Husky-voiced Billie Myers was discovered in a London club by a producer who saw her dancing and suggested that if she could sing as well as she moved her hips, she should give him a call. The seemingly tacky pickup line wa... more »s actually a legitimate business proposition, and three years later Myers has a major-label debut to show for it. Produced by Desmond Child (not the initial dance-club Casanova, in case you were wondering), Growing Pains is a standard-issue MOR rock record, clinging to every plodding '80s aesthetic in the book. Smoldering guitar chords, synthetically programmed drum rhythms, and big splashy choruses earmark the disc, while Myers does her best to sound like a predictable cross between Alanis Morissette and Joan Armatrading. On "A Few Words Too Many," she conjures the indistinct balladry of John Waite, while on "Tell Me" she gets "exotic," thanks to the accompaniment of a flute and sitar. Sgt. Pepper, this ain't. The funk-lite of "The Shark and the Mermaid" is slightly less annoying, but it's too little, too late in an album that willingly redefines the standards of blandness. --Aidin Vaziri« less
Husky-voiced Billie Myers was discovered in a London club by a producer who saw her dancing and suggested that if she could sing as well as she moved her hips, she should give him a call. The seemingly tacky pickup line was actually a legitimate business proposition, and three years later Myers has a major-label debut to show for it. Produced by Desmond Child (not the initial dance-club Casanova, in case you were wondering), Growing Pains is a standard-issue MOR rock record, clinging to every plodding '80s aesthetic in the book. Smoldering guitar chords, synthetically programmed drum rhythms, and big splashy choruses earmark the disc, while Myers does her best to sound like a predictable cross between Alanis Morissette and Joan Armatrading. On "A Few Words Too Many," she conjures the indistinct balladry of John Waite, while on "Tell Me" she gets "exotic," thanks to the accompaniment of a flute and sitar. Sgt. Pepper, this ain't. The funk-lite of "The Shark and the Mermaid" is slightly less annoying, but it's too little, too late in an album that willingly redefines the standards of blandness. --Aidin Vaziri
Melissa V. (missy1978) from GLENDALE, AZ Reviewed on 4/18/2008...
There are some hits on here. This does not have the High Definition Surround like in the picture but the picture is this one.
Amy T. (simplyamy) from DAKOTA DUNES, SD Reviewed on 8/16/2007...
Love "Kiss the Rain"
CD Reviews
KISS THE RAIN.
Javier Lopez | Peru | 04/06/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I'm sure that everybody remembers the Top 10 hit single "Kiss the rain". This song was released in 1997 and became a big hit. "Growing pains" is Billie's first album and it doesn't have only one hit. There's also another hit called "A few words too many".
Billie's voice is unique, is very strong (I have to admit that the first time that I heard "Kiss the rain" I thought it was from a male singer). I would compere her with Anastacia or Tina Turner but with her own style.Billie was born in England and after this production released her second and latest album "Vertigo" back in 2000 but the album went nowhere. I think that it was a good album but not as good as "Growing pains". I'm sure that if you hear one of her songs you'll buy this album and maybe you'll by her second too."
You send my flying
KEEPitREAL | LA | 04/28/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Billie Myers released this gem to the world and opened up a world of poetry and music at once. The sleeve of the album actually has poems that inspired the songs which I thought was brilliant. There is so much more to this album than KISS THE RAIN. I especially love YOU SEND ME FLYING which is poetic, heartfelt, expressive and makes you want to "find the one" your searching for. I also love A FEW WORDS TOO MANY which is both happy and sad at the same time...this is a rainy day album when you want to remember what it's like to be in love. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I've had it for 3 yrs. and I still pop it in all the time."
TEMPEST'S EXPLODE
MICHAEL MYERS | HANDONFIELD USA | 09/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"She's is not just a Rain, She's a complete Storm a in this cd is clear...Her voice is strong, the lyrics are honest and really i can enjoy every second of her music, "KISS THE RAIN" "A FEW WORDS TOO MANY" ""YOU SEND ME FLYING" "TELL ME" and my personal favourite " THE SHARK AND THE MERMAID" makes me realized that Billie Myers is an awesome singer, i was searching for GROWING,PAINS for long time, and now i'm lucky enough to have it. So my advice is, yes...go and buy it."
Constant Companion
MICHAEL MYERS | 08/07/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are very few cd's out there that I can listen to over and over again without getting sick of them. Even fewer that I can out down for a long time and then come back to even more in love with them. Billie Myers has a great voice, and there isn't a person out there who won't be moved by "Kiss the rain" or "a few words too many" at least once in their life!"
Spend that money and get this
Bradley Jacobson | 06/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this album - in fact it is probably one of my favorite albums ever released. Starting with the infectious and so sad it's fun "Kiss The Rain" - a haunting tale of jealousy and longing for a lover whose far away, "go outside, kiss the rain.. whenever you need me/ if your lips feel empty and tempted/ kiss the rain and wait for the dawn/ keep in mind we're under the same sky/ and the nights as empty for me as for you/ hello? do you miss me? I hear you say you do but not the way I'm missing you/ would it mean anything if you knew what I'm left imagining..." the album moves into more of this territory as Billie's sexy soulful alto takes you through every aspect of her heart and soul - the lyrics point more to a poetry than a standard pop song lyric and she pulls it all off beautifully.
The heartbreak drama of "A Few Words Too Many", (wait a minute what did you say/ did you say there's no real reason for you to stay/ I hear you talking but you're just not making sense/ I've been waiting for a happy ending/ now I know that there won't be any/ just a few words too many in my head) and "Please Don't Shout" (please don't shout/ it's only anger that you're waking/ please don't shout/ can't you see I'm not listening), the hilarious love triangle of "Having Trouble With The Language" ("she looked better in her black dress but you looked better dead..") and the sex filled "Tell Me" which has such clever lyrics you completely forget they're borderline dirty - "Tell Me, how would it feel to be me/ I wanna crawl under your skin/ I want to know how it feels in me, yeah, yeah," and set to an Egyptian type background melody. This is the ultimate break up album, though if you are going through one you may put this one with a little trepedation, it may leave you slightly satisfied knowing someone else can conjure up the words you're thinking or it may just push you over the edge and leave you a huddled blubbering mass on the floor, but then you could always just put the Go Gos back on.
Either way it leaves you feeling, it leaves you feeling something and that's fairly rare in music these days so if you don't have this album, I can't recommend it enough."