djzyonseven
I loved this messy song then.
I still love this messy song now.
The Human League’s ‘Human’ is one of those records that proves a slow groove can carry a whole relationship inside it.
A confession.
An apology.
A request for forgiveness.
And then…
A twist. 🎶❤️
Human came out in August 1986, just as I was starting my senior year in Orlando.
Seventeen years old, with so much music still ahead of me.
This one became a favorite, and it’s stayed with me ever since. 🎧
But first, let’s talk about the two men behind it.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis wrote and produced Human for The Human League’s album Crash.
This was their Control era.
Janet Jackson was coming into her own, and their sound was everywhere. 🔥
Just three years earlier, Prince had fired them from The Time after their outside production work and a snowstorm in Atlanta led to a missed show.
They’d been working with The S.O.S. Band.
That chapter ended, but listen to what followed.
Klymaxx.
Cheryl Lynn.
Change.
Cherrelle.
Thelma Houston.
Alexander O’Neal.
Force M.D.’s.
Patti Austin.
Howard Johnson.
More S.O.S. Band.
Then Janet.
To my ears, they still sounded like two men with something to prove.
They were building a name that could stand on its own, and those records were doing the talking.
Then here comes this British synth-pop group, already known for Don’t You Want Me, recording with them in Minneapolis.
And they give us this beautiful slow jam about two people who have some explaining to do. 👀
Philip Oakey spends most of Human asking for forgiveness.
He’s been unfaithful while they were apart.
He was lonely.
He needed somebody to hold him.
Now he’s trying to explain himself without losing the woman he loves.
His defense?
He’s only human.
Well, yes.
But that doesn’t exactly clear up what you did. 😂
Still, I believe the fear in his delivery.
There’s this softness around his voice even while he’s admitting something painful.
He sounds like somebody who knows this conversation could go either way.
He can offer an explanation, but he can’t make her accept it.
And the music gives him room to say it.
Those keyboards.
That steady rhythm.
That’s the part that pulls me in.
The groove is comforting, but the words won’t let you get too comfortable. 😮💨
Then Joanne Catherall speaks.
And baby…
The tears I cry aren't tears of pain
They're only to hide my guilt and shame
I forgive you, now I ask the same of you
While we were apart I was human too
She’s had a confession of her own.
Those tears aren’t only about what he did.
She’s been unfaithful too.
While we’ve been listening to him explain himself, she’s been sitting with her own guilt.
Now forgiveness has to go both ways.
That little spoken section changes the entire song for me.
She doesn’t need a big vocal moment.
She just tells him the truth, and suddenly we have to reconsider the conversation we’ve been hearing.
Human reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart.
I understand that crossover.
It has the electronic sound of The Human League with the warmth and groove I love in R&B.
That’s what I love about Human.
A R&B classic, with a twist.
The groove pulls you in, but the story makes you listen.
Even knowing what’s coming, I still wait for her part.
I’m here for every minute of it. 💜
djz7
#TheSoundtrackOfWhoIBecame, #TheHumanLeague, #Human, #Crash, #JimmyJam, #TerryLewis, #JamAndLewis, #80sMusic, #ClassicRNB, #SynthPop, #QuietStorm, #MusicHistory
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