After the break-up of Klymaxx in 1987, Bernadette Cooper began conceptualizing a new girl group, one that was a bit more musically eclectic, fashion forward and soulfully sophisticated. Madame X would be both the group’s name and the title of their debut album. “Madame X was a conception of mine and I mentioned it to my attorney Ron Sweeney,” Cooper says. “He mentioned it to Sylvia Rhone and she signed the concept to Atlantic Records before I found the girls. With a deal in place, I began searching and auditioning girls.” Eventually she discovered a trio of talented singers (Alisa Randolph, Iris Parker and Valerie Victor) at various locales throughout the Los Angeles. Iris worked at a clothing store that Cooper frequented, Valerie was found in Popeye’s buying chicken dinner and Alisa was the last chosen from an audition at the Solar Building.

Cooper, with a little help from her friends engineer Gerry Brown, musicians/arrangers Cornelius Mims and Mike Hightower, keyboardist Amp Fiddler and singer Teena Marie, created a stunning musical foundation for the vocalists to build upon. “Gerry and I crafted that project like it was the Mona Lisa,” Cooper says. “I would bounce most of my ideas him and he was brutally honest with me. I wasn’t searching for a hit, I just wanted the project to be pure. I let the girls do all of their own vocals and the result was the creation of a new sound and group.”

Recording the majority of the project out of Studio Masters, an LA spot where many Solar artists worked, she and Gerry began their process. “Madame X was a labor of love for both of us,” Brown says. “Bern is funky as hell, and the way she dealt with the musicians, they knew they had to bring it. Bern knows what she’s doing and she doesn’t sacrifice her soul. At all times, she is her own person.” With Bernadette having blossomed as a producer, there was an aural adventurism to the music of Madame X that pushed beyond the formula of the usual ‘80s R&B fare.

http://www.soulhead.com/2...gonzomike/

The Madame X album was one of the coolest R&B albums of the late 80s...funky,edgy and at times outrageous!

"I Want Your Body" by Madame X (1987)

Great album. Alisa Randolph's solo record in 1990 was the closest thing we ever got to a second Madame X album. The other two ladies sing background on a few of the songs I believe.

R.I.P. Alisa.

In 1988,there were actually plans for a second Madame X album and this time,Bernadette's good friend Teena Marie was gonna contribute a few tracks.Not sure why it never happened

I wish FunkytownGrooves or Big Break Records would remaster this CD.It deserves an updated reissue.

SoulAlive said:

I wish FunkytownGrooves or Big Break Records would remaster this CD.It deserves an updated reissue.

I would love that. I only have the album on vinyl. The CD is super rare. Even mp3s are very hard to find.

sexton said:

100% agree.

Heavy heavy rotation on WBLS when I was living in New York in the late 80s.

^^"Just That Type Of Girl" was one of the freshest sounding jams of 1987.The minimalist funk sound reminds me of Prince (it has a "Nasty Girl" vibe).