ORIGINAL: VOICE OF THE BEEHIVE "HONEY LINGERS"

Back in 1991, it seemed like Voice of the Beehive was poised to take over the world - or at least the world of pop music.  Their debut album, "Let It Bee," had made some waves in the UK and even some ripples in the US.  I heard of them around the time of that first album, but never caught them on the radio or MTV.  Then, one fateful day, "Monsters and Angels," the first single from their second album "Honey Lingers," came on the car stereo, and I was hooked!  As soon as I could, I went to the record store (that day) and bought the cassette tape, which featured the beautiful artwork as seen above of the two sisters, Tracey and Melissa, who were the vocalists for the band.  From the first time I heard it, I was in love.
The 10-song album is about as tight and perfect as an album can be - the only possible gripe is that it's too short.  Kicking off with the aforementioned lead single, the gloss and shine of the production is a great match with the raw energy and enthusiasm of the band.  The video for the song is great too, bringing to life the famous painting "Nighthawks" by Edward Hopper, with the band members playing characters within the diner.  Those shots are interspersed with performance shots in which Tracey is wearing her trademark baby-doll-head dress (which she made herself according to legend).
Next is Adonis Blue, which takes things up a notch.  This is an energetic, sing-a-long romp with delicious vocal harmonies from Tracey and Melissa playing out with the perfection of the boys' instruments behind them.  It's one of those songs that you sing along with by the second or third chorus and the lyrics have so much color in them.  This song should have been a single, and indeed was released as a promotional CD single which contained a b-side, "Shine Away," which was another great song from that time period which was not included on the album.
Up next is the band's cover of "I Think I Love You."  I hadn't heard this song before I heard their version, but my mom got quite the kick out of it when I played the tape in the car (I was in high school at the time).  They update it with a very slick pop/club vibe and this was another single and hit for them in the UK, but was not released in the US.  The video is very brightly colored and shows the band in a club in a sort of rave type setting with lots of colorful extras dancing around to the song.
Never one to shy away from poking some fun while making a statement, Tracey sings "You can read the good book to feel bad about yourself, but just one small donation could save you from burning down in hell" on the hilariously frightening (because it was so true then and even more so now) "Look At Me."  This song really could be the theme song to any one of the hundreds of reality shows that inundate our airwaves these days.
Ending side one of the cassette (or vinyl) is the simple, sweet song "Beauty To My Eyes" which opens with the sublime lyric, "Stars have been subjects of poets and priests, and girls on bended knees, I see the heavens looking at you."  The gorgeous harmonies of the sisters mirror the lyrics of the song, creating beauty to the ears as well!
Kicking off side two in ultra high gear is "Just Like You," which to this day is one of my favorite Beehive songs.  This one reminded me a lot of the B-52's and I thought that if any of the songs on the album could be a huge, mega-breakthrough hit in the US, it would have been this one... why the record company didn't realize that, I'll never know!  "It's just like you, to make me shiver when I'm sweating!"  The video would have been eye candy.
"Little Gods" is a cute little song with a good message - "Little girls shouldn't treat, little boys they happen to meet, like little Gods."  It's a sort of somber look at how girls fall over themselves trying to please and impress the guys their interested in, when really it should be the other way around, but it's wrapped up in so much sugar and sweetness that it doesn't sound preachy or cynical.  Just a spoonful of sugar...
"I'm Shooting Cupid" was another of my favorites and even became the centerpiece of a long running conversation I had with a girl I was pursuing throughout a lot of my adolescent years.  Again, like "Little Gods," it takes some really harsh thoughts on romance and rejection, and ties it up in such an adorable package: I mean, just the title alone looks so cutesy when you imagine some lovelorn lady taking a gun to the little cherub!  Many years later, the band released a special CD collection of rare tracks and b-sides to coincide with their 2003 reunion tour of the UK, which included the original demo of this song which differs considerably from the album version.  I believe that version is now available on iTunes and is definitely worth downloading if you haven't heard it before.
"Say It" is in a similar vein to "Look At Me," being a little naughtier and rawer than some of the other songs and explores a relationship where the female decides it's OK for the male to get away without saying those three little words as long as he treats her right, culminating with the line "as long as we're not saying it, I know something else we can do."
The album ends with another slower track, the haunting "Perfect Place."  As beautiful as this song is, I was very surprised to hear it on the radio as it was the follow up single to "Monsters and Angels" in the US and I really felt strongly that they needed to have a really up-beat song released instead (namely "Look At Me").  It's a really pretty song, and has some really great lyrics and sentiments in it, but since "Monsters" was already pretty much a slow-jam, and since Voice of the Beehive was really a fun, wacky party / dance band to see live, it seemed odd that the label seemed to want to push them as this adult-oriented easy-listening type of band.  They did tweak the mix a little bit so that it opened with a heavier drum beat, but it was still definitely not a "party song."  This strange phenomenon would continue with the band's next (and final) album, which was preceded by the strange choice of first single "Angel Come Down" which, although a very pretty song, didn't seem to represent Voice of the Beehive in a way that would have got people's attention.  The videos for both that song and "Perfect Place" are stunningly gorgeous, though, and again, the original demo version of the song (which the band was always apparently way happier with then the ultra-produced album version) was included on the 2003 exclusive tour CD.
There were some other really good songs the band wrote, recorded and performed around this time that are great additions to your music collection, including "Pocketsized," which was a b-side to "Monsters and Angels" and was in a similar vein to "There's A Barbarian In The Back Of My Car" from their first album.  "Something About God" was a b-side to "I Think I Love You" and is a really cool ditty as well.
This is one of those albums that you can always go back to and have it bring a smile to your face, and sing along to every song.  It's a shame that not more people heard it, but it does make it very special to those of us who have.

Rating: OOOOO (Five out of Five O's)