The punk-orthodoxy view of the Members is that after a string of promising reggae-tinged singles, the septet released one fine album in 1979's At the Chelsea Nightclub, then lost the plot completely with the follow-up, 1980: The Choice Is Yours, after which they're ignored with an embarrassed throat-clearing. In point of fact, however, the Members rebounded after their second album (which itself is actually not nearly as bad as many would have you believe, sort of the Members' own version of
Sandinista! in its appealing looseness and lack of consistent focus) by ridding themselves of any lingering punk associations and going for a complete sonic makeover. The band joined up with producer Martin Rushent (
Human League,
Altered Images, the Go-Go's), who was a master of making unpromisingly non-commercial bands have big shiny hit records without losing their souls in the process. Rushent nailed it immediately with the Members, concocting the utterly delightful "Working Girl." A mixture of snarky lyrics about the joys of freeloading and a genuinely transcendent chorus, "Working Girl" is a classic '80s pop single and -- despite the protestations of the punker than thou -- easily the best thing the Members ever did. Yes, including "Solitary Confinement." Sadly, the rest of
Uprhythm Downbeat doesn't reach the same heights, but the good outweighs the bad, including an inspired reggae version of
Kraftwerk's "The Model," the self-celebrating "The Family" and "Boys Like Us," and another minor hit, "Going West." ~ Stewart Mason