HOLD ME

Jackie, second left, with the rest of the English Department.

For the first issue I asked a collegue at work, English teacher Jackie Barningham, if she'd listen to the Hold Me CD and give her opinion...Jackie, not a Laura Branigan fan,  happily accepted my offer as she has never done this sort of thing before. A big fan of Runrig and Techno (a bit like the new African mixes of Gloria no one seems fond of, except me...) I threw her a different style of music altogether and this is what Jackie had to say... -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	There's a tendancy to suppose that within any aspect of life, be it in the world of work, leisure and pleasure, art or love, that if it doesn't change then it dies. (I do not use the word it as something minor and inconsequential - on the contrary...)! Change is what keeps the soul and spirit alive! And yet (as always), there is another side to a particular view - there has to be. It just depends to what is being applied. So what is the other side? Well, the one that springs to mind is the old adage, 'if it works - don't change it'! At this point, you may well be thinking, 'what has this got to do with a review of Laura Branigan'? Well, it has everything to do with Laura Branigan - or at least her music.
	Having had 'Hold Me' placed safely in my study where working and listening to music go hand in hand (or should I say arm in arm), I decided to temporarily abandon my incongruous but necessary compound of BT and Runrig, and lend an ear to the slightly unfamiliar but faintly recognisable female voice of the Eighties. In my mind before the CD began, I began thinking about this artist, who I couldn't picture, but only hear in my mind. Was she still around? Where was she? Hadn't the music died?
	Listening to 'Hold Me' the first track, I found myself being slowly transported back to an era where music, particularly this style, had reflected my various mood swings as I fell in and out of love and love-laden lyrics seemed to say more than anything or anyone else could. As 'Hold me' merged effortlessly into 'Maybe Tonight', memories became less hazy and then it hit me. The song I had tried to bring to the fore - the one that had me think, 'Laura Branigan, now what did she sing again?' 'Gloria' - that was it! 'Maybe Tonight' then, is the track that is responsible for 'Gloria' now resonating through my conciousness. Funny how songs come reverberating back, totally unaware of their effort of having quite literally knocked years off the listener.
	On a more serious note, it is quite true that the majority of the songs on this CD are, by and large, concerned with matters of the heart and the effects of love and certainly the CD will probably appeal more to the sort of people who like to be inspired and enraptured by lyrics of love or who use it as an inspiration for dreams and fantasies of love, more likely to be women - and that is not a sexist remark! Another reason why dreamy females might prefer this CD is because the songs are sung by a 'fellow' female artist and so we are able to identify and relate to them and the 'active', but in control, female that is the standpoint of many of the songs. Yet, this is not to say that the romantic male would not relate to the music. On the contrary, there are many songs, which are clearly aimed at genders, such as tracks 1 and 5. Likewise 'love songs' can be enjoyed by both sexes.
	Although the tunes and styles are still stuck in the eighties, this is not wholly surprising, considering the artist had her most success in this era. Yet her music does not seem to have moved on a lot, if at all from then - though in no way has it died. Indeed, that her music has been updated and re-recorded as a dance track, worth listening to, is surely a sign that change has taken place although the original track of 'Forever Young' still remains timeless.
	Celine Dion, a modern day pop star, and perhaps a nineties clone of Laura, seems to have successfully adopted this style. The up-beat rhythm for instance and then the contrast of the slow and tranquil, plus the 'love' lyrics and the strong voice that all adds up to a finished product, seem to be characteristic of both artists.
	Laura Branigan then - and her music that so captured the spirit of the eighties lives on and is able to 'speak' to us all - maybe because essentially the human soul does not change nor dies! Long live the Music.