VASTLY UNDERRATED...THIS DESERVES MUCH MORE RECOGNITION!

Every so often, a quality release makes it onto store shelves and swiftly fades into oblivion, unnoticed, never to be heard from again. This is such a release. SEX OVER THE PHONE was originally issued in 1985, but only overseas. The Village People and their producer, Jacques Morali, having presumably learned their lessons with the dismal New Wave and Funk of the RENAISSANCE and IN THE STREETS albums, respectively, decided to return to what they all did best: dance music. However, don't let the VP's past disco work influence your thoughts. This is well beyond disco, and light years away from a "Macho Man" or a "YMCA". Despite its sleazy title, this album is of outstanding quality on all fronts. The music is serious, solid mid-80's club music that aged very well. The vocals are the VP's finest work to date: they know the material is their best yet and it clearly comes through.

Now that it's finally been issued domestically, 16 years after its original release, this particular CD benefits from two versions of the European hit "Sex Over The Phone": the original controversial mid-tempo version in which a man returns the phone sex call, and the faster club version in which a woman returns the call. Despite the overall theme throughout the tracks, none of the songs are vulgar or overly suggestive. I am hard-pressed to select one track as my favorite, but I do find that "Just Give Me What I Want", "Power Of The Night", and "Sensual" have that extra edge that makes them ultra-catchy.

I originally bought this release on vinyl back in 1985. I wore it out and bought the CD version the following year. It's been in my CD player ever since. The other CD's come and go, but that one stays. Yes, it's that good and it still sounds as fresh as it did 16 years ago.

It's fitting that this is the very last album of original material the VP ever released. I wish they'd come out with something new for their longtime fans, but I doubt anything could ever match the beauty and quality of this release.