The Time went down in history as one of the most exciting and influential funk bands of the 1980s, although the Minneapolis outfit was only around for about half the decade. In 1984, the Time broke up, and by 1985
Morris Day and
Jesse Johnson were officially full-time solo artists. Released in late 1987,
Day's second solo album,
Daydreaming, generally falls short of the excellence of his work with the Time -- and, for that matter, it isn't as consistent as his first solo effort,
The Color of Success. Nonetheless, it's generally enjoyable, if mildly uneven; even at his second best,
Day could easily smoke the competition in the 1980s. Many people tend to think of
Daydreaming as a Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis project but, in fact,
Day's former bandmates only produced two tracks: the ballad "Love Is a Game" and the sexy gem "Fishnet" (a major hit). Everything else on this album was produced by
Day himself, and that includes Minneapolis funk-pop smokers like "Are You Ready" and "Moonlight (Passionlite)" as well as the melancholy ballad "A Man's Pride." Much of the time,
Day's mischievous sense of humor is a definite asset -- and the fact that he is usually so humorous and playful makes the melancholia of "A Man's Pride" really stand out. Generally decent and occasionally excellent,
Daydreaming falls short of essential but is still worth acquiring for fans of the Minneapolis sound. ~ Alex Henderson