Song of the Day: Jermaine Stewart, “Versatile,” from Frantic Romantic (Arista, 1986)

This is the fourth song from former Soul Train dancer Jermaine Stewart's best-selling album, Frantic Romantic—known predominantly for its hit lead track, "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off" (somewhat ironic considering that Stewart died of AIDS-related cancer in 1997). I can take nothing away from the hit here, it's an impeccable tune, but "Versatile" manages to rise above. Why it was never released as a single is beyond me.

I'm not an upbeat type of guy and don't listen to much "happy" music, but for some reason I completely lose my mind over stuff like this, and have been involved in a few heated arguments over the unwavering excellence of this particular song—the "changing (changing) like the (like the) weather" portion of the chorus struck me as particularly brilliant from the very first listen.

Whether it's the slappy synth bass, its surprisingly intricate layering and slick panning, or the fact that of course it's just stupidly catchy, I have a major soft spot for this shit. If it sounds like it could've been on the Breakin' soundtrack, chances are I'm jammin' hard.

What can I say? For my money, "Versