ALL S.T.A.R.S. SHOWCASE at the Dirt Club, Bloomfield, NJ, December 19, 1985

For me, the evening's highlight was Carolyne Mas. I'd never seen her play before, and in fact I'd had some reservations about her music in the past. But just seeing someone as glad to be back on stage as she was tonight is nothing short of inspiring.

Mas has had rather an interesting career. Prior to landing a major label deal, she'd run the gamut from playing folk clubs to singing Gilbert & Sullivan for the Light Operetta Of Manhattan company. Then she recorded three generally acclaimed albums for Mercury, none of which took off quite as planned. Then for all intents and purposes, she dropped from sight a couple of years ago.

Becoming a 'whatever happened to...?' story can leave a bad taste in one's mouth, even if he or she manages a comeback. But Mas's attitude toward the past was evident in her demeanor tonight: forget the bitterness, forget the pain, just come out swinging.

And so she did, outrocking anyone else crossing the stage this evening, then turning around and doing an extended version of the jazzy 'Is Anybody Up There?' The set was marred only by being too brief and by having a sparse audience, although an enthusiastic one.” - Paul Bobny

— THE AQUARIAN (1-1-86)