There were conflicting explanations and speculations regarding the creative split between close childhood friends and . Whether 's solo career was premeditated or the result of friction, there is no way that would have been able to suppress a one-man band with a strong personality. left the camp in 1981, signed to , and released this, his first of three albums, in 1982. wrote and produced all the material. Apart from synthesizer assistance from ( ), played everything as well. He went out of his way to make it known that he was embracing new wave -- hence the album's title and "Ritz Club," a snappy, -indebted ode to the subculture's night life -- perhaps as a way to further distinguish himself from his comrade. Even so, much of resembles the wiry, funkier end of certain songs off -- recordings for which felt he was not given enough credit. It's led by the freakazoid quasi-anthem title song, which debuted on Billboard's Black Singles chart the same week as 's -driven "777-9311," and the bopping "Kelly's Eyes," where showed that he was game to raise some eyebrows: "Sick and tired of this phone affair/I wanna get in your underwear." Neither song cracked the Top 70 of Billboard's Black Singles chart. They deserved a little more exposure, and most of the album cuts are ingratiating on some level, all fronted by a versatile vocalist, one who could switch between shout-sung, nasal/robotic, and loverboy ballad modes with equal confidence. This idiosyncratic fusion of styles and quantity of sly pop hooks make it the man's best solo album. ~ Andy Kellman