Today is her birthday! Let's celebrate! La Toya Jackson has been an active singer and TV personnality for 45 years, with 41 singles and 11 albums she did everything: funky hits, bubblegum pop tracks, smooth ballads and early house and dance music rarities. This playlist includes her greatest hits "Heart Don't lie", "Camp kuchi kaiai", "Hot potato", "Such a wicked love", "Ain't nobody loves you", "Reggae nights", "Bad girl", "Somewhere", "If you feel the funk", "Just wanna dance" and many others... Click on the upper link to listen to her music. Spread the Toytastic sound of happiness!
Like many of you, I imagine, I like to relax at some point during the day by scrolling through social media. I like to watch content that interests me on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit... And you know what? I can't take it anymore. Every time I watch content about La Toya Jackson, there are always people making fun of her... Not one, not two, not three, dozens, hundreds of comments.
And what do they all say? "Oh! La Toya, what a joke! This girl has no talent..." And that's all you think?
No, they also say, "Oh my god, this girl is horrible, she's disfigured." And they also absolutely love to say—because I imagine they're the ones who invented the phrase—"La Toya is the least talented of the Jackson family," and they state it as if it were... some fucking scientific truth!
There are also a lot of singing teachers in the world, because there's always one who says, "She can't sing! My God, that's off key!" There's also always some brilliant mind who will declare, "What, does she think she's white?".
And it doesn't end there, no, there are also the social justice warriors, and they say, "La Toya... the traitor, I'll never forgive her for what she did to her brother!"...
To those people who pollute social media, I have a couple of questions for you...
Imagine that every time you search for content about your favorite actor, there are always people making fun of him...
Imagine if just anyone said, "Ha! Ha! Chris Hemsworth, what a crappy actor!" Imagine if every time you searched for content about "Stranger Things," people said, "Damn, what a terrible show, do people actually watch that?" Imagine if a singer you admire was constantly mocked: "Taylor Swift, what a fraud! She thinks she's beautiful, that idiot!"... Imagine living in that world, it would annoy you a little, wouldn't it? You'd find it unfair, wouldn't you?
Don't tell me everyone has their own tastes and preferences, that's just how it is. Personally, there are plenty of singers I find awful, overrated, but I've never made fun of them online in the content dedicated to them. You just have to refrain from doing it. That's why, to the La Toya haters: I'm telling you to shut your mouths, you see, it's not complicated!
And now let's set the record straight. How many members of the Jackson family do you actually know? Can you just name them?
Besides Michael and Janet, give me one song, one album for each Jackson brother and sister. Tell me what makes Randy Jackson's album fabulous, a triumph!... Tell me what makes Rebbie Jackson's career exemplary, how she left her mark on pop music forever... Tell me what makes Jackie Jackson's music videos groundbreaking, how they changed the game... Tell me why you think Tito Jackson is one of the greatest musicians in the world... Or sing me your favorite Paris Jackson song!
You know, I love all the members of the Jackson dynasty, but I'm just tired of La Toya taking all the blame instead of everyone else. Why? You don't even know a quarter of what La Toya has accomplished in her career!
And in case you didn't know, La Toya Jackson has a real international fan base. Yes, that's normal because she has a 45-year career and has released hundreds of records. Even I, a huge fan, don't own all of them, there are so many! And I'm not talking about a track posted on YouTube, I'm talking about real physical records (CDs, vinyls, cassettes).
When you're dancing to "Reggae Night" in the summer, who do you have to thank for that?
Yes, La Toya wrote several songs for Jimmy Cliff, and she even received an official award for it. Did you know that almost all of La Toya's albums have been reissued in deluxe versions with bonus tracks? What other singer gets that treatment? Did you know that "Camp Kuchi Kaiai" is considered a gem of early '80s funk? Did you know that "Just Wanna Dance" was a club hit in the early 2000s?
It might seem unbelievable, but La Toya has had hits in many places around the world, in the Netherlands, Italy, Japan... So when you say La Toya has no talent, what exactly are you talking about? As I said, you don't even know who her brothers and sisters are, except for Michael and Janet.
What iconic moments in La Toya's career! What if she had done a Coca-Cola ad in 1991? Or more likely, she could have promoted her CD of her greatest hits.
