The years 1981 and 1982 could be described as
Evelyn "Champagne" King
's
Kashif
period. Working with producer/songwriter
on 1981's
I'm in Love
and 1982's
Get Loose
, the East Coast singer provided some of the most rewarding and essential albums of her career. But
King
period ended with 1983's
Face to Face
, which found her restoring the "Champagne" moniker (on
and
, she was only listed as
Evelyn King
rather than
) and working with different producers. The material on
, which was
's sixth album, was produced by either
Andre Cymone
(
Prince
's former bassist) or the team of
Leon Sylvers III
,
Foster Sylvers
, and
Joey Gallo
, and all of those producers push
in the direction of the dancefloor. Quiet storm listeners aren't exactly a high priority on
; except for the slow jam "Makin' Me So Proud," this is an exuberant, highly energetic synth-funk/urban album with a lot of dancefloor appeal. And some of these jams incorporate new wave elements. This is true of "Don't It Feel Good," "Let's Get Crazy," and "Givin' You My Love (What Cha Gonna Do with It)," as well as the title song and "Tell Me Something Good" (not to be confused with the
Rufus
/
Chaka Khan
hit from 1974). Another tune with new wave elements is "Teenager," which is arguably the best thing on the album and combines that new wave influence with an appreciation of '60s soul-pop; "Teenager" is urban contemporary, new wave, and '60s-influenced all at the same time. And for 1983, it wasn't all that unusual for an R&B artist to be influenced by new wave; that year, new wave was affecting everyone from
the Time
to
the Pointer Sisters
Shalamar
Nona Hendryx
the Mary Jane Girls
.
(which
Funky Town Grooves
reissued on CD with four bonus tracks in 2011) is not in a class with
's work with
and wasn't a blockbuster (the album made it to number 24 on
Billboard
's R&B albums chart). In 1983, some of
's fans were, understandably, wishing that she had continued to work with
. Nonetheless,
is a generally fun, if uneven, listen even though it isn't among
's essential albums and isn't recommended to casual listeners. ~ Alex Henderson