New Wave Sessions

Having searched the past five years for a quality soundboard recording of a live Missing Persons show without success (in response to a solid offer from Sony), Dale Bozzio was left with few recording options. This compilation of covers was Dale's last bid to record music and make a much needed buck. Indeed, all tracks were recorded in one day, and, the results demonstrate Cleopatra's hesitancy of working with Bozzio. Indeed, Dale was fortunate to get this opportunity with Cleopatra, and there is something sweet about the inclusion of a sew-on patch and lapel button with each CD -- an idea Dale has held dear for years -- but the entire production is simply a mess. For a fantastic 'Bozzio-experience,' check out 'Live from the Danger Zone,' which for legal reasons bears the artist/group name 'Dale Bozzio and Missing Persons.' Life is indeed so very strange, as not long after 'New Wave Hits' was released, Dale struck gold and found a very rare soundboard recording of a live show, circa '84/'85 -- an exhilarating set that is the only known live recording to include tracks from MP's second LP, 'Rhyme and Reason.' Buy that CD -- it will remind you of why Missing Persons, and Dale Bozzio, were so great and so of the era. But this mess, 'New Wave Hits,' is proof-positive that some things do not get better with age.

Oh, I soooo wanted to like this. But it is pretty darned close to unlistenable. Dale's voice not only sounds rough (as another reviewer put it), but it is overproduced. There are times when it sounds like she's working too hard; there are other times when it sounds like she's barely awake. You'd think she would nail songs like "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" or "Der Kommissar," but she seems barely to make it to the finish line. It is a lethargic, uninterested performance. I don't begrudge Dale the money I spent on this, but I'd just as soon have made it a straight donation, because I do not want these songs. :(

sounds like someone who resembles dale bozzio performing a karaoke session. her voice is rough, and the bad synth-pop music lacks depth. it sounds like the entire album was made in a day on a computer in someone's basement.

I am so grateful to Dale for putting something new out there! My only complaint: this album is just too brief. I am a big fan so of course I am greedy. I want more, more, more! Dale's unique vocal style that sent her to the forefront of the New Wave scene can be heard once again on the 5 new cover songs we are presented with here. All are fun classics, now with her special brand on them. (I can't get enough of her strange N.E. accent or her squeaky hiccups!) Her band sounds great too. I saw her a few years ago and they put on a killer show. Hopefully there is much more to come from Dale as she is off to a great start! I am curious why the two earlier covers she did for Cleopatra Records weren't included (Prince's I Would Die 4 U and Madonna's Get Into The Groove). Instead, a re-recording of Words and Destination Unknown, which although good as they sound, not exactly re-invented enough to explain why they are here. (Still, I am grateful to have them). But then 2 remixes from a previous remix album of Missing Persons songs are thrown on at the end... huh??? Alright, whatever. I think Dale deserves more respect than she seems to get. Maybe there will be a more ambitious attempt to showcase her talent next time around. Anyway, it's a fun record that is way overdue!