Que de moments iconiques dans la carrière de La Toya! Et si elle avait fait une pub pour Coca-Cola en 1991, ça aurait donné quoi? Ou plus probablement elle aurait pu promotionner son CD de ses grands succès.
J'ai decidé de faire comme le blog "pop trash addict" des review des albums, sur un blog de Toy c'est la moindre des choses...
On commence avec l'album "La Toya" sorti en 1988. Un album assez mediatisé grâce au 1er clip et au nouveau look "tapageur" de Toy...
C'est aussi le 1er disque signé en Europe chez Teldec, d'ailleurs La Toya Jackson a toujours mieux marché en Europe du Nord (Allemagne, Norvège etc...) et les debut sulfureux de son nouveau méchant manager "Evil" Gordon aux manettes (et pas mal de problèmes pour notre pauvre petite Toy).
Globalement c'est l'album de la modernité pour Toy (c'est son control ou son bad) par contre c'est un peu moins "authentique" c'est à dire moins "black" moins funky, ce qui est faisait le charme des 4 premiers albums. L'album a eu une sorti internationale sous tous les formats et existe dans des versions assez rares (comme celle de la photo).
L'album est très dynamique, très up-tempo ce qui est un bon point, c'est l'album ideal pour faire de l'aerobic (sport des 80's). La production est assez concentrée: 10 titres donc on va à l'essentiel, pas plus mal. Le plus c'est que Toy Toy travaille avec des producteurs à succès: Full Force des avant gardistes américain du R'n'B (qui travailleront avec Britney plus tards) et Stock Aitken & Waterman, les producteurs mythiques des 80's (Kylie, Donna Summer).
Avec en premier titre "You're gonna get rocked" le titre phare, Toy frappe fort et nous fais une intro mythique acapella où elle dit en gros qu'elle est de retour et qu'on a intérêt à la respecter (autrement elle sort son fouet!). Le titre est vraiment sympa mais pas le plus évident , pour moi la bombe absolue c'est "Such a wicked love" (3eme position) qui a mon avis aurait du sortir en priorité (en fait elle est sortie juste en maxi club) pour moi c'est le meilleur titre de l'album, c'est up tempo, créatif, avec un super refrain, c'est presque du Chaka Khan. Juste avant il y a "You blew" qui est sympa , dans la même lignée, mais un peu overmixé donc ça aurait été plus digeste en fin d'album ou en version courte... Un peu dans le style "Nasty" de Janet.
Après on enchaine avec une ballade tout à fait honorable: "Not giving up on love" où Toy fait une démonstration vocale tout en nuances!
Sur l'ensemble il y a pas mal de titres mid-tempos... "if I could get to you" ,un duo avec un illustre inconnu , s'écoute bien; c'est "sans prétentions" et c'est un son typiquement Toy Toy.
Une de mes préférées est "Turn on the radio" c'est un énorme coup de cœur, hyper catchy, plein de fantaisies et la musique s'adapte parfaitement à la voix haut perchée de La Toya; en plus les paroles sont hallucinantes "waking up with a plastic dream in my head". On nous gratifie aussi d'une voix d'homme au vocoder et de la voix de Toy scratchée, en 2 mots: c'est formidable!
l'ovni de l'album c'est "just say no" une chanson naive écrite pour une campagne anti-drogue soutenue par la présidence américaine d'alors! Bon... En même temps ca fait tellement générique de dessin animé japonais que ca en devient sympathique!
Ensuite on continue avec "Does it really matter" chanson plutôt insignifiante mais pas désagréable qui a juste le mérite d'être dans le même style que le reste de l'album...
Puis on fini avec "Tell Me she means nothing" et "Ain't nobody loves you" 2 chansons assez similaires qui ne se mettent pas vraiment en valeur l'une après l'autre. Dommage car "Ain't nobody" (sortie en single + clip) est vraiment une bonne chansons qui a tout pour accrocher, ça met de bonne humeur, j'avoue que je comprends pas qu'elle figure à la fin de l'album. C'est un son pop "propre" et bien produit (d'une certaine façon ca ne vieillit pas trop) et c'est pour ça qu'on aime Stock Aitken & Waterman!
