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After the very Minneapolis dance/funk influenced Sex And The Single Man Ray Parker Jr was very well aware of the changing tide in the R&B world during the latter half of the 80's. The success of Anita Baker and Gregory Abbot was showcasing urban music's move again back into the relm of a more adult jazz-pop frame of mind. At the same time this was mixed with some of the live/electronic rhythmic elements of boogie funk as well. This late 80's urban sound was great news for Ray Parker Jr. Sometimes thought of as the perveyor of almost novelty funk for teenagers,as a lyricist Ray did possess that Smokey Robinson sense of wordplay and a refreshingly witty plain spokeness. Not to mention the man was one serious guitar player. On this album,he delivered on one of his most significant and vital musical statements of a very successful decade for him. "I Don't Think That Man Should Sleep Alone" is a wonderful hit,an honest lyric on male vulnerability with some thickly layered keyboards playing some mood and complex jazzy chords that are also melodic. It's definitely a highlite of Ray's career. The ballads here "Over You" with Natalie Cole and "The Past" are unlike any of Ray's earlier ballads;fully fleshed out and arranged numbers with very well done orchestrations. The uptempo numbers are some of the most funky and varied of his career. "Lovin' You" and "You Make My Nature Dance" are both thick grooves with a lot of bottom and some excellent electronic percussion effects. "Perfect Lovers" makes even better use of that as the groove kind of rolls right along with similar rhythmic patterns. "After Midnight",harmonically similar to Janet Jackson's "Funny How Time Flies" is an instrumental with a beautiful soul jazz solo from Parker. On "You Shoulda Kept A Spare" he lets his inner Anita Baker shine with powerful sax from Gerald Albright and another example of his wit and wordly lyrically. "I Love Your Daughter" is a somewhat more conversational number reference that..certain little hook that I noticed Ray has present on every album at least once since it first appeared on 1980's "For Those Who Like To Groove". The title track that concludes the album is a perfect summation of everything on here. It's got a hard funk groove,a mean mean bass/guitar line and great wordplay likening a hidden affair to mechanical repair work. Without any bias this is musically one of Ray Parker's finest and most consistent solo album. Because it was released during the 1980,it might not be a bad full length album for anyone only aware of Ray Parker Jr's singles. In terms of full lengths,this might actually be his very best release.