Jesse Saunders was a product of Chicago's rich house music scene of the 1980s. But when his group
Jesse's Gang signed with Geffen in 1987 and recorded
Center of Attraction, the producer/songwriter/vocalist emphatically told journalists that he didn't want to be labeled a house artist. At the time, house music was receiving very little radio airplay on either urban contemporary or pop stations. It was considered club music instead of radio music, and
Saunders felt that the house label was limiting. To be sure, most of the material on
Center of Attraction isn't house. The infectious "I'm Back Again" is pure house, but for the most part, this album is a lot closer to the R&B that urban contemporary stations were playing in 1987 than the house music that was driving people wild in dance clubs (especially in Chicago). Most of the sleek, high-tech urban contemporary items that
Saunders wrote for this album are enjoyable, if less than earth-shattering.
Jesse's Gang had an expressive lead vocalist in Twala Dawn, and
Saunders isn't a bad singer himself. But the album didn't sell, which is why Geffen gave
Jesse's Gang the boot without giving the trio the chance to record a second album. ~ Alex Henderson