Song#: 1340
Date: 02/05/1983
Debut: 65
Peak: 40
Weeks: 10
Genre: Pop
Pop Bits: Ross' album "Silk Electric" started off well with the #10 Michael Jackson-penned "Muscles." For her follow-up single, this tune co-written by Ross was selected. Featuring a background vocal arrangement by Luther Vandross (in which he sang as well), the song just barely made it into the Top 40. It did a little better at AC reaching #13.
ReduxReview: I wasn't sure what Ross would come up with for a follow-up to the sexy kitsch of "Muscles," but I certainly didn't expect this doo-wop throwback. Playing sweet to the saltiness of "Muscles," I think Ross was trying to replicate the success of her 1981 remake of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," but by this time it wasn't working. I mean, did anyone on her team even turn on a radio? "Muscles" made Ross sound current, but this one made her sound out of touch. Although over-produced, the song itself is a nice reproduction of 50s doo-wop that might have served her well a few years earlier. However, by 1983 the kids were not having it. "Silk Electric" is one of Ross' most unusual albums. The songs are all over the map. Besides the two singles, there was a Reggae influenced tune, a couple power ballads, a pop tune, a post-disco song, and oddly, a hard rock outing that sounds like Ross fronting Alice Cooper. It's all bizarre and none of it very good.
ReduxRating: 4/10
Trivia: The cover of "Silk Electric" was designed by Andy Warhol. He based it off of several Polaroids that he took of Ross. At the time, another album featuring a Warhol cover was also riding the charts - Billy Squier's "Emotions in Motion."
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