THE SOLAR SYSTEM: SHALAMAR, LAKESIDE AND MORE...

THE SOLAR SYSTEM: SHALAMAR, LAKESIDE AND MORE...

DAVID KEEPS

I say down with that funky nuclear jazz; the sensible energy source is SOLAR, the record label that could well become the Motown of the '80s. SOLAR evolved from the now defunct Sou! Train label (not to be confused with Adam VIII, Ltd., the compiler of those greatest-hits-from-the-TV-show-ofthe-same-name, the best early '70s soul collections you'll ever find in a cutout bin); Don Cornelius went chugging back to his video choo-choo in 1978, leaving chairman of the board Dick Griffey with 29-yearveteran harmonizers the Whispers (who mined gold in '80 with "And The Beat Goes On"), Carrie ("It's Not What You Got") Lucas, and a promising young vocal trio called Shalamar.

SOLAR is the Sound Of Los Angeles Records Co., comprised of transplanted Midwesterners and El Lay natives who've crafted a nifty blend of the soulful and the slick. Heavy on electronics and synthesizers, sweet harmonizing and showbiz flash, the SOLAR sound ranges from lush balladry to trendy gimmickry (like the robotic voices on Midnight Star's "Freak-A-Zoid"), but it's always, in the words of funky spacemen Lakeside's 1980 hit, "A Fantastic Voyage."

Leon Sylvers III, bassist and vocalist for SOLARites Dynasty, seems to be the Smokey Robinson of the organization. A veteran of the Little Angels (who toured with Ray Charles) and later, the Sylvers, the secondbest bubblegum-funk group after the Jackson Five (c.f. "Boogie Fever" and "High School Dance"), Sylvers the Third writes, arranges and produces tunes for his own group as well as Lakeside, Shalamar and the Whispers.

"I try not to think in terms of pop or R&B because you can get lost in the shuffle, " he says. "I think rock/funk is going to be the next wave, mixing that rock guitar and keyboard with a funk beat."

Well, it worked for Eddie Van Helen and Michael Jackson. And now, for Shalamar, the question, of who's the brightest and hottest light in the SOLAR system is just a "Dead Giveway.'' Though it's taken six years for the group to achieve the massive crossover success of this year's LP, The Look, they've been assaulting the charts since their first Soul Train single, 'Uptown Festival," in 1977. You may also recall the smooth stylings and comical ping-pong synthesizers of 1979's almost-double platinum "Second Time Around,' the first big hit to feature lead singer Howard Hewett's gospel-fortified vocals.

Shalamar's dynamic, sophisticated harmonizing pushed singles like Take That To The Bank" and "A Night To Remember' out of the R&B charts and into pop radio rotations, but they didn't start to capture a rock audience until (like Jimi Hendrix) they conquered England last year. There, Jeffrey Daniel's unique dancing (called "poplocking") and wild New Wave hair-do, plus Jody Watley's costumes and choreography helped establish Shalamar as both trendsetters and genuine articles in a pop scene rife with poseurs and artifice. Daniel proved so exotic and so widely emulated that he was chosen to make his acting debut in Paul McCartney's soon-come film Give My Regards To Broad street.

Shalamar returned to the U.S., suddenly very New Wave and hit with The Look, cracked MTV and soared with style into the top ranks of the crossover pantheon. "Beethoven freaks were into fun/The R&B had some punk," they goof in the rollicking song that best describes their new pop position, "No Limits (The Now Club)." For Shalamar it's neither boast nor hope, just the happy fact that you can dance to.