Retro Spins: Jody Watley - Larger Than Life

 

Following the success of her self-titled debut (1987), Jody dug in to co-write eleven of the thirteen tracks for her next album. She continued to work with producer, and co-writer, André Cymone, who once again brings the familiar sounds he adopted from Prince when under his tutelage.

Larger Than Life (1989) would peak at number sixteen on the Billboard 200 upon its release. The single, Real Love, would repeat the history of her previous hit, Looking For A New Love, by also peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. This was followed by Friends, which peaked at number nine, and the ballad, Everything, which reached number four. It would also be the last top ten hit in her career. Minor hit, Precious Love, would stall at number seventy-eight.

Friends would become a noteworthy track for being the first multiformat hit to incorporate pop music with rap, featuring the duo, Eric B. & Rakim. Its formula became commonplace in pop music, later leading to the Grammys to add the category of Grammy Award for Best Rap / Sung Collaboration in 2002.

Real Love would be noted as the most requested video of all time in 1989 and only be usurped in 1995 by the Michael Jackson / Janet Jackson duet, Scream. The popularity garnered it nominations for seven MTV Video Music Awards in 1989.

I think what I enjoyed most of all about this album was once again finding the forgotten hits from the era. When I first picked up the album in the dollar bin of a used CD shop, I had no idea that with it I would be reunited with the three aforementioned songs.

For the most part, the album continues the dance friendly pop trend of her previous work, while maturing in sound to keep up with the times. In comparison, the track Everything, could have easily been included as a Janet Jackson song from her Rhythm Nation album, which was dominating the charts at this same time. In fact, if you didn't tell me that it was Watley, I may very well could easily mistake the song for one of Jacksons. They have very similar voices.

What 'Cha Gonna Do For Me was another nice surprise to find. However, this would be the only other song which would do this. The remainder of the album played out quite generically, with nothing really popping, or achieving the heights of all the other noted songs. Overall, I got a little bored with it all, and by tracks seven (of thirteen), I was more so focused on how much longer the album was going to go on.

Before the year ended, Jody would release the remix album, You Wanna Dance with Me? This was followed by the music video collection, Video Classics. In 1990, she'd pivot, and release, of all things, a fitness video, Jody Watley's Dance To Fitness.

She'd go on to release a total of five studio albums in the 90's. However, only two of the three would be for MCA (Affairs Of The Heart, and Intimacy). Her latter three saw the artist hopping from Avitone / Bellmark-Life (Affection), to Atlantic (Flower), back to Avitone (The Saturday Night Experience Volume 1). Under Avitone, she'd release her two final albums, 2001's Midnight Lounge, and 2006's The Makeover. Since then, she focuses on releasing EP's, releasing four between 2014 through 2021.

Watley would make headlines in 2014 when it was announced that she had acquired the rights to the name Shalamar. Adding the word, "Reloaded" to the end of it, she set out on several successful package tours with other artists. Acknowledging that the name Shalamar brought with it negative historical baggage, the name would be changed in 2017 to SRL (Soul Revolution Love), and then again to Jody Watley & SRL. This was followed by her cancelling her registration of ownership for the name Shalamar, and her return back to her solo career, for the aforementioned series of EPs. She continues to perform here and there periodically.

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