Change was a European outfit formed as disco was just passing its cultural peak. Everything about Change, from the songs to the singers to the arrangements to the name of the group borrowed liberally from Chic. Change even briefly used one of Chic’s major vocal weapons-Luther Vandross-to handle vocals for two songs on their debut.

By 1984, both groups were struggling commercially. On the Chic side, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards were already investing themselves heavily in outside projects and disbanded Chic before the year was out. Meanwhile,  Change’s creators sought out an outside production team to work with them-and what a production team it was. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were high off their initial brush with success. Cheryl Lynn’s “Encore” and The S.O.S. Band’s “Just Be Good To Me” were jamming on radio and the clubs. They handed Change a top 10 R&B and dance smash with “Change Of Heart”, one of their finest (and most under appreciated) productions. I would be here for the drum programming alone!

“Change Of Heart” serves as an interesting bridge between dance music past and dance music future. The clipped female vocals are pure Chic. The verse melody harkens back to “Paradise”, another slammin’ Change jam from three years before. The groove and lyrical conceit is something Jam and Lewis would perfect nearly two years later with Janet Jackson’s Control. “Give me back all my love; I’ve had a change of heart” is some pretty cold shit, especially coming out of a woman’s (one that is clearly having none of your shit) lips.

PLUS THERE’S A FALSE ENDING! How can you not love it?

I can’t embed the video for some reason. Watch this lip-synced TV clip here.