Now facing forward with a new lineup that included longtime member
Micki Free,
Delissa Davis, and new addition
Sidney Justin, a revitalized
Shalamar released
Circumstantial Evidence in 1987. It would prove their penultimate effort, and their last for longtime label
Solar. Produced by late-'80s wunderkind
Babyface, who also appeared as backing vocalist and an esoterically inclined musician, the still sassy
Shalamar slammed two singles straight into the charts. The punchy title track revolved around a sparse cyclic beat, featured an awkward
rap written and performed by
Free, and managed to break the Top 30.
"Games," meanwhile, fared better, nearly dipping into the Top Ten and benefiting from ballsier instrumentation and interesting backing vocals.
R&B up and comer
Pebbles, meanwhile, added backing vocals to the emotive and lighthearted mid-tempo dance number
"Playthang." Elsewhere,
"Female" emerged an odd, slightly menaced, off-kilter beat basher. One of the few bands of its ilk to survive both a heavy rotation of members and the departure of its figurehead vocalist,
Shalamar spent more time in than out of the spotlight through the 1980s.
Circumstantial Evidence proved no different. Although the band doesn't break any new ground and the formula feels a little stilted this late in the decade, this slick set shimmered, ultimately giving
Shalamar a sophisticated outro, and its fans a delicious nightcap. ~ Amy Hanson
