Search - Bananarama :: Viva

VIVA!!!!!!!

George | Philadelphia, PA | 09/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a fan of Bananarama for years and have followed their career since their heyday in America. But I never, EVER, expected them to come up with an album like this. This here is a collection of some of the best songs they have ever recorded. The sound here is completely modern and can go up against any of today's dance acts. If I had to compare this to any of their previous releases, I would say it sounds like a combination of the "Drama", "Wow" and "Ultraviolet" albums. The modern electro synth sounds of "Drama", the pulsing club beats of "Ultaviolet" and a hint of the 80's vocalization of the "Wow" album.



The lead single is the albums opener, "Love Comes". The album starts off strong and stays that way throughout. "Love Don't Live Here" is single worthy and one of the strongest cuts on the album, as is "Dum Dum Boy" with it's catchy chorus. Other songs include the Giorgio Morodor written disco, classic, "The Runner". You may not know this song by the title but once you hear it, you will recognize it. An interesting, but excellent cover here is iio's monster hit from a few years ago, "Rapture". Bananarama's version is pretty much a carbon copy of the original, but it works really well.



One thing that really stands out for me are the lyrics. Bananarama have always been underrated as songwriters. Really, I think most people wouldn't even know that they write their own songs. But as cold as some of these songs may feel at first listen, they really are brought to life by the warm lyrics. Songs of love, heartbreak, devotion and life...



This really is a CD worth buying. If you have ever been a fan of Bananarama or are new to them but love good modern dance/pop music, then this is for you."

The girls go dance--reminiscent of the SAW years

Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 10/01/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For long time fans of 80s artists like Bananarama who are still following modern trends in club music, this should be a treat (those who stopped listening to modern music after the 80s probably won't like this). Just like Cyndi Lauper and Madonna, the two remaining members of Bananarama deliver a modern electro pop record with infectious beats and melodies. Too bad the album is only ten tracks, and that one of the tracks is a remake of th iio club hit "rapture", which is so played to death that I didn't really need to hear another version of it in the same decade! Another remake is of the dance track "The Runner," which was recorded back in the 70s by Three Degrees and written by none other than electronic dance music pioneer Giorgio Moroder of Donna Summer fame!



Love Comes, Love Don't Live Here, Tell Me Tomorrow, Dum Dum Boy, and We've Got the Night are all dance songs, and if you like modern artists like September, Lasgo, Cascada, and Nouveau Riche, you'll love these songs.



Seventeen, Twisting, Extraordinary, and S-S-S- single bed are more downtempo electro tracks to change things up again. Personally, I would have been fine with an entire dance album, but these tracks are a bit more reminiscent of some of Bananarama's earlier music.



Hopefully, this album will spawn some full length club mixes--it just still feels a little on the short side for some reason. I'm glad they didn't try, however, to add yet more 'remakes' of some of their biggest hits, although the CD single for Love Comes has an update of Cruel Summer..."

HOT!

Pocha Dot | Los Angeles | 11/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally! The follow-up to 2005's "Drama" has seen the light! This album is TERRIFIC! How can anyone not love this sound? First I wanna talk about the album cover, It's bland. I wouldv'e preferred just the words "Viva" & "Bananarama" written out in laser lights on a solid black background rather than this cover. It's not a big deal.



1f you already have 2005's "Drama" then this is pretty much the same stuff all over again. Slightly more upbeat with more of a modern disco sound. If you're wondering... "Viva" & "Drama" sound as if they were written in the same time frame and released at different times. "Viva" (to me) sounds like "Drama" songs saved for a later release. The songs are still amazing but just giving you all an ideal of how "Viva" truly sounds. The only difference between the two is that "Drama" has more of an electric sound in more areas, That could be because the songs chosen for "Viva" were re-worked to be distinguishable. Both album's songs can be interchangeable if you're not familiar with either one.



My favorite song's on this album are "Twisting" "Love Don't Live Here" "Dum Dum Boy" "The Runner" (Which reminds me alot of "Venus") & "We've Got The Night". My Top (2) favorite's are "Twisting" & "Dum Dum Boy". "Extroardinary" & "Seventeen" have the slowed down "Britney-Spears-Womanizer-Beat" or the "P!nk-So-What-Beat" that alot of female artist find to be trendy this year 2009 (Kristinia Debarge "Goodbye") Christina Aguilera "Keeps Gettin' Better" etc. (To name a few)... It's okay I guess.



"Viva" is an album that sounds good played straight through. All The songs have similar tempo and all are upbeat and danceable. This is an overall good album, I have no complaints at all usually i'm bitter when albums are less than 14 tracks because the more songs you dislike create a smaller record. In this case the songs are all decient. These good songs to do aerobics to or just relax to on low volume- Excellent background music, Really good for long drives.



"