Karen Lawrence & The Pinz: "Girls Night Out" - RCA Records

"I'd like the record to state - This is the Girl's Night Out!" - Lawrence/Hostetler

I always love a good girl's night out. It almost always means the boys are at home, all alone, and probably very bored!

For multi-talented musician Karen Lawrence a Girls Night Out meant something very different. It was her first (and, unfortunately, only) stab at New Wave stardom. Co-writing almost all the songs on this 1981 disc, Lawrence combines the gloomy  effectiveness of Euro goddess Lene Lovich and the dusky, sunshine glazed antics of  L.A.'s Martha Davis (from The Motels). She stabs out her vocals with the disaffected precision inherent in this genre - creating an elegant yet poppy, must-have affair.

 

Title track "Girls Night Out" is as seemingly pro-fun as any of Cyndi Lauper's early output, but with a much more questioning, darker edge. "Rebel" is a perfect combination of 60's girl group concerns mixed with a dirty, FM blade. "March of the Pins" continues the album's skittering synth attack with quirky nuances. The only mild failure, here, is the cover of Geld/Udell's sweet love gem "Sealed with a Kiss". That song requires a sweet passion to be believable, but Lawrence plays the remote queen too well in this setting to make the song really resonate.

"Girls Night Out" has never been released on CD, making it a pink 'n lively find for vinyl lovers - a cold, throwback shower of 80's aural delight!

Lawrence, who has performed with Aerosmith, Jeff Beck and wrote "Prisoner" (the Love Theme to The Eyes of Laura Mars) for Barbra Streisand, has continued to make music throughout the years, though.  In the early 90's, she found much respect as the lead singer for acclaimed blues outfit Blue by Nature, proving her true versatility.

So, until the next time -  grab yer pearls, fish out a prom dress from the local thrift store -- and, most importantly: Keep your Vinyl Rebellion going strong!