In the mid-'80s,
Tracie was best known for her connection to
Paul Weller and his groups
the Jam and
the Style Council. She provided vocals for the former's last single, "Beat Surrender," and the latter's first single, "Speak Like a Child," and was signed to his
Respond label. Her own records, whether produced by
Weller or not, showed that she was more than just an acolyte riding his natty coattails. She was a first-rate vocalist, and over a short span released some very fine singles and two albums' worth of shiny dance-pop that ranged from bubblegum snappy to sleekly glamorous.
Cherry Red's
Souls on Fire: The Recordings 1983-1986 is a nice reminder of just how much fun
Tracie's records still are. It collects her early non-LP singles "The House That Jack Built" and "Give It Some Emotion," two fun and frothy versions of synthetic girl group soul that saw
Weller experimenting with the technology of the day; her debut full-length,
Far from the Hurting Kind, an album that was recorded in 1986 but remained unreleased until
Cherry Red issued it under the title
No Smoke Without Fire in 2014; and a batch of rarities. These include extended mixes, early versions of songs, demos, and some live recordings. Many had already been included on the single-disc reissues of her two albums, but it's nice to have them all in one place in order to get a full view of
Tracie's brightly burning, quickly extinguished career. Her early work is very light and bouncy, both she and
Weller were influenced by groups like
Shalamar, and
Weller does a fine job of re-creating their sound on the uptempo tracks -- synth bass and all.
Tracie's guileless and powerful vocals fit his productions perfectly. The ballads tend toward the slightly goopy, even the
Elvis Costello-penned track from her debut -- "I Love You (When You Sleep)" -- but she's sincere enough that they never sink all the way in.
No Smoke Without Fire shows her evolving into a more mature sound that comes across like a mash-up of early
Madonna and
Bite-era
Altered Images, singing with ever more confidence over slightly less pre-programmed sounds. It's a treat to be able to hear the albums back-to-back, and the addition of all the singles, mixes, and other non-LP treats allows for a very deep dive into her sound. It's borderline tragic that
Tracie stopped making music when her second album was shelved; it's clear from checking this set out that she had the talent to be a continuing success. That bit of wishful thinking aside,
Souls on Fire is a fine tribute to a singer who made wonderfully fun pop music that stands with the best of its time. ~ Tim Sendra
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