Female Trouble (album)

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Female Trouble
Female Trouble (album).jpg
Studio album by
Nona Hendryx
Released1987
Label EMI America
Producer Dan Hartman, Nona Hendryx
Nona Hendryx chronology
The Heat
(1985)		Female Trouble
(1987)		Skin Diver
(1989)

Female Trouble is an album by the American musician Nona Hendryx, released in 1987. [1] [2] It was her first album for EMI America. [3] The album is dedicated to Winnie Mandela. [4] "Why Should I Cry?" was the first single. [5] Female Trouble peaked at No. 96 on the Billboard 200. [6]

Contents

Production

Female Trouble was produced mostly by Dan Hartman and Hendryx; Hendryx was unable to find a producer to helm the entire album. [7] [8] Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson, and the System also contributed to the album. [9] [7] [10] "Baby Go-Go" was written by Prince; it contains backing vocals from George Clinton and Mavis Staples. [5] "Winds of Change (Mandela to Mandela)", a duet with Peter Gabriel, was inspired by letters sent to Nelson Mandela by Winnie. [5] Bass player T. M. Stevens raps on "Big Fun". [11]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]

Trouser Press wrote that "Hendryx's irrepressible full-throttle approach makes this an invigorating blast, a tough-minded party record about sex and sexual politics." [4] The Washington Post stated: "Smarter than the average dance tracks, the nine sonically intriguing songs give up new details after repeated listening." [15] The Los Angeles Times opined that, "grossly over-produced by a revolving crew of knob-twirlers, Female Trouble is a textbook example of a funk-rock style best described as Thunderdome Pop." [13]

The St. Petersburg Times deemed "Rhythm of Change" "a hearty heavy metal tune that could match hooks and guts with most any of rock radio's staple songs." [11] The Star Tribune called the album "long on glittery form and short on substance." [7] USA Today determined that Hendryx "is too old and too smart to settle on playing the funky ingenue... Instead, she alternately—and comfortably—plays sexy and serious." [16] The Sydney Morning Herald concluded that, "ballads excepted, it's Hendryx's most impressive album for years." [17]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."I Know What You Need (Pygmy's Confession)" 
2."Big Fun" 
3."Baby Go-Go" 
4."Rhythm of Change" 
5."Why Should I Cry?" 
6."Too Hot to Handle" 
7."Winds of Change (Mandela to Mandela)" 
8."Female Trouble" 
9."Drive Me Wild" 

References

  1. ↑ "Nona Hendryx Biography by John Dougan". AllMusic. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  2. ↑ "People Are Talking About...". Jet. Vol. 72, no. 8. May 18, 1987. p. 56.
  3. ↑ Okamoto, Shari (May 1, 1987). "Nona Hendryx's new album...". Daily Breeze. p. E12.
  4. 1 2 "Nona Hendryx". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Goldstein, Patrick (March 1, 1987). "Pop Eye". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 81.
  6. ↑ "Nona Hendryx". Billboard. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 Bream, Jon (May 29, 1987). "Nona Hendryx, 'Female Trouble'". Star Tribune. p. 3C.
  8. ↑ Snyder, Michael (August 30, 1987). "A Princely Gathering Gave Hendryx Her Boost". Sunday Datebook. San Francisco Chronicle. p. 65.
  9. ↑ Hunt, Dennis (April 28, 1987). "Hendryx's Star Riding on 'Female Trouble'". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 3.
  10. ↑ "Fortune might also smile on ex-LaBelle vocalist...". L.A. Life. Los Angeles Daily News. May 1, 1987. p. 26.
  11. 1 2 Snider, Eric (May 24, 1987). "Appealing, even if not commercially". St. Petersburg Times. p. 2E.
  12. ↑ "Female Trouble Nona Hendryx". AllMusic. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. 1 2 McKenna, Kristine (May 3, 1987). "Thunderdome Pop". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 57.
  14. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 324.
  15. ↑ Brown, Joe (May 1, 1987). "Chairwomen of the Boards". The Washington Post. p. N19.
  16. ↑ Milward, John (June 3, 1987). "Nona Hendryx: Female Trouble". USA Today. p. 5D.
  17. ↑ Barber, Lynden (May 25, 1987). "The Studio Is the Instrument". The Guide. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 5.
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