****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Village People cemented their place in history with a series of unforgettable campy disco hits in the late 70's. As the 80's came around and disco faded from popularity, VP and their producers were in a bind. "Renaissance" from 1981 is well known for it's infamous cover shot but it has a couple of tunes that are quite good, although nothing like in their glory days. "In The Street" from 1983 was atrocious: a forgettable mess of songs with no real direction. So it is with pleasure that I announce that their last album, "Sex Over The Phone" is terrific and a perfect 80's club record, completely synthesized. The title track saw them with a return to the UK charts, a sleazy affair full of electronics, amusing lyrics and heavy breathing. "New York City" was also a single and it's much better here in it's full length form. Like all of the songs on this album, it actually has a bit of soul in the vocals and the boys sound much better than they did in their previous two albums. Ray Simpson is on lead vocals here and on all the tracks, his voice is strong and perfect for the electronic accompaniment. "Just Give Me What I Want", has a low down dirty vibe, lots of bleeps and bloops from the synthesizer that works perfectly as sleaze music. "Power of the Night" is again soulful yet contrived: it's so mid 80s it hurts, but it's also really good. "Sexual Education" is even more delightfully sleazy, again the lyrics are somewhat amusing yet you'll find yourself getting the rhythm stuck in your head. "I Won't Take No For An Answer" has some great harmonies from the boys and again is infused with a soulful voice that was missing from "Renaissance" and "In The Street". And "Sensual", my least favourite cut, has it's fans too. If you know the VP from their late 70s output you would think this is a different group, but if you're a lover of that early to mid 80s HI NRG sound then you will love this album.
