Opal's "Happy Nightmare Baby"

While Capitol/EMI are prepping to release The Mazzy Star Anthology and a deluxe CD/DVD later this year, I'm thrown back to earlier than they're trying to get me to be nostalgic for. I'm talkin' thown way back in 1987, pre-Mazzy by a sweet little friend who put this Opal song on a Valentino mix for me. It's practically been on repeat today as I've made any open ear listen to the track. Ned Ragett from AllMusic.com nails it by saying, "For one thing, Opal was very much its own band, with Kendra Smith's particular lyrical visions of mystic power and universe-scaling dreams and nightmares its own entity. As is her singing, though she's got less of Hope Sandoval's wistful drift and more focused control." And while I'm not the biggest Mazzy Star fan, I really like Opal and that's probably why. I haven't had the pleasure of hearing the entire "Happy Nightmare Baby" album, but now I have something to look for the next time I hit the record store...

Opal page on the Mazzy Star site's related bands section.