En fait a bien y regarder justement l'album entier a été construit tres bizarrement ou tout du moins dans une géométrie tres carrée (allemande quoi) et donc tout les titres de Full Force (R'n'B ambitieux) ouvrent l'album, et tous les titres de Stock Aiken & Waterman (Euro Pop) ferment l'album... Si bien que les titres se ressemblent et ne se mettent pas en valeurs, à mon avis il aurait été plus judicieux de faire un melting pot de tout ça qui aurait donné un tracklisting peut etre plus intéressant. Mais à l'époque le standard c'etait le disque vinyle, donc normale de réfléchir a une certaine logique pour la face A et une autre pour la face B.
Quoi qu'il en soit si on aime la variété des années 80 & la famille Jackson: c'est une bonne occasion pour commencer à découvrir La Toya!
We'll start with the album "La Toya," released in 1988. It received considerable media attention thanks to the first music video and Toy's new, "flashy" look...
It was also the first album signed to Teldec in Europe. In fact, La Toya Jackson has always done better in Northern Europe (Germany, Norway, etc.) and the controversial beginnings of her new, villainous manager, "Evil" Gordon, at the helm (and quite a few problems for our poor little Toy).
Overall, it's Toy's modern album, but it's a bit less "authentic," meaning less "black" and less funky, which was the charm of her first four albums.
The album was released internationally in all formats and exists in some rather rare versions (like the one pictured).
The album is very dynamic, very up-tempo, which is a good thing; it's the ideal album for doing aerobics (a sport from the '80s). The production is quite focused: 10 tracks, so it gets straight to the point, which isn't a bad thing.
The best part is that Toy works with successful producers: Full Force, the American R&B avant-garde (who would later work with Britney Spears), and Stock Aitken & Waterman, the legendary producers of the '80s (Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley, Donna Summer).
With the opening track, "You're Gonna Get Rocked," the standout single, Toy comes out swinging and gives us a legendary a cappella intro where she basically tells us she's back and we'd better respect her (or else she'll whip us!). The title track is really nice but not the most obvious choice. For me, the absolute standout is "Such a Wicked Love" (3rd track), which I think should have been released first (in fact, it was only released as a club maxi-single). For me, it's the best track on the album; it's upbeat, creative, with a great chorus—it's almost Chaka Khan-esque.
Just before it is "You Blew," which is nice, in the same vein, but a bit overmixed, so it would have been more palatable at the end of the album or as a shorter version... A bit like Janet's "Nasty."
Then we move on to a perfectly respectable ballad: "Not Giving Up on Love," where Toy delivers a nuanced vocal performance!
Overall, there are quite a few mid-tempo tracks... "If I Could Get to You," a duet with a relatively unknown artist, is quite enjoyable. It's "unpretentious" and has a typically Toy Toy sound.
One of my favorites is "Turn on the Radio." It's a huge hit, super catchy, full of whimsy, and the music perfectly complements La Toya's high-pitched voice. Plus, the lyrics are mind-blowing: "waking up with a plastic dream in my head." We're also treated to a male voice using a vocoder and Toy's voice scratched. In short: it's fantastic!
The album's oddity is "Just Say No," a pretty weird song written for an anti-drug campaign supported by the then-US presidency... Well... At the same time, it sounds so much like a Japanese anime theme song that it becomes endearing.
Next up is "Does It Really Matter," a rather insignificant but not unpleasant song that simply has the merit of being in the same style as the rest of the album...
Then we finish with "Tell Me She Means Nothing" and "Ain't Nobody Loves You," two fairly similar songs that don't really stand out from each other.
It's a shame because "Ain't Nobody" (released as a single with a music video) is a really good song that has everything going for it; it puts you in a good mood. I admit I don't understand why it's at the end of the album.
It's a clean, well-produced pop sound (in a way, it hasn't aged too badly), and that's why we love Stock Aitken & Waterman!
Actually, on closer inspection, the entire album was constructed very strangely, or at least with a very rigid, almost Germanic structure. All the tracks from Full Force (ambitious R&B) open the album, and all the tracks from Stock Aiken & Waterman (Euro Pop) close it. As a result, the tracks sound similar and don't complement each other. In my opinion, it would have been wiser to create a melting pot of styles, which might have resulted in a more interesting tracklist. But back then, vinyl was the standard, so it's understandable to have a certain logic for side A and another for side B.
In any case, if you like 80s pop and the Jackson family, this is a great opportunity to start discovering La Toya!
