Atlantic Starr - Love Crazy (1991)

When you say Atlantic Starr to most people, chances are the first songs that will roll off their tongues will be their best known hits Secret Lovers and that MOR radio standard, Always.

However, throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Atlantic Starr scored several hits on the R&B charts. However, significant crossover success (onto the pop charts) did not come until halfway into the 80s, with the release of their As The Band Turns album, including Secret Lovers. By this time, the band had pared itself down to a quintet, consisting of the core of any A.S. line-up: the three Lewis brothers, David, Wayne and Jonathan, along with Joe Phillips, and the fantastic vocalist Barbara Weathers. In 1987, the band solidified their pop success by scoring a no.1 hit with Always, off their album All In The Name Of Love. Following this success, Weathers left for a solo career, and she was replaced by Porscha Martin for the band's next album, 1988's We're Movin' Up. Although this album was not quite as successful as its predecessor, it did produce another no.1 R&B hit with My First Love.
The band would continue to score hits on both the R&B and Pop charts into the early 90s. 1991 saw the introduction of yet another new female lead singer, when Martin was replaced by Rachel Oliver for the album, Love Crazy. This album featured the band's biggest hit of the 90s, with Masterpiece reaching no.3 on both the pop and R&B charts in early 1992. The Group toured to Japan in 1992 with yet another lead vocalist at the helm; Crystal Blake (session vocalist for Stevie Wonder, and lead on " Bust A Move" w/ Youmg M.C.)

The song Love Crazy was a nice surprise for many, including me; a group who at the time seemed so set in the way of the love ballad, released an album out of nowhere that had tunes I was listening to for years to come.
And in the case of Love Crazy, one that never went away.