Getting ready for New Term

Fast approaching end of Summer Vacations which for me  at least signifies the start of the Autumn Term and getting all your school requirements such as uniform sorted, ironed ready.
You know pretty much what my uniform is, and what it means to me so apart from anything else making sure everything is in top top shape really matters.

Apart from the socks as I like white just above the knee socks that's pretty much how mine looks and that's what I'm wearing this minute.

Apart from finding Peaches and Spikey after a bit of tidying up I got into my closet and have been creating some space to hang everything nicely.

While there I made a few discoveries such as finding a pair of tailored shorts that oddly enough would go with the uniform, being Grey  that gives me an options for playing not least actual out of doors playtime  as much as I love skirts as a gurl.

And I've gotten some new socks ready for September too

Take Two Cuties

When I was living in the Greater London Area, I used to travel out a lot across and just beyond the City and on one Saturday morning in the spring I was in the Covent Garden area, a favourite part of central London of mine where I came by this:

Aww she's cute, very fluffy and and a hand puppet being made by hand and I just had to have her, walking across the area clutching her tightly afterward. This was well before I had any idea of what being a little even was!!!

Well I used to take her to work - as this is the internet and a public site I won't say where - but the job was super important for children's welfare over here and every lunch time I'd put on an impromptu puppet show. 

We called it Peaches the Panda show and it was ever so funny. At all other times she was on my desk and I'd start playing with her as people drifted about the office.

Shortly afterward I got another fluffy thing but this was more a Plushie I named Spikey cos 'es an Hedgehog.

I found them a few days ago as I was sorting out my closet so I give them a bit of clean and fluffing up and their back out on display.

The Byrds and Roxy Music box sets

Anyone who knows anything at all about me knows I've always loved the Byrds one of the most important American rock groups of the 60's and beyond not just for the individual talents within  the group in its differing lineups but the fact they got to what was new and hip before anyone else did, pioneering whole new musical genres such as Country-Rock that lead us to The Eagles and Poco.

 
I grew up on the UK import History of the Byrds double compilation lp which for its time give a well rounded assessment of their abilities and not a few hard to find vital 45's such as Lady Friend although in time I bought a number of studio albums plus the good if slightly flawed Original singles masters lps issued in the UK in 1980 and 1982 respectively supply all the singles with matching b sides.

People remarked on the music I played at high school during that period as it was so different than anything they were familiar with.

Anyway in 1990 I was based in Surrey, just outside of London, when the news broke that a new box set of their work freshly remastered and even remixed in parts was coming out October 19th on CBS over here (the US edition was on Columbia)  which appealed not least because some of the  early Byrds cds although having the original mixes didn't sound so hot in this new format.

The set also content 6 new recordings made that year showcasing their talent even now.

I remember saving up for it, intending to buy it in a store in Kingston Upon Thames only to find some so and so had stolen all my money so as I was short on funds for meeting my other obligations, I never got around to getting it.

 
I bought all the remastered individual cds from 1996 and 1997 that were issued  featuring many bonus tracks but still hankered for this attractively packaged set

Each disc is titled with its own cover art and there remains a good number of alternate mixes and material not carried over to the "There Is a Season" box set of a few years ago.

 
Fortunately I was able to track down an as new US copy used for a cheap price from a Amazon vendor which should be here in a minute.
I'm really looking forward to finally getting it.
Tracklist:

