LP Review: Camouflage
Released: 1981
LP Charts: #15 R&B, #98 pop
As Chaka Khan was delivering critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo albums, Rufus was struggling to maintain their footing. Since 1979, they had released two albums without Khan and one with her. The two sans Khan had bombed and the one with her was a #1 R&B hit.
Think we can take the hint that the public was interested in Khan, not necessarily Rufus.
So, Rufus & Chaka Khan united again for this late 1981 album—with Rene Moore and Angela Winbush still onboard as songwriters and backing vocalists. Surely this album couldn’t miss as the people got more Chaka!
Well… uh… hmm… it’s certainly not a bad album.
The best song on Camouflage is easily “Jigsaw”, which features Winbush’s distinctive vocals quite prominently on the chorus. And of course, Chaka handles the lead vocals with ease. That’s a whole lotta powerful singing. Bobby Watson’s slap bass is gorgeous and Tony Maiden’s guitar appropriately slices through the groove.
Inexplicably, “Jigsaw” was not released as a single.
“Secret Friend” is also pretty darn good with sky-high strings lifting up this post-disco jam. And it’s basically a Rene & Angela song (all kinds of similarities to their “Free and Easy”), but with Maiden on lead vocals. Rufus was damn lucky that young duo fell into their lap to bolster these early ‘80s albums.
Those are the two best songs on this album. But there is some more music worth checking out for you fans of early ‘80s soul and post-disco.
“Better Together”: standard fare early 80s yacht R&B.
“Music Man (The D.J. Song)”: Rufus’s first real foray into synthfunk. Not bad and they’d soon create a masterpiece in this song’s vein.
“Quandary”: now this song is way different than all the rest. At its best, the song blends alt-rock guitar with flute and strings. At its worst, it has unnecessary touches of reggae that suddenly break up the aura of the alt-rock section. There’s the core of something great here, but the execution wasn’t quite there.
“Highlight”: another contribution from Rene & Angela. It’s easygoing pop-funk.
Okay, now for the songs that prevent me from unequivocally recommending this album.
“True Love”: a trite ballad delivered without any apparent enthusiasm by Khan.
“Sharing the Love”: somehow chosen as the album’s lead single, this song shamefully rose to #8 R&B. An undeserved top ten hit, this shallow ballad is.
“Lilah”: Hawk Wolinski takes his bandmates and has them imitating Earth, Wind & Fire and the Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers. I only have it here because it is clearly derivative.
“Losers In Love”: a rather harmless song. You can take it or leave it.
ALBUM GRADE: C+
This doesn’t reach the earlier triumphs of Rufus & Chaka Khan albums, but it’s better than Rufus’s recent LPs. Only “Sharing the Love” and “True Love” make you itch for the skip button. Nonetheless, Camouflage failed to recapture the group’s commercial success.
It also ain’t been digitized on streaming services. Which sucks for the good songs here.
Song Scores
Better Together 6.5/10
Jigsaw: 7.5/10
Secret Friend: 7/10
Music Man (The D.J. Song): 6.5/10
True Love: 5/10
Sharing the Love: 3/10
Quandary: 6.5/10
Lilah: 6/10
Losers In Love: 6/10
Highlight: 6.5/10