In 1986 singer/bassist Johnette Napolitano co-founded Concrete Blonde with guitarist James Mankey, having worked with him under various name since 1982. Their first release was 'Concrete Blonde' in 1986, which included their debut single 'Still In Hollywood', and for their follow-up album, 'Free', they added a full-time bass guitarist, Alan Bloch, allowing Napolitano to focus on her singing without the burden of playing bass simultaneously. Their third album, 'Bloodletting' appeared in 1990, and became their most commercially successful, reaching number 49 in the United States album chart. Roxy Music drummer Paul Thompson replaced Rushakoff on 'Bloodletting' while Rushakoff was in treatment for drug addiction, and Napolitano also reassumed bass duties for this and all subsequent recordings. 1992's 'Walking in London' saw the return of original drummer Rushakoff due to Thompson's immigration issues, while the following year's successor, 'Mexican Moon', featured the 'Bloodletting' lineup with Thompson back on drums. As neither album achieved the commercial success of 'Bloodletting', Napolitano disbanded the group in 1994. After Concrete Blonde broke up, Napolitano recorded as a solo artist, releasing the albums 'Sketchbook' in 2002, 'Sketchbook 2' in 2006, 'Scarred' in 2007, and 'Sketchbook 3' in 2010, but before the first 'Sketchbook' project she had recorded a solo album titled 'Sound Of A Woman in 1996, and she performed many of the songs on a solo tour opening for Paul Weller. It was set to be released on Concrete Blonde's old record label IRS (a subdivision of Island Records), but 1997/1998 was a bad time for Island, starting with the sudden departure of founder-CEO Chris Blackwell and ending with the total reorganization of the label, and so 'Sound Of A Woman' was lost in the shuffle. It's now extremely unlikely to ever be officially released, and the few cassette copies which leaked out are now rare and highly prized.
Track listing
01 I'm Your Queen
02 The Sound Of A Woman
03 I Can Do Anything
04 Deliver
05 Something Fast
06 Todos Los Santos
07 Firefly
08 Human
09 Closer
10 Sleep
11 Lullabye For Fabiana
