When
the Girls'
Girl Talk came out in 1984,
Prince's Minneapolis sound was huge. R&B was full of
Prince and
Time imitators, and many artists reasoned that an easy way to score a quick hit was to be as Minneapolis-sounding as possible. But not every Minneapolis-style recording that came out in 1984 was successful,
Girl Talk, in fact, received very little attention. Despite the fact that
Prince associate
André Cymone produced this album and wrote or co-wrote all of the material,
Girl Talk fell through the cracks. Nonetheless, this isn't a terrible record. Although the material tends to be derivative and not very original,
Cymone comes up with some catchy synth-funk and new wave grooves here and there. Obviously,
Cymone modeled the female trio after
Vanity 6/Apollonia 6, it's impossible not to think of
Vanity and Apollonia when you're listening to R-rated synth-funk ditties like "S-E-S-E-X," "Girl Talk," and the single "Don't Waste My Time" or the pop/rock/new wave numbers "Nu Boy" and "My Man." Again,
Girl Talk won't win any awards for originality, but it has its moments. ~ Alex Henderson