Their last album to hit the charts, 1985's
When the Boys Meet the Girls found
Sister Sledge attempting to return to past form as they brought
Chic's
Nile Rodgers back onboard to produce and perform. And although the move would ultimately prove ineffective, as the album appeared and hovered just out of the Top 50, this easy pairing returned the sisters to an earlier edge. With the title track backed by an eclectic arrangement, those classic punchy
Sister Sledge vocals were pushed well into the front of the action. The album birthed two further standouts, as both "Frankie," which is spun to become reggae-lite, and the heavily
Rodgers-influenced club hit "Dancing on the Jagged Edge" rippled off the grooves. The latter, just barely limping to a paltry number 73 R&B, would prove the band's last hit until their comeback in the early '90s. Elsewhere, the
Kathy Sledge-led ballad "You Need Me" emerges the best of the bunch, while the snappy "Peer Pressure" wades into wave territory, leaving the frenetic and not-quite-pleasing "Hold out Poppy" well out of the loop.
When the Boys Meet the Girls is a fine effort, but this late in the day it just doesn't pull enough tricks out of the hat to make it worthwhile. And even through it's a major step up from their last effort,
Sister Sledge is far better sampled across their earlier R&B heyday. ~ Amy Hanson