LP Review: Bad Boys
Released: 1987
LP Charts: nada
Having had enough of their drug addictions, Motown dropped DeBarge from their roster. So without any help from a major company, DeBarge released Bad Boys on the minor Striped Horse label.
And this ain’t the same DeBarge we saw last time on Rhythm of the Night. El and Bunny were gone with with Motown still seeing some value in them; each were given solo deals. For any other family act, losing those two lead singers would be fatal, but DeBarge had an ace up their sleeve… older brother Bobby!
Ole Bobby DeBarge, who had sometimes sang backup vocals on previous DeBarge albums plus was former co-lead singer of the band Switch. In fact his amazing falsetto was the template for El DeBarge.
With Bobby in tow, Mark, Randy, and James managed to put out a decent album (definitely not good, not bad, but decent). This pretty much proved the DeBarges were an insanely talented family because THEY WERE HOOKED ON DRUGS while making this album and it still came out decent.
Now I can’t recommend this thing for the average or casual listener, but if you’ve already worked through the (much) better DeBarge albums that came prior this holds some pleasant moments to satisfy any further curiosity you have about the group.
The best song here is “You’re Not the Only One”, which is pure ‘80s pop, but manages to throw in enough interesting and funky flourishes to make it stand out. Those flourishes are namely perky and funky guitar licks plus some timbales smashing around.
Not quite as good but still fun are “Dance All Night”, “We’re Having Fun”, and “Take It To The Top”. The last of those has quirky, burbling synth bass.
The ballads are led by “I Got You Babe”, which finds Bobby all the way in his bag of looping, hypnotic vocals that made his time with Switch so enjoyable. The others, such as “All Over” and “Every Time I Think of You”, aren’t particularly memorable, but they don’t offend.
ALBUM GRADE: C
Like I said earlier, a decent album with Bobby and James DeBarge handling all the lead vocals. The album totally bombed though and this would be the last pop release from the family. A gospel album, which I am definitely not going to review, was put out in the early 1990s, but that’s it for DeBarge as a group. Still got some solo material to get through.
Song Scores
Dance All Night: 6/10
We’re Having Fun: 6.5/10
You’re A Big Boy: 5.5/10
You’re Not the Only One: 7/10
All Over: 6/10
Say You Do: 5/10
I Got You Babe: 6.5/10
Take It To The Top: 6.5/10
Every Time I Think of You: 5/10