Rocktrospectiva: The Fairly Over Produced "Spellbound" Turns 35

Released on 14 May 1991 "Spellbound" was the 2nd., studio album by the US singer, Paula Abdul. The production was handled by Peter Lord, Paisley Park, V. Jeffrey Smith, Don Was, and Jorge Corante.With Spellbound, Abdul balanced dance pop and fun funk while walking a tightrope.

The album, although receiving mixed reviews citing that it showcased her limitations as a singer, became a commercial success and topped the US Billboard 200, alongside cracking the top-ten in Australia, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Six singles in total were released, including the Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "Rush Rush" and "The Promise of a New Day", the latter becoming her sixth and to-date final number one single. Other singles included the US top-ten hit "Blowing Kisses in the Wind", "Vibeology" and  "Will You Marry Me?", and the Canada exclusive single "Alright Tonight". 

Spellbound won a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. The album art was art directed by Melanie Nissen, designed by Inge Schaap, and lettered by Margo Chase.

It was a tough time for the artist, she started to receive negative backlash accusing her she can't sing, remember it was the days when pop music was in a terrible moment, Milli Vanilli were trashed for lipsyncing, Martha Wash the soul empress diva was sueing C+C Music Factory and the Italian oufgir Black Box, also certain labels for using her uncredited voice on their hits. Ya Kid K had its own battle with Technotronic and many others, so Abdul was expecting to be the next to be exposed, by early 1991, Yvette Marine sued the pop star and her label Virgin Records with a multi-million dollar lawsuit alleging that Marine, not Abdul, actually sang lead on parts of Forever Your Girl.

This took a dealy on the released of the album but eventually things worked out, indeed, so to silenced all her detractors that accused her "she can't sing", Paula put her voice front on the catchy ballad "Rush Rush", her work with a vocal coach showed impressive growth and helped her to earned a No. 1 with this beautiful ballad whose video—Rebel Without A Cause look a like video starring Keanu Reeves earned heavy rotation on the MTV. 

The next single was the danceable "Promise Of A New Day" was her next No.1 in a row, then the sentimental a less dynamic "Blowing Kisses In The Wind" peaked at No. 6 in which the artist tried to impressed audiences with her now well-trained major and minor modes on her singing also supported with a video in which Paula appeared with a choreography nearly ballet-inspired. Things again groove-up with the fantastic "Vibeology" peaked at No. 16, showcasing Paula's energetic style just like in her debut album.

And finally the cheesy ballad "Will You Marry Me" peaked at No. 19 that was released just ahead of her 1992 wedding to Emilio Estevez. Other catchy tunes were "Rock House" & "My Foolish Heart", the Prince contribution "U" which actually was an unreleased rocker from 1979 by the artist, and the reggae-inspired "Alright Tonight", the album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and despite critics were reluctant to her, the masses on the other hand helped to cemented Abdul's carreer in the history of pop music. 

Critics were mixed due its overproduction and focused again on Paula limitations as a singer, despite the gross incomes as a result of her succesful worldwide tour, she couldn't escape for being selected as one of the worst artists of 1991, and "Spellbound" a serious contender for the top 5 worst recordings of 1991. In 2003, Slant Magazine included Spellbound in its list of "50 Essential Pop Albums".

 

Spellbound Track List: 

 

1. The Promise Of A New Day

2. Rock House

3. Rush Rush

4. Spellbound

5. Vibeology

6. U

7. My Foolish Heart

8. Blowing Kisses In The Wind 

9. To You

10. Alright Tonight

11. Will You Marry Me?