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S.O.S. Band
Just The Way You Like It

(Tabu, 1984)

When Jam & Lewis ruled the airwaves and dancefloors.

S.O.S. Band

Reunited for the first time in 15 years to play at the Grammys in February, the experience was such that The Time are following that appearance with a season in Las Vegas starting this very week. Which, oddly, sent me back not to that band’s brisk and breezy Minneapolitan funk, but to the distinctive oeuvre created by its two most fêted members, songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Somewhat outside the customary sweep of MOJO, their warm, clean-sounding collisions of soul, dance and pop created a sound that held sway for a considerable time in the ’80s, hitting a commercial peak with the only good records Janet Jackson and Alexander O’Neal ever made. However, the Jam & Lewis productions that opened the door were two albums by the S.O.S. Band, an Atlanta outfit on the small Tabu label whose career was stuttering after three LPs. On The Rise, with outstanding 1983 singles Just Be Good To Me (the dance hit) and Tell Me If You Still Care (the ballad hit), is strong, but 1984’s Just The Way You Like It is even more impressive, especially for the sonic cohesion of its (old-style) first side. Few albums risk starting with a ballad, but Jam & Lewis did precisely that with No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Do. Weekend Girl and the title track completed one of the smoothest soul sides of the ’80s. But the sheer distinctiveness of a soon-to-be very pervasive Jam-Lewis sound carried the seeds of the S.O.S. Band’s downfall. Lead singer Mary Davis quit after one more album, her solo career never took off, and with no identifiable vocal or production focus the group foundered too, providing an object lesson in the pros and cons of the producer-as-sonic-auteur.

Geoff Brown

Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 11:01 AM GMT 30/06/2008

Further Listening

The Time – What Time Is It? (Warner Bros, 1982)

Alexander O’Neal – Alexander O’Neal (Tabu, 1985)

Janet Jackson – Control (A&M, 1986)


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