Released: January 1982
Well, this is the album that saw Shalamar reach their commercial apex.
Friends topped the R&B album charts for two weeks in 1982, was certified platinum in the US and the UK. Yes sir, this album was a fucking smash on the UK charts! Even as white audiences in the US continued ignoring Shalamar….
Shalamar had three top 10 hits in the UK from this album and another barely missed out on giving them a fourth.
The thing with this album is the shockingly consistent quality, which can be good and bad. On the one hand, there is no let down whatsoever here. Nothing approaching a dud. However, one wishes there was some greater variation and experimentation.
You can probably take any three random songs from this album and get a good sense for the how other remaining seven tracks will sound.
Anyways, the most well-remembered song from this album is “A Night To Remember” and was the big hit in the US (#8 R&B, #44 pop) while reaching #5 in the UK. However, it’s not substantially better or worse than say “Playing to Win” or “I Just Stopped By Because I Had To”, which were relegated to album track status.
I forget the exact reasons why, but Jeffrey Daniel traveled to the UK alone to promote “A Night To Remember” and set the British world on fire with his dancing.
The man could move!
There is no doubt in my mind though that the two best songs on the album are “There It Is” a smooth dance number and “I Can Make You Feel Good” a boastful funky ballad. Naturally neither fared well whatsoever in the US (even on the R&B charts) while they tore up shit in England (#5 for “There It Is” and #7 for “Feel Good”).
The other UK hit for Shalamar off this LP was “Friends”. It has some hokey lyrics, but can’t get mad about a pop group singing about the need for friends, especially as this iteration Shalamar was beginning to get on each other’s nerves. This song reached #12 in the UK.
But back to the acrimony!
Watley in particular was starting to chafe under SOLAR’s terms and would later accuse Daniel of abusive behavior as well. Meanwhile Daniel was also growing restless. The classic Shalamar lineup only had one more LP in them.
So much for being friends…
ALBUM GRADE: B+
Song Scores
A Night to Remember: 8.5/10
Don't Try to Change Me: 7/10
Help Me: 8/10
On Top of the World: 8/10
I Don't Wanna Be the Last to Know: 8/10
Friends: 7/10
Playing to Win: 7/10
I Just Stopped By Because I Had To: 8/10
There It Is: 8.5/10
I Can Make You Feel Good: 8.5/10