Worth it for "I Pretend"... ()

Capturing the same type of schizophrenic soft-and-harsh, angry-and-wistful vibe of Tom Petty's "Insider", Stewart's composition "I Pretend" is immeasurably helped by the quiveringly crisp vocal contribution of Ms. Nicks; however, it's a good enough song to stand on its own, and Stewart herself sounds very assured here. Not so the rest of "Cat Dancer", which lags behind even "The Wild Heart" in lyric content and is mixed rather unevenly. The album has a metallic sound to it which does not partner well with the messy, distinctly-'80s music arrangements.

Overlooked Gem from the Decade of the Synthesizer ()

This album serves as an interesting footnote to Stevie Nicks' Wild Heart album on which Sandy Stewart contributed her songwriting and vocal talents. Some of the songs on Catdancer could easily be mistaken for Wild Heart outtakes. While Stevie Nicks contributes some vocals here, it's Stewart's voice that is the standout. She shows herself adept at handling the vocalizations and musical stylings of not just Nicks, but of Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Dale Bozzio of Missing Persons, Pat Benetar, and Denise Williams. While this doesn't make for a very original album, you can understand why Stewart has flourished working with other artists (Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Belinda Carlisle, Tina Turner). All songs on Catdancer are masterfully produced and the power-ballads are stunning, the best being the title track, "Not Like the Others," and "The Saddest Victory" with its devastating lyric, 'So you have won, and you have conquered, and you have killed a friend in me; how does it feel? Your saddest victory.' I'm sure the videos that accompanied these songs must have been exquisite. The album cover itself looks pretty flat and uninspired, but I believe Stewart (pictured glowering on the front) is wearing the same silk kimono that she wore for her photos with Stevie Nicks and company on Wild Heart's back cover. It's too bad the Wild Heart magic didn't rub off on Stewart's project. Note -- Stewart's latest co-credit is for the song "Too Far from Texas" on Nicks' Trouble in Shangri-La album.

this shoulda been a contender ()

I remember seeing the video for "The Saddest Victory" exactly once on MTV back in 1984...and I still don't know why Sandy's solo career never took off. Although she's adept with a catchy melody and emotionally succinct lyrics (unlike her "mentor" Stevie Nicks), Sandy was not gifted with as interesting a voice as Stevie's and probably got lost in the shuffle. This album is entrenched in 80s keyboards and drum machines, but Sandy's songwriting still stands above all that, most notably on "The Saddest Victory," "Leave It All Behind," "I Pretend" and the title track. So where can I find this vinyl album transferred onto CD?

Good synth and guitar pop combo ()

From the beginning, this album is very synth based but the lead guitar bursts are furious enough to make for a good white noise blur mix which is rather original for 1984 pop. Stevie appears on three songs here, two of which are the best on the album. The opener, "Catdancers" is a good example of the mix of synth and guitar which does take over a little at the end but a great synth hook and distinctive vocal volleys from Nicks makes this one a pleasure to listen to. In contrast, there's "I pretend" a piano led duet on which
Stevie excels and it's a moving ballad. The third "Get my way" is good and bouncy as well. Other favorites include "Saddest victory" & "Leave it all behind" which cement the musical niche of this record to effective use.