a remix). I despise record companies that do this crap. This cd is incomplete without the single version of a hit song. It has the single and the remix for 3 other songs, so whats the deal with Why Me?

Hey what can I say? I had this on vinyl and took ages to find it. Apparently there was a lawsuite against her former record label and they have made it difficult to find this CD in the States but if you like Irene Cara it is worth the import price! The theme from Flashdance as well as 3 other hits are on this album. "A remix of Why Me, Breakdancing, and Hold on to your dream" This is a wonderfully entertaining CD to listen to and makes me wish she hadn't had to spend many years in court with her label, we really missed out on some great music!

I've been waiting for the CD version for at least ten years. I recently listened to my vinyl record and was happy to find out that Amazon had an import CD. I have been listening to the CD in my car exclusively now for over a week and I'm just as excited with the music as I was when I bought the vinyl album in the '80's. Irene's classics "What A Feelin'," "Why Me" (in a luxurious version), "The Dream," and "Breakdance" are included in original and dance versions which makes this CD quite a bargain. You won't be disappointed!

Mistakenly thought of as a one hit wonder for her anthem "Flashdance ... What A Feeling" .... this CD does not contain a bad track on it. Gems include "Breakdance," "Why Me?" "The Dream," and "Romance '83" .... as well as the ballad "You Took My Life Away." Not only is this CD full of great music, but the re-mixes included in this canadian import make it all the more a "must have" for lovers of dance and pop music. This CD is the highlight of Irene Cara's career ... and is one of the prize jewel's of my CD collection. Enjoy!!

Where the hell is the 45 version of "Why Me?" Why couldn't the people who released this disc realize that we would want the hit version THAT WE FELL IN LOVE WITH and made the Top 40??!!

Come to think of it: where is a Greatest Hits package for Irene Cara?

Buy this CD just so you can enjoy You Were Made For Me, one of the most beautiful ballads Ive ever heard.The Dream is perhaps the perfect example of Eighties Pop at its most infectious and joyous.Irene is a Goddess and should be worshipped accordingly. Irene the music world needs your Oscar-winning songwriting talents!!