Song #754: "The Promise Of A New Day" by Paula Abdul

Date: Sept 14, 1991
Weeks: 1

Search Link

I mentioned before that Paula Abdul's album Forever Your Girl was a great album filled with winning songs. But her second album, Spellbound, was a huge letdown. I don't know if there was a major change in production staff or writing staff, or if the success of the first album caused Abdul to think she needed to make music that was more "important." But for whatever reason, songs from her second album just don't feel as natural as songs from her first. I'll have more to say about "Rush Rush" (#751) at a later date. But "Blowing Kisses In The Wind" feels like it was forced to be a slower song than it should have been, as if that would amplify its importance. "Will You Marry Me?" seems like it was carefully calculated to be a royalty-earning perennial for wedding DJs. And "Vibeology" feels like it was performed by an artist trying to do a pale imitation of Paula Abdul's first album.

All of that is the long way of emphasizing the point that at the time, I really liked "The Promise Of A New Day." It was hands down the best single from the second album of an artist whose first album I really liked. Even so, it's heavily, heavily flawed.

I mentioned before that Paula Abdul's voice is whiny, and she's really stretching herself beyond her talents here. I appreciate the passion that is communicated when she stretches herself too far, but it still grates on the ears more than a little. She's not quite the singer this song needs for some of the upper range vocals. She spends a lot of this song singing duet with herself anyway. I'd love to hear her duet with Janet Jackson instead. That would be a great fit for both of them.

The next obvious problem you'll notice is that there's not a lot of material here. The song doesn't have very many lyrics. You'll get "Pro- Promise. Promise of a new day" stuck in your head just from hearing the song one time. And I listen to these songs several times while writing these reviews. I'm going to have this in my head for a week. Backing lyrics aside, the song repeats everything it has over and over, just to fill out the running time. After 3 minutes, the song feels like it has reached a natural conclusion, but then it repeats every lyric in the song just to extend itself out to another minute. This song wears out its welcome very quickly.

The music has a little bit more variety than the lyrics. I actually like a lot about the music. Somehow all that fake synthesizer, drum-kit sound works together to create a whole sound that works. I think it's the upbeat sound and high energy that makes it work. I really like a lot of the transitions. The song constantly feels like it's transitioning to something bigger and more energetic. But ultimately the music has the same problem as the lyrics, going on well after the song has reached a natural end.

My verdict: Don't like it. This song is catchy, to be sure, and it might be perfectly enjoyable background music. But pop music needs to work when you actually give it your attention, too, and this song just doesn't.

Song #682: "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul

Date: Feb 11, 1989
Weeks: 3

Much like yesterday's Blondie song illustrated the 70s giving way to the 80s, this song is a great example of the 80s turning into the 90s. The synth-keyboards of the 80s are there, but the funk and dance beat, and semi-rap verses, is the sound of the 90s starting to show.

The music is fun. This is a song that has figured out how synthesized keyboards work, and how the kinds of sounds they produce can be used to create unique sounds, rather than emulate other instruments. The bass is funky and fun and memorable. This is a tight sound, carefully engineered into a well-crafted piece of music.

Paula Abdul's voice is whiny, to be sure, but her voice fits well with the synthesizers here. In the verses, she's almost rapping. It's not quite rap, but it references the sound of rap while still being kind of sing-y. That sounds like an awkward mess, but it really does work here.

The lyrics are pretty empowering. "Straight up now tell me is it going to be you and me forever, or are you just having fun?" She's not sure if the relationship she's in is just a fling or if it's going somewhere. And rather than angst and complain about it, she's making this song a confrontation. "Do do you love me? Come on now!" It's a good message to women, or really to anyone. Be assertive in your relationships and don't be afraid to ask for what you want.

My verdict: Like it. Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl was one of the first albums I owned on CD, and it's great. Almost any song from it is a winner in my book, and this is even one of the stronger songs from it.