We Have Ignition 1. Mr Tambourine Man 2. I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better 3. Chimes Of Freedom 4. She Has A Way 5. All I Really Want To Do 6. Spanish Harlem Incident 7. The Bells Of Rhymney 8. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue 9. She Don't Care About Time 10. Turn Turn Turn 11. It Won't Be Wrong 12. Lay Down Your Weary Tune 13. He Was A Friend Of Mine 14. The World Turns All Around Her 15. The Day Walk (Never Before) 16. The Times They Are A-Changin' 17. 5D (Fifth Dimension) 18. I Know My Rider 19. Eight Miles High 20. Why 21. Psychodrama city 22. I See You 23. Hey Joe Cruising Altitude 24. Mr Spaceman 25. John Riley 26. Roll Over Beethoven 27. So You Want To Be A Rock 'N' Roll Star 28. Have You Seen Her Face 29. My Back Pages 30 Tim Between 31. It Happens Each Day 32. Renaissance Fair 33. Everybody's Been Burned 34. The Girl With No Name 35. Triad 36. Lady Friend 37. Old John Robertson 38. Goin' Back 39. Draft Morning 40. Wasn't Born To Follow 41. Dolphin's Smile 42. Reputation 43. You Ain't Going Nowhere 44. The Christian Life 45. I Am A Pilgrim 46. Pretty Boy Floyd 47. You Don't Miss Your Water Full Throttle: 48. Hickory Wind 49. Nothing Was Delivered 50. One Hundred Years From Now 51. Pretty Polly 52. Lazy Days 53. This Wheels On Fire 54. Nashville West 55. Old Blue 56. Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man 57. Bad Night At The Whiskey 58. Lay Lady Lay 59. Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood 60. Ballad Of Easy Rider 61. Oil In My Lamp 62. Jesus Is Just Alright 63. Way Beyond The Sun 64. Tulsa County 65. Deportee 66. Lover Of The Bayou 67. Willin' 68. Black Mountain Rag 69. Positively 4th Street Final Approach: 70. Chestnut Mare 71. Just A Season 72. Kathleen's Song 73. Truck Stop Girl 74. Just Like A Woman 75. Stanley's Song 76. Glory Glory 77. I Trust 78. I Wanna Grow Up To Be A Politician 79. Green Apple Quick Step 80. Tiffany Queen 81. Bugler 82. Lazy Waters 83. Farther Along 84. White's Lightning From The 1990 Roy Orbison Tribute: 85. Turn Turn Turn 86. Mr Tambourine Man The Nashville Session: New 1990 Recordings: 87. He Was A Friend Of Mine 88. Paths Of Victory 89. From A Distance 90. Love That Never Dies

Back in 1972, a year I remember well with moving there were a number of  acts that later on you realized were about to break big one of which was David Bowie who released the seminal Ziggy Stardust album that year and there was Roxy Music.

Roxy Music are an English art rock group formed in November 1970 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and oboe) and Paul Thompson (drums and percussion). Former members include Brian Eno (synthesizer and "treatments"), and Eddie Jobson (synthesizer and violin). 

They disbanded in 1983 they reunited early this century releasing live albums but nothing new in the studio.

Roxy Music were one of the first English bands I got into buying their records over the years band one first artists to have their catalogues fully released on cd back in the mid 80's before the Stones or even Beatles and they have been reissued three times with the last set suffering from a very loud screechy sound that lead me toward buying my favourite albums by them on original vinyl.

On Monday August 4th this 10 cd box set came out called The Complete Studio Recordings and I sprung for it although it's different than originally intended probably for cost reasons so here's a few thoughts  on it.

The first thing anyone getting this set has to get over this is it's not the ultimate set with High Resolution audio on dvds and a coffee table book throw in it's more basic than that but by way of compensation is a lot cheaper around the £50 mark. That's not much per cd now is it?

Also unfortunately a background capsule booklet wasn't included which is a shame because it would of helped to set the context of each album (and the singles) release for the casual fan but the packaging is otherwise of a high standard with thick card sleeves and a paper inner to protect the disc.

The card looks durable so shouldn't suffer damage in regular use with a bit of care. The box is sturdy and functional allowing you to slide out the core to retrieve an album for playing when it is on your shelf something I appreciate.

For this set Roxy Music (self titled) loses Virginia Plain which was never part of the original lp and 1979's Manifesto gains for the first time on cd the album versions of Angel Eyes and Dance Away rather than the disco inspired remakes issued originally for the 45's and all are present in the  2cds covering non album singles, b sides and odd mixes.

The mastering for this set is different than the 1999 HDCD discs which remain available new, preserving far the better the difference between the quieter and louder passages so when you listen to a track like Street Life, it doesn't tire your ear and you can tell the difference between tracks with more softer passages and those that don't .

It seems they redid the transfers from original analogue tape which coupled with newer analogue to digital converters results in much smoother sound compared to previous cds.

I've had quite a blast this week playing all these albums back comparing with other versions finding this set to the best sounding yet.

To sum up, it may not be the ultimate set when it comes to features but is a extremely good sounding set, well presented being available at a modest price suitable for either a casual fan as a one stop purchase or for those looking for upgraded sound.

Cubs, Brownies and scouting

Scouting is the subject of a separate blog to which I will get around to putting a link on here to at some point but its ethos is a very big part of what I am about and has on number of occasions helped me pull though though some difficult moments.

