Too

For their second album, The S.O.S. Band reteamed with Sigidi Abdullah, the producer/arranger who cowrote “Take Your Time (Do It Right)” and helped make the band’s first album a smashing success. In songs like “There Is No Limit” and “Do It Now,” you can hear the '70s transition into the '80s; slapped basslines and hard-nosed drum hits overtake the old penchant for velvety strings and metronomic dance beats. The big change, of course, is the influx of synthesizers of all shapes and sizes. Starting here, pop-funk songs like “It’s a Long Way to the Top” offered color and texture that hadn't been seen in hits from just a few years before. “You” is a great example of The S.O.S. Band's ability to integrate synth sounds with funk rhythms and catchy melodies—a fusion that would reach its peak in 1983, with the release of On the Rise. But there are also triumphs of old-world vulnerability. “Stay” is a ballad that made a star out of vocalist Mary Davis, who proved that her voice didn’t need gimmicks to shine.