The Best of The S.O.S. Band by The S.O.S. Band
Like all greatest-hits or best-of compilations, this one is missing some key ingredients, namely "S.O.S. (Dit Dit Dit Dat Dat Dat Dit Dit Dit)" and "Just the Way You Like It." Since the band didn't record tons of material and was only active a short time, the omissions are hard to fathom. It's not like they didn't have room on the CD; only ten songs are compiled here. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are well represented with eight songs. Despite the omissions, this is still good listening. Mary Davis' vocals are irresistible; she can do it all. On "Take Your Time (Do It Right)," she shows her funk side, matching the driving, disco-like beat with some powerful vocals. On "Tell Me if You Still Care," she sings in a softer voice, similar to a Smokey Robinson production for Mary Wells. She sings "Just Be Good to Me" with so much conviction that you believe she wrote it.
The Police’s reggae rhythms and post-punk guitars may have placed them in the lineage of The Clash but they were a pop band at heart—witness the irresistible, blood-pumping choruses within “Roxanne”, “Can’t Stand Losing You” and “So Lonely”. Those melodic impulses have continued throughout Sting’s solo career, even during his jazziest and most sombre excursions. From the stately simplicity of obsessive’s anthem “Every Breath You Take” to “Fragile”’s acoustic melancholy, this is a testament to magnetic pop-writing.
