Simon’s career had faltered somewhat when she signed to Epic for this album in 1985. Her previous outing, 1983’s Hello Big Man, garnered good reviews but was a commercial flop, and her new paymasters seemed unsure of what to do with her.
Hence, the hit-and-hope nature of Spoiled Girl and its revolving door of big name producers (including Phil Ramone, Arthur Baker, Don Was and the team behind Hall & Oates), creating a disjointed collection with no discernible signature sound. The clinical synth beats of My New Boyfriend and Tired Of Being Blonde seem at odds with the warmth of Simon’s voice, while the generic ballads Make Me Feel Something and Tonight And Forever sound like pale re-writes of former glories.
It’s not all bad, though, with Simon’s lyrical wit coming to the fore on the urbane comedy of manners The Wives Are In Connecticut and the self-mocking study in celebrity Interview, but they’re rare high points on an album that’s never really sure where it’s going.
