Search - The S.O.S. Band :: The Best of the S.O.S. Band

Good, but could have been better

Michael O. Johnson | Shelby, NC | 04/01/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"It's unfortunate that The S.O.S. Band's albums are mostly out of print, particularly the albums that heralded production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis' incredible run ("On the Rise," "Just the Way You Like It" and "Sands of Time"). While this gives a fairly good sample of what the group was about, it could have been more comprehensive.



The S.O.S. Band did have albums and some hits before and after hooking up with Jam & Lewis, but outside of the 1980 smash hit "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" the group mostly is known as the first successful vehicle for Jam & Lewis. For that matter, the group made albums after lead singer Mary Davis moved on (her and Jam & Lewis' last studio album was "Sands of Time"), but that would be even more unreasonable to add those songs on a one-disc set.



The Roland 808 drum programming synonymous with the Flyte Tyme sound was used first and most extensively with The S.O.S. Band, so it makes sense a greatest hits catalog would mostly showcase that era. "Just Be Good to Me," "The Finest" and "Tell Me You Still Care" are the best examples of that technique. "Even When You Sleep," "Sands of Time," "No One's Gonna Love You" and "Weekend Girl" are also no-brainers associated with the S.O.S./Flyte Tyme marriage.



But still, I felt this set could have been better. For starters, it's a little more than 62 minutes long -- meaning nearly 18 minutes on an 80-minute CD were left off the table. Second, I thought "What's Wrong With Our Love Affair?" was an odd choice, even if the logic was adding another song before the Jam & Lewis era. I likely would have considered "S.O.S. (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)" -- the follow-up to "Take Your Time (Do It Right)" that reached No. 20 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts -- if I was going in that vein.



And while I know "High Hopes" was technically the first Jam & Lewis-produced song, it had too much of a Leon Sylvers sound and wasn't a big enough of a hit (peaked at No. 25 Billboard R&B Singles chart, 1982) that it would have been missed. Finally, "Just the Way You Like It" (peaked at No. 6, 1984) definitely should have been included.



Personally, my S.O.S. Band one-disc set would have been this (full album tracks, unless noted):



1.) Just Be Good to Me

2.) Take Your Time (Do It Right)

3.) S.O.S. (Dit Dit Dit Dash Dash Dash Dit Dit Dit)

4.) No Lies

5.) Just the Way You Like It (I've heard a slightly shorter version at six minutes)

6.) Weekend Girl

7.) Tell Me If You Still Care

8.) I Don't Want Nobody Else

9.) Sands of Time

10.) The Finest

11.) Nothing But the Best

12.) Even When You Sleep

13.) No One's Gonna Love You



I intentionally left off "Borrowed Love," which should be called "Just Be Good to Me, Part III." With the original song plus the soundalike "Just the Way You Like It," I feel a set with essentially the same song done three different times would mar the compilation.



To me, that's a stronger set that captures the best ideas of the band by itself and its association with the Jam & Lewis era."