Song#: 1173
Date: 09/11/1982
Debut: 89
Peak: 77
Weeks: 6
Genre: Blue-Eyed Soul, Pop
Pop Bits: After a platinum debut album and a gold follow-up that featured the #42 "Coming Down from Love," Caldwell issued his third LP "Carry On." The first single issued was "Jamaica." The song couldn't make any headway at pop and failed to chart. However, it did reach #54 at R&B. This second single got him back on the pop chart, albeit briefly. It did only slightly better at R&B reaching #67. It would be Caldwell's last single to reach the pop chart.
ReduxReview: Caldwell's slick urban contemporary sound ala Boz Scaggs doesn't really draw me in. However, I do like this single. The verse is lacking a bit, but the chorus is pretty great. It's the closest I've heard him come to straight-ahead pop and I like it. Had he done more songs like this, I might have been a fan. But after hearing some of his albums, it seems this song was an oddity in his catalog. What I don't understand is why the cruddy "Jamaica" got selected for first single release. This song is obviously superior. Dunno. Just put it in the "what were they thinking" file.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: But I'm big in Japan... Caldwell had instant success in the US with the #9 "What You Won't Do for Love" (1978), but he had a hard time following that up. However, his audience in Japan grew and his albums sold at gold and platinum levels. He became so popular there that he even earned a nickname - Mr. AOR (a reference to Album Oriented Rock - basically Adult Contemporary).
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