For You

Album review

The group's only album for Montage and last before disbanding in 1984, For You found L.T.D. still mightily suffering the fallout from vocalist Jeffrey Osborne's departure for a solo career in 1980. And whereas 1981's Love Magic rode the coattails of its Top Ten predecessor, 1983's For You had nothing to fall back on but its own merits. Eight songs comprise a set that is packed with an R&B synth popped ethic and lackadaisical intent. The title track, a smooth ballad that barely tipped into the Top 50 and proved to be For You's only hit, was mirrored a little later on by "Is It Over." Without Osborne's powerful voice to capture the moment, the band's balladeering falls flat, leaving it in only slightly better space across the more up-tempo dance songs "Whatcha Gonna Do" and "Steppin' Out (Wid Ma Baby)." But at the end of the day, even slick production and proficiency couldn't pull the band out of a killer rut. There's not much energy to be found here -- the band had clearly overstayed the welcome at its own party. Given the huge space that opened up in the early '80s and allowed an enormous number of bands to gain a strong foothold, it's surprising that a band of L.T.D.'s stature couldn't carve a niche.
© Amy Hanson /TiVo