Blue Angel
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1979-80) - Lee Brovitz -- bass - Cyndi Lauper -- lead vocals, piano - Johnny "Bullet" Morelli -- drums, percussion - Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson -- guitar - John Turi -- keyboards, sax
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- Black Coffee Blues Band (Arthur Neilson) - Boppin' The Blues (Lee Brovitz, Johnny "Bullet" Morelli, Arthur Neilson and John Turi) - Bulldog (John Turi) - Fuzzy Bunnies (John Turi) - The Hurricanes (Arthur Neilson) - Cyndi Lauer (solo efforts) - Arthur Neilson (solo efforts) - No More Landmine (Cyndi Lauper) - Peace Choir (Cyndi Lauper) - Pepper (John Turi) - The Shadows of the Knight (Lee Brovitz) - Tuff Darts (Johnny Morelli) - USA for Africa (Cyndi Lauper)
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Genre: new wave Rating: ** (2 stars) Title: Blue Angel Company: Polydor Catalog: PD-1-6300 Country/State: Brooklyn, New York Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: includes lyric sheet insert Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $30.00
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Having seen that as part of the "Class of 2025" Cyndi Lauper was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the museum is a hideous place to visit - nothing short of a tourist trap), I decided to pull this one out of my ever growing to-listen-to pile and see what a then-young Ms. Lauper sounded like. While I'm not the biggest Lauper fan, I'll admit to owning a copy of 1983's "She's So Unusual" and I admire her extensive charitable work, including her support for LGBTQ causes.
You
can find plenty of information on Lauper's early life, including her 2017
autobi
Teamed
with producer Roy Hallee, their eponymous1980 debut made no attempted to
hide the fact Lauper was the heart and soul of the band. In addition
to co-writing ten of the twelve songs,
her looks, personality and voice were clearly the focus of "Blue
Angel". Lauper's four octave vocal range was on display throughout
the set, but one difference from her forthcoming solo career was the absence
of the "quir
In spite of decent reviews and Polydor promotional efforts which included releasing multiple singles, the album sank without a trace. Blue Angel subsequently fired manager Massarsky who quickly hit the band with a lawsuit which drove Lauper and company into bankruptcy.
"Blue
Angel" track listing: 1.) Maybe He'll Know (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 3:54 rating: **** stars Most Lauper fans are going to recognize the opener "Maybe He'll Know" from the rerecorded version that appeared on her "True Colors" album (with Billy Joel on background vocals). The original version served as a nice introduction to Blue Angel's mix of '50s, '60s retro moves, '80s new wave and Lauper's unique four Octave voice. With a rollicking melody and nice backing vocals from the rest of the band, it would have made a dandy 45. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their "I'm Gonna Be Strong" 45. The exception was in Italy where it was tapped as the "A" side:
- 1980's "Maybe He'll Know" b/w "I'm Gonna Be Strong" (Polydor catalog number 2095 324)
The sound and video quality are poor, but YouTube has a clip of Blue Angel lip-synching the song for a 1980 appearance on the German PopRock television show. (Yeah the opening couple of seconds shows a young Hall and Oates.) Lauper's stage performance was simply exhausting. Blue Angel (Cyndi Lauper) - Maybe He'll Know - German TV (1980)
2.) I Had a Love (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 2:47 rating: *** stars The ballad "I Had a Love" found Lauper and company doing a nice job channeling Phil Spector's '60s girl group sound. Lauper didn't even sound like she was breaking a sweat to hit some of those high notes. The song also sported a nice Neilson guitar solo. The only thing holding the performance back was it sounded very much like a pastiche of earlier hits from the likes of The Crystals, Ronnettes and Shangrs-Las. The song was tapped as the album's third single:
- 1980's "I Had a Love" b/w "Take a Chance" (Polydor catalog number PD 2149) 3.) Fade (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 2:54 rating: *** stars I've always been a fan of cheesy '60s organ sounds - Continental, Farfisa, Vox. Powered byTuri's keyboards "Fade" offered up a mash-up of that '60s sound and jittery, '80s New Wave moves. The song was also interesting for demonstrating Lauper was still mastering her voice - this one makes it easy to understand why she subsequently blew her voice out and had to see a doctor for a cist on her vocal chords. The track was released as a single in the Philippines and Spain:
- 1980's "Fade" b/w "Everybody's Got an Angel" (Polydor catalog number PRO 3723)
4.) Anna Blue (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 3:57 rating: ** stars In spite of a take-no-prisoners vocal, the slow, bluesy ballad, "Anna Blue" was the album's first disappointment. The song just didn't demonstrate much energy and Turi's sax solo didn't help. 5.) Can't Blame Me (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 2:37 rating: *** stars "Can't Blame Me" found the band dipping their toes into sort of a rockabilly vibe. You also got to hear Lauper unveiling some of the quirky vocals that saw her taking over radio. Wonder why they felt a need to let Turi include a sax solo on virtually every song. 6.) Late (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi - Lee Brovitz) - 2:53 rating: ** stars Advice to the young Lauper - there was no reason for you to try to become the female Brian Setzer. If folks wanted to hear The Stray Cats they could have bought a Stray Cat album. For some reason the track was released as a single in Australian and Spain:
Australian single - 1980's "Late" b/w "Anna Blue" (Polydor catalog number 2095 346) Spanish release: - 1981's "Late (Tarde)" b/w "Just the Other Day" (Polydor catalog number 20 95 349)
(side
2) One of two covers, the fact Lauper wasn't featured on vocals put "Cut Out" at a severe disadvantage. Not sure what the song's background was, or who'd previously recorded it, but it sounded like an early-'60s slice of surf rock. I'll give it credit for being energetic, but that wasn't the reason you bought this album. 2.) Take a Chance (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 2:36 rating: ** stars Another forgettable rockabilly performance. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their "I Had a Love" single. 3.) Just the Other Day (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 2:42 rating: *** stars "Just the Other Day" found them returning to '60s girl groups, but with a weird reggae rhythm and steel drums. Odd and not nearly as good as the opener "Maybe He'll Know". 4.) I'm Gonna Be Strong (Barry Mann - Cynthia Weil) - 2:50 rating: *** stars Gene Pitney had the original hit with his heartbreaking cover of Mann and Weil's "I'm Gonna Be Strong". Stripped of the heavy orchestration, melodically the remake wasn't all that different than Vincent's version, but Lauper beat Vincent's version to a pulp. The song was released as a single in numerous countries, but for some reason not in the States. YouTube has a clip of the band lip-synching the tune for the Dutch PopTop television show: Blue Angel featuring Cyndi Lauper - I’m Gonna Be Strong • TopPop
Lauper rerecorded the song for her 1994 compilation "Twelve Deadly Cyns... And Then Some". To my ears the remake upped the drama and added back heavy orchestration. Not necessarily a good thing. The Bernadette Peters hair style didn't help. YouTube has a promotional video for the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbx7ss4F7JE 5.) Lorraine (Cyndi Lauper - John Turi) - 3:44 rating: **** stars The album's most contemporary and commercial song, the ballad "Lorraine" should have been released as a single. I've always liked the song for showcasing Lauper's ability to sing in a lower, grittier range. 6.) Everybody's Got an Angel (Blue Angel - Henry Gross) - 2:41 rating: **** stars "Everybody's Got an Angel" was easily the album's most rockin' track. Unfortunately you could also hear why Lauper was doing some real damage to her voice.
© Scott R. Blackerby November 2025
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BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
ography
"Cyndi Lauper: A Memoir (A Bestselling Musician Memoir)",
so I won't rehash it. By 1978 Lauper was living In New York City
trying her hand at a musical career. Her then-manager Ted Rosenblatt
put her in touch with sax player/keyboardist and writer John Turi.
Turi had previously been a member of the bands Fuzzy Bunnies, Bulldog and
Pepper. The pair hit it off and subsequently decided to put a band
together. Recruiting former Shadows of the Knight bass player Lee
Brovitz ,ex-Tuff Darts drummer Johnny "Bullet" Morelli and
guitarist Arthur "Rockin' A" Neilson, the group recorded a series
of demos and began shopping them around. As Blue
Angel their break came when Allman Brothers Band manager Steve Massarsky
heard some of the demos and took an interest in Lauper's unique voice.
Buying their contract for a reported $5,000, Massarsky signed on as their
manager. Massarsky may have signed to managed the band, but his
interest was in marketing Lauper as a solo artist. She was offered a
couple of solo recording deals, but refused to sign unless it was part of a
deal that included all of Blue
Angel. Polydor finally made an offer, signing the group in 1980.
ky"
persona. On this album Polydor seemed interested in marketing
her as a cute, energetic "babe" rather than the eccentric,
do-her-own-thing star she became. While the album wasn't without its
charms, I've always wondered why Lauper and company seemed so enthused
with rockabilly tunes like "Can't
Blame Me", "Take a Chance" and "Late".
The performances were all okay, but the genre just didn't take advantage of
Lauper's talents. If you wanted to hear rockabilly why wouldn't you go
with the real thing like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Gene Vincent, or for
goodness sakes even The
Stray Cats? With producer
Hallee stepping in with his best Phil Spector bag of studio tricks,
musically "I Had a
Love" was far more enjoyable
reflecting an affection for '50s and '60s influences - they'd clearly been
listening to lots of '69s girl groups. Think along the lines of The
Angels, The Chiffons, The
Crystals, Ronnettes and The Shangrs-Las
and you'd be in the right aural niche. Elsewhere the album included a
nice conventional rocker in "Everybody's
Got an Angel" and a less impressive
nod to new wave ("Fade"). While Lauper's voice was
consistently interesting, about half of these songs just didn't resonate
with me. Still, how could you not cheer for an album that rock critic Robert
Christgau gave a sixty-five word review and a C+ grade? 
