For those unaware, Sheena Easton is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television program The Big Time: Pop Singer, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract and her eventual signing with EMI Records.

Easton’s first two singles, Modern Girl and 9 to 5, both entered the UK Top Ten and she became one of the most successful British female performers of the 1980s.

A six-time Grammy nominee in the US, Easton is a two-time Grammy Award winner, winning Best New Artist in 1982 and Best Mexican-American Performance in 1985, for her duet with Luis Miguel on the song Me Gustas Tal Como Eres.

She has received five US Gold albums and one US Platinum album. She has recorded 15 studio albums, released 45 singles total worldwide, and had 20 consecutive US singles, including 15 US Top 40 singles, seven US Top Tens and one US #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1981 and 1991.

She had 25 top 40 hits internationally. In Canada, Easton scored three gold and two platinum albums. She has sold over 30 million records worldwide.

Indeed, Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a top 5 hit on each of Billboard’s primary singles charts: Morning Train (Nine to Five) (pop and AC), We’ve Got Tonight with Kenny Rogers (country and AC), and Sugar Walls (R&B and dance).

As part of Cherry Red’s acclaimed re-issue campaign of the star’s EMI catalogue, this CD and DVD Deluxe Edition of 1982’s hit home video Live At The Palace, Hollywood showcases Sheena Easton’s rising star in the US as she performs such enduring hits as ‘Morning Train (9 To 5)’, ‘Modern Girl’ and her Bond theme ‘For Your Eyes Only’.

The set also includes rare non-album covers of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Raised On Robbery’, Elvin Bishop’s ‘Fooled Around And Fell In Love’ and The Little River Band’s ‘Help Is On Its Way.’

CD:
1. Prisoner
2. Don’t Send Flowers*
3. Help Is On Its Way
4. I Wouldn’t Beg For Water
5. Machinery*
6. Are You Man Enough
7. Fooled Around And Fell In Love
8. When He Shines
9. Modern Girl
10. Madness Money And Music
11. Star*
12. In The Winter
13. Weekend In Paris
14. Just Another Broken Heart*
15. Take My Time*
16. Morning Train (9 To 5)
17. You Could Have Been With Me
18. Raised On Robbery
19. Wind Beneath My Wings
20. For Your Eyes Only

* Previously edited from original 1982 VHS release

Opening on the mid-tempo Prisoner and the countrified synth of Don’t Send Flowers, Sheena then decides to early on chat with the audience before launching into the lively and upbeat pop-R&B of Help Is On Its Way and then we get the beautiful balladry of I Wouldn’t Beg For Water, the crafted Machinery, the poptastic Are You Man Enough, and after another audience chit-chat (about her personal life) we get the hipsway of Fooled Around And Fell In Love and then comes the aching ballad When He Shines.

Next up is one of the true gems of this collection, the simply awesome Modern Girl which is itself backed by the pop-AOR of Madness Money And Music, a fun and colorful Star (check out Kiki Dee’s version), the forthright ballad In The Winter, the searing Weekend In Paris, the free flowing pop harmonies of Just Another Broken Heart, the beautiful Take My Time and then comes the effervescent Morning Train (9 To 5).

Up next is the beautifully evocative You Could Have Been With Me and that is followed seamlessly by the sax-led rock and roll of Raised On Robbery, the live recording rounding out on the sweeping Wind Beneath My Wings, coming to a close on the goosebumps caused by a quite brilliant For Your Eyes Only.

DVD:
1. Prisoner
2. Help Is On Its Way
3. I Wouldn’t Beg For Water
4. Are You Man Enough
5. Fooled Around And Fell In Love
6. When He Shines
7. Modern Girl
8. Madness Money And Music
9. In The Winter
10. Weekend In Paris
11. Morning Train (9 To 5)
12. You Could Have Been With Me
13. Raised On Robbery
14. Wind Beneath My Wings
15. For Your Eyes Only

In truth, this hit 1982 HBO TV special and best-selling home video – officially released on CD and DVD for the very first time - is a lovely reminder at just how laid back, how unmessy concerts of this ilk were back in the day.

Opening on a sci-fi layered intro, Sheena stands centerstage in her shiny green jacket and black pants, her face pursed, her eyes focused, before she bursts into the show opener Prisoner.

Continuing onward, interlacing the songs with audience chit-chat and, at times, some personal facts about her, Sheena brings us all the hits and oh-so much more!

The beautiful balladry of I Wouldn’t Beg For Water, the poptastic Are You Man Enough, the simply awesome Modern Girl, and the sassy R&B-pop of Help Is On Its Way and a whole host of others are fed to her eagerly devouring audience, one after another.

After a costume change into a lush blue top, frilly short skirt and blue legging, we next get the pop-AOR of Madness Money And Music, the forthright ballad In The Winter and, of course, the bubbly pop of Morning Train (9 To 5), the sax-led rock and roll of Raised On Robbery, the show culminating on a chilling For Your Eyes Only, where her final act is to fade away under a bright red hazy light.

Now on CD and DVD and featuring the full unedited concert remastered from the original master tapes, Live at The Palace, Hollywood is one of those right royal musical double whammy treats: a great soundtrack to listen to and a wonderful live stage show to watch.

Sheena Easton’s hit 1982 HBO TV special and best-selling home video – officially released on CD + DVD for the very first time.

The CD features the full unedited concert, remastered from the original master tapes. Premiering five audio tracks edited from the original release including live versions of her hits ‘Machinery’, ‘Just Another Broken Heart’ and a rare cover of Kiki Dee’s ‘Star’.

Includes a 12-page booklet including a new interview with Sheena’s guitarist Jeff Carpenter and a liner essay by ex-Attitude editor Adam Mattera.

Official Purchase Link

www.sheenaeaston.com