LP Review: Rhythm of the Night
Released: 1985
LP Charts: #3 R&B, #19 pop
Motown had a sordid history of prying away the “leader” from a group. Diana Ross from the Supremes. Martha Reeves from the Vandellas. Michael Jackson from the Jackson 5. So, why not El DeBarge from DeBarge?
Look at the album cover for Rhythm of the Night again. If you didn’t know which DeBarge was El before, you’ll know now since he gets half the album cover all to himself.
El was no doubt the central force of the band, but the other family members contributed fantastic harmonies, occasional great leads, and some superb songwriting. But Motown wanted product and product there shall be!
Okay, truthfully, I think DeBarge was on the downswing anyways cuz too many members of the family were addicted to drugs. El was the only one fully functional at this point and even he would ride the metaphorical white horse soon enough.
A more charitable reading of Motown’s actions was they realized DeBarge was about to falter and El was the only member fully functioning, so better salvage him if possible.
All drama aside, this album overall is underwhelming. It has some really startling moments, but also some hackneyed sounds.
Let’s begin with the awesome “You Wear It Well” (#7 R&B, #46 pop, #1 dance). This Minneapolis funk song was released as the album’s third single, but was officially credited as El DeBarge with DeBarge. Motown definitely trying to leave the group behind. Anyways, the track slaps and features former Time member Jesse Johnson shredding it on guitar.
Despite its strange crediting, “You Wear It Well” had all the members of DeBarge on the promotional material. The album’s fourth and final single— “The Heart Is Not So Smart” (#29 R&B, #75 pop) — was credited as El DeBarge with DeBarge but ain’t have any of the other siblings on the sleeve of the single. Anyways, the song is pleasant, if slight.
The band got full unadulturated credit for “Rhythm of the Night”, which is a fuuuuuuun song! The biggest hit single of their career, “Rhythm” rose to the top of the R&B and adult contemporary charts while also reaching #3 on the pop and dance charts. The festive track even hit big overseas as it zoomed to the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.
The album track “The Walls (Came Tumbling Down)” is yet another boogie tune that hits its mark. This album is actually kinda weird cuz the dance songs are the main attraction whereas usually the ballads were DeBarge’s calling card before this.
Okay, time for the griping. The flaccid single “Who’s Holding Donna Now” (#2 R&B, #6 pop, #1 adult contemporary) was a big hit. It’s catchy thanks to the fact that DeBarge could make anything competent, but this is definitely an appeal to the elevator music crowd. With lyrics so bland and obvious, this song clearly wasn’t written by any memeber of the DeBarge family but by outsiders instead.
More on that unfortunate turn of events in a moment.
Up to now, all the songs have had El DeBarge on lead, but Mark gets the microphone on “Give It Up”. It’s ho-hum ‘80s pop. Ditto for “Single Heart” which has Bunny on lead. Inexplicably, “Share My World” is recycled from The DeBarges album that was five years old and a musical world away. It’s still a good song, but horribly out of place here.
Okay, back the songwriting issue… DeBarge clearly lost control over their own music. Six of the nine songs were from outside writers. And one of the originals from DeBarge was a five-year-old song of theirs. Furthermore, a gaggle of session musicians were used throughout the album instead of a core contingent of players like was previously the case. Not hard to see why this was DeBarge’s weakest album yet despite the pleasures of “Rhythm of the Night” and “You Wear It Well”.
ALBUM GRADE: C+
Song Scores
Prime Time: 6/10
The Heart Is Not So Smart: 6.5/10
Who’s Holding Donna Now: 5/10
Give It Up: 5/10
Single Heart: 5/10
You Wear It Well: 8/10
The Walls (Came Tumbling Down): 7/10
Share My World: 7/10
Rhythm of the Night: 9/10