Cassie

Reviews

Cassie Change My Image / Will You 7″ reissue

This is a re-release of a single that was released in the UK in ’82. Apparently CASSIE was heavily influenced by BLONDIE, but to my ear this hits more like a funkier version of the STRIPES. The A-side “Change My Image” pairs bright, power pop guitar riffs and a classic rock’n’roll backbeat with intermittent bursts of saxophone, and what sounds to be a toy piano. The B-side alternates instrumentally between reggae and new wave, with singer Cassie’s throaty, melodic vocals stitching the transitions together seamlessly. If your collection includes X-RAY SPEX and the SELECTOR, this record would not feel out of place.

Cassie The Light Shines On LP

CASSIE was a short-lived Isle of Wight band. Their sole release, 1982’s “Change My Image” single, was about as perfect a new wave pop/bubblegum punk number as a band could write. Were it not for their mismanaged label’s inability to market the record, the single may have become the hit it deserved to be rather than languishing in obscurity. Fortunately, Reminder Records reissued that 45 last year, and now they have dug up the rest of the band’s recorded output for this compilation LP. While there’s nothing here as deliriously catchy as “Change My Image” (maybe aside from an earlier version of the song), the LP is still chock full of should-have-been hits. The fidelity across these fourteen tracks varies from rough studio cuts to even rougher demos, but the overall production is crunchy and immediate, highlighting the band’s energetic performances without getting in the way of the melodies. I imagine this could appeal to both grizzled punks and power pop wimps. Absolutely essential if you’re a fan of NIKKI AND THE CORVETTES, JOSIE COTTON, or early TEENAGE HEAD.