Are You Okay?

WAS (NOT WAS)

(Capitol)

A pop-R&B collective that was always a little too clever for its own commercial good, Was (Not Was) called it a ballgame after this very fine effort. While not as consistently brilliant as 1988's What Up, Dog?, Are You Okay? continues the band's unique alchemy: tandem soul vocalists Sweet Pea Atkinson and Sir Harry Bowen singing Don Was' grabby hooks and David Was' witty, literate and sometimes wacky lyrics over Don's organic, groove-heavy production. While researching this Backspin, I discovered that Was (Not Was) just released a new album, Boo!. Excuse me, please, I must go now and procure a copy.

This article appears in May 7-13, 2008.

Eric Snider is the dean of Bay area music critics. He started in the early 1980s as one of the founding members of Music magazine, a free bi-monthly. He was the pop music critic for the then-St. Petersburg...