I mentioned Friends Reunited as that was a pivotal part in remaking friendships and getting some real feedback from people who knew me about how we fitted together and the issues at the time but another was what today can be called Age Dysphoria when in ways there is a disconnect between how you feel your age related self to be on the inside with actual chronological age because my disabilities meant I was still a relatively young boy at sixteen.

One of things around that period was dressing more like the child I felt I was and cub scout uniform did feature in it not least because everything around it resonated with me and I was still doing stuff like going on hikes, exploring and the like.

Being a brought up as a boy but being feminine you might well wonder what I made of an organization at the time which had very much a strict Boy Scouts for boys and a Girl Guides for girls policy although today Boy Scouts is just Scouts and it allows in girls while Guides became GirlGuiding UK but is girls only.

This picture although for those around knows this is pre 1967 does show the uniforms as was and leaving out the adult leader on the left we have to her right a Scout, a Brownie and a Cub Scout which is the boy equivalent of a Brownie.

The latter two were the most relevant and the programs while nominally of the same value teaching life skills while having fun reflected a more feminine nature within the brownies where as cubs was a bit more boisterous and yes overly boyish.

People like me fit between the two although you have to acknowledge that both fitted the majority of children to which they were aimed at and that you can't expect things to be remade so you just have to compromise.

For me it might of seemed the better compromise was Cubs which did have some arts and crafts in, a short trousered uniform that was practical and didn't risk accidentally revealing more while playing games or during Grand Howl and much of the physical stuff that as hard as was with my disabilities was what I loved.

However I'd of loved a Brownie tunic  to had worn and the more folksy backstory to it suited me better even if today being in cubs with a grey skort option might of worked better given the co-ed nature.

The fundamental thing was and remains I was a sissy albeit a feminine one and had no feelings around and for being a girl but scouting was and is a part of childhood that mattered to me.

There's no reason I can't find a compromise that works for me.

That was what that rediscovery of the uniform value affirmed.

Rod Stewart

If you were around in the 70's you could not of escaped Rod Stewart, the UK singer-songwriter responsible for many of decades top selling records but where do you start if you're not a rabid fan of his given many compilations have been issued in the passing decades most of which had cd re-issues?

At the risk of sounding like boring, I feel his best solo material was recorded for Mercury between 1969 and 1974 taking in such gems as You Wear it Well, Gasoline Alley, Reason To Believe and unforgettably, Maggie Mae.

While some of these albums have been re-issued by specialty labels such as Audio Fidelity and Mobile Fidelity, these discs will be dear to track down regardless of sonic merit  so I'd suggest most would be better of getting new a 3 cd set called "Reason To Believe -The complete Mercury studio recordings" having all the albums and some bonus tracks in a single inexpensive set.

For an overview of his career from the mid 60's to 1990 I feel there's one which is a complete no-brainer  and that's "Storyteller" as it does just that telling the story of Rod's music career over 4 cds that originally came out in 1990 costing a small fortune.

It was recently repackaged but keeping the notes and can be got from Amazon UK for £7.99 shipped. Although a few tracks from the mid 60's were sourced from records, most of this set sounds really good.

I would put this now above "The Story So Far - the best of" a 2 cd set issued by Warner Broa. in the UK in 2003 as Storyteller has more 'classic' Rod while all The Story So Far adds is some remakes and less essential tracks he did with Helicopter Girl even though I bought "Story So Far" on release.

Finally, Rod was an essential part of the Faces who emerged from the Small Faces and you simply have to have a selection of their rootsy bar music that included tracks like Stay With Me and Cindy Incidentally. Although there's a new double cd set due out in October which I hope to get, One that can be got cheaply and is very good is The Best of the Faces (Good boys ...while they're asleep).

Currently available on Rhino and priced at £2.99 on Amazon UK you really cannot go wrong with this single cd retrospective..

Online colouring

 

For me, there is nothing better than to just let your adult little gurl side out, enjoying being the child you feel on the inside and that starts from wearing girls skirts and soft long socks.

While checking this photo program out, I went over to a colouring book site site that links to online colouring books where you can can  click onto virtual paint and colour in.

It's listed on the favourite sites page on this blog.

Here's one I did earlier:

As you can see the tools are well laid out so you just click to load your brush (cursor arrow), move to where you want and click to paint that part.

