The Human League turned to American R&B producers
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis in the wake of their success with
Janet Jackson's
Control, and the combination brought the group its second number one hit with the
Jam-
Lewis composition "Human," which harked back to the earlier "Don't You Want Me," albeit with a gentler tone. The album's second single, the
Control-soundalike "I Need Your Loving," was also a
Jam-
Lewis song (as was the U.K.-only third single, "Love Is All That Matters"), but the bulk of the album was made up of group-written songs with appealing backing tracks that maintained their dance appeal while eschewing the overtly synthesized sound of previous albums. That made
Crash an improvement over the lackluster Hysteria, but still not on a par with
Dare. ~ William Ruhlmann