Human

I have to admit, this song makes me unabasehedly happy, giddy even and I don't know why. Maybe it's the multi-layered vocal harmonies or perhaps it's the drum track (that get's me playing my air drum set every damn time without fail). Maybe it's because it was put together by my favorite production duo of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Maybe it's because when this song dropped music was fun to me. I was listening to it, I was creating it, I was immersed in it (yes even more than I am currently which I know is hard to believe). The song is Human by The Human League and it was undoubtedly their biggest crossover hit in the states. Off of their album Crash and produced by Jam and Lewis, the creative masterminds behind Janet Jackson, Alexander O'Neil, and Cherelle at the time, Human became The Human Leagues second number one song in the US.

The sound of this song is distinctly Jam and Lewis (if you don't think so then listen to Pillow off of Herb Alperts Keep Your Eyes On Me). Jam and Lewis fleshed out the sound they pretty much trademarked on Janet's Control album on this song. Heavy synths and the drum tack dominate this song but what makes this song special in my eyes is the vocal harmonies. Layered perfectly and with such subtlety that you can almost miss it if you aren't playing attention, while one voice goes up, the one just beneath it goes down. You can hear that little trick during the chorus.

The pairing of The Human League with Jam and Lewis wasn't studio bliss, the band left Flyte Tyme Studios in a huff and flew back to the UK leaving Jam and Lewis to finish the record on their own. And while the rest of Crash never did as well as Human, I for one am happy this song was born from that brief collaboration, giddy even, go figure.