It's also the first post entirely made from the laptop as I've had to learn where everything is stored!

The Kajagoogoo story

This posts history dates from a threat to launch a thread at a forum if the members didn't behave themselves around Kajagoogoo and was originally posted in a different forum at a forum I belong to.
If I'd of written it as a regular post here it sure would of been different!!!

The story begins in a sleepy backdrop called Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, England where Nick Beggs (bass), Steve Askew (Lead), Stuart Croxford Neale (Keyboards) and Jeremy (Jez) Strode (Drums) get together in 1979 and form Art Nouveau releasing the single 'The Fear Machine'. It sells a few hundred copies, gets airplay on the late John Peels BBC Radio One show but the band fails to gain a commercial contract.

By 1981 they were looking for a lead singer and after several auditions get Christopher Hamill who I think came from Lancashire whose stage name was.... wait for it Limahl which is an anagram of his surname.

Limahl had connections and managed to get the ear of Nick Rhodes (of mega stars Duran Duran) in a place he did some non musical work which resulted in Nick coming to see them play at The Embassy Club, London.

This resulted in them being signed by Duran's label EMI in July of 1982 and getting Nick together with their then produce Colin Thurston to do some work in the studio.

Between this they had a place on the Birmingham based Fashion (remember San Solo anyone?) groups tour.
The rest is history.

 Kajagoogogoo on video:
Originally there was a video EP issued in 1983 back when videos were dear containing Too Shy, Ooh To Be Ah and Big Apple which sadly never was issued as a single in the States (the rotters ! 😡 available on VHS and Billy Betamax.

The good news is those performances are available on DVD on a CD/DVD set entitled 'Too Shy-The best of Kajagoogoo and Limahl that came out in 2009.

That has the first 6 UK singles the solo Limahl singles of that era ('83/4) plus Space Cadet the single from the newly reformed band with all five members.

Said disc sells for about $8 CDN on Amazon in the UK so you've no excuses for having these videos in pristine condition.

 "Tongue tied or short of breathe" and more!

Having gotten the contract with EMI the band were left to demo material they had written including some Art Nouveau stuff in what was the then EMI facility at Manchester Square, London.

It was around the summer of '82 that in rehearsal studio the potential of Too Shy as an initial single was spotted. UK based but American born music media commentator and presenter Paul Gambaccini said "I think that's got something, guys".

It went through three re-writes with even the middle section changed in the studio on the day it was recorded before it was mixed. Paul featured this on his TV special looking at upcoming acts and to this day maintains a friendship with Limahl.

Too Shy was released in the UK January 22 of 1983 (EMI (12) 5359) backed with Too Shy (Instrumental mix) on both 7 and 12" singles with the 12" having the Midnight Mix as the top side. This climbed to the top of the charts and soon the band were plastered all over the magazines of the day such as No1 and Smash Hits that my friends and I all bought.

Following success in Japan - go on start singing 'Big In Japan' 😁 - EMI America decided to market them in North America issuing Too Shy on April 23rd that went Top Five.

The follow up single Ooh To Be Ah (EMI (12) 5383 coupled with Animal Instincts got to number 7 in the UK charts but was passed over by EMI America.

White Feathers

This was the first Kajagoogoo album issued April 1983 on cassette (TC) and lp on EMI EMC 3433 featuring Lies and Promises, Kajagoogoo plus both the initial singles.
It went top five.

In North America it was issued in June EMI America 17094 climbing as high as #38 but in the best American tradition they altered the tracklisting (typical!) reversing the order of the first two tracks (White Feathers and Too Shy) to lead off on the hit single and Frayo and This Car Is Fast from the second side.

The US cassette 4xt17094 added the Moonlight Mix of Too Shy to the end of the second side and also was issued with the XDR(tm) duplication system unlike the UK tape issue and sounds much better for it.

It has been issued twice on cd - yes I bought both ! - the first was in 1993 by OneWay Records in the States thru' CEMA with just the original program in the US track order and then in 2004 in the UK with bonus tracks such as b sides and all the 12" mixes (EMI 7243 4 73962 2 9).

The 2004 isn't bad but I found the OneWay release (7 2438 17608-2 6) more open sounding
Needless to say my circle soon wore out our tapes (I did get an lp too!) back in the day.

Hang On Now!

This was the final single released in the UK from White Feathers on June 4th peaking at #13 ( (12) 5394 and also garnered a Stateside release on August 27th (EMI America 8171) but only got as far as #87 on the chart. That's the UK picture disc version

Stay tuned for a word about compilations and that band split.

The band splits!
It was around the late Summer 1983 that we heard Limahl, the lead singer and something of a pin up had left or depending on who was writing in the press, was kicked out with Nick Beggs taking up lead vocals.

Over the years a number of reasons have been trotted out to explain this.

The most common one, mentioned in the VH1 Bands Re-united series, was that they saw Limahl's presence as a distraction as all the press attention was on him, his fashions and that hair. We all wanted that hair I might add!

The rest of the band it was said felt it detracted from their serious musicianship although the band have several issues with that whole VH1 Special since it's showing in 2004 around the coverage of this plus they felt VH1 edited to make it come over that there was a fairy tale ending. Sadly at that time it wasn't. 😢

My gut feeling is it may have come from the management company and possibly touring on a vast scale might not of helped.

Over the decades a number of Kajagoogoo compilations have come out although we're fortunate not to seen them as anthologized as much as Elvis.

My personal favourite is Too Shy - The Singles and More issued by EMI in 1993. Catalogue number 7243 8 21222 2 9

Mastered extremely well by by Jeff Ranch at Capitol and concurrent with the acclaimed 'Living In Oblivion' 80's pop series this presents the first seven band singles plus all of Limahl's up to 1992 which is as well as EMI haven't seen fit to re-issue on cd the two solo albums he did for them being only available on downloads. 

This is topped off by the 12" versions making this release invaluable to fans as well as general lovers of 80's pop.

Of the others The Very best Of on EMI Gold (7243 8 52956 2 1) from 1996 gives a good selection in reasonable sound.

On A Plane to Islands

It wasn't long before we got to hear what the Limahl less band had in mind musically when on September 17,1983 they issued Big Apple - a big horn driven stomper - backed with a live recording of 'Monochromatic' which has never been recorded in a studio.

This song was more of a statement on the fashion toward black and white clothing we jumble sale chic followers had back then that drove our folks nuts!

The single EMI (12)5423 came out in 7 and 12" forms with Big Apple 'The Metro Mix) as the top side and with the aid of a stylish video reached number 8 on the UK charts and many of us skated to it!

Unfortunately EMI America passed on releasing it which in hindsight can be seen as the moment the band effectively disappeared from the Stateside scene almost as quickly as they'd joined it.

It wasn't until the following year that Kajagoogoo treated us to a new single that was part of the hype around the release of a new album.

On March 3rd 1984 The Lions Mouth - another horn driven song - was issued on (12) EMI 5449 in a striking colour representation of the notion of Bird about to be consumed by a Lion as the front cover. There was an extended version 'The Beast Mix' as the top side of the 12" and an instrumental 'The Pump Rooms Of Bath'.

The single reached number 25 and yes again was not issued in the States.

Islands

The writing of the songs for this album started in the late spring of 1983 with the band being mindful, via the first new single - 'Big Apple' - to set the musical style for the whole album with this and 'On A Plane' being the first written songs. 

They decided to adopt a more Jazz based sound implementing brass sections while at the same time Stuart got to grips with a PPG Wave term System.

The composing style altered as the band took - not unlike Tears For Fears - the approach of developing instrumental ideas in the studio, cutting them into song themes adding then the melodies and lyrics resulting in the completed song.

The band used a digital multi track recorder which created some scary moments as the tapes started shredding oxide so they had to be sent to Townhouse Studios for one to one duplicating to save months of work.

The song themes featured had moved on exploring more about the human condition 'The Power To Forgive', 'No Man Is An Island' than previous numbers such as 'Ergonomics'
Issued on Lp EMI Kaja1 and XDR(tm) cassette the album reached number 35 on the charts.

Extra Play
Not for the first time had the US record company decided to mess with the British arms completed product only this time they retitled and at the same time altered the feel of the lp by changing the track order.

The parent UK album had nine tracks.

Issued on EMI America 17157 Lp and XDR(tm) tape April 1985 and reached #185.
[list type=decimal]
[*]"Turn Your Back on Me (Thompson and Barbiero U.S. Mix)" – 3:56 *
[*]"The Power to Forgive" – 4:46
[*]"Big Apple" – 4:02
[*]"Melting the Ice Away" – 5:18
[*]"The Lion's Mouth" – 3:30
[*]"Turn Your Back on Me (Flipped Disc Mix)" – 6:58
[*]"Big Apple (Metro Mix)" – 6:02

At long last EMI UK issued this album in an expanded form on cd in 2004 with a reasonable re-mastering job that added all the b sides, 12" mixes and the US mix (*) 7243 4 73654 2 3. As a fan of this album I'd recommended it.

Finally The last single to issued from this album on May 5th 1984 was Turn Your Back On Me on 12" and 7 (12) EMI 5646 peaking at #47.

In the US it was issued on March 13 1985 - EMI America 8262 but failed to chart.

Limahl's solo work.

Following the continuation of Kajagoogoo as a four piece band you might well of wondered what did its' original pin up star do?

Well after crying on the sofa for a bit with his sister - the story is told on the inner sleeve - he got underway on recording his first solo album.

It was necessary to issue a single fist to remind folk of his abilities so on November 5th 1983 Only For Love EMI (12) LML1 was issued with a funny romantic video which peaked at #16. It was another track we loved skating to!

Tellingly this was issued in the States until July 20th 1985!

On June 2 1984 he issued Too Much Trouble EMI (12) LML 2. This only reached as high as number 64 on the UK charts so things were not looking to good for the upcoming album release.

Fortunately Limahl had managed to get the ear of synthesizer wizard Georgio Moroder and this resulted in the recording of Never Ending Story from the motion picture 'The Never Ending Story'.

Released October 13 1984 - EMI (12) LML 3- this brought Limahl back in the public's eye with it reaching number 4 on the UK chart. It was issued in the States by EMI America on 8230 on March 23rd 1985.

Don't Suppose

 

  Finally in December 1984 that solo album he'd spend over a year on came out on EMI PLML 1 (EJ 24 0156 2 (/4 for TC) on lp and XDR(tm) cassette.

A collection of pop songs with a personal feel featuring all three singles mentioned so far on it, it hasn't been issued on cd anywhere but all but one track are available scattered across the many Limahl/Kajagoogoo compilations.

In May 1986 he issued the album Colour All My Days on EMI EMC 3510 (US: EMI America 17142) which did not chart.

From this album two singles Love In Your Eyes issued April 14 1986 on EMI 5558 and Inside To Outside issued September 29 on EMI 5570 were issued also failing to chart. This album has not been reissued on cd either.

At this point public interest in all things 'googoo' had dropped and it was not until 1992 that he issued an album in Germany called Love Is Blind (Bellaphone 10007634) with new material and some remixes including one of Too Shy.

The best way on cd to hear his all his solo singles is the Too Shy-The Singles and More cd I mentioned earlier on.

Crazy Peoples Right To Speak.

 Following the release of 1984's Islands album that had garner some critical acclaim and had gone Gold in Japan, Jez Strode left the band.

The band formally adopted throughout the world 'Kaja' as their title (although 'Extra Play' in the US was credited to Kaja in '84) perhaps reflecting on the new identity of the band although the bands brief short memorable tunes with a visual depth remained. 

This time around the feel was to get quite a bit harder edged something that was immediately apparent on the albums opener, 'Do I'.

For this album album they located to California and hung out with production legend Ken Scott. 

Although it is commonplace for many artists to use session musicians this was the first time they had used them and the resultant work was then re-mixed at Air Studios, London.

The album was issued in the UK as EJ 24 0399 -1(lp)/-4(XDR(tm) tape) in September 1985.
This album was re-issued with bonus tracks in 2004 on EMI 7243 4 73860 2 2 but either is or is fast approaching out of print status having checked Amazon UK a week back.

The first single released from the sessions was Should Do That on September 21st 1985 on Parlophone (12) R6106 that garner radio replay reaching #63 on the charts.
Promo: R_9V-XYqYDw

The US version was issued on EMI America September 4th on 8284

The last single issued from the album was Do I but this did not chart.
2007 Retrofest performance: gjD3TYyFC0A

Shortly afterward Kaja dissolved as although the band were happy with the album - and it really holds up with much contemporary artists work - sales and interest in Europe was low.

Reunion
There was an attempt by VH1 to re-unite the band in 2003 although various members had worked with each other off and on since the mid 80's but this attempt left a bitter taste in the mouths although around 2007 the band did eventually get back together issuing recordings in 2008 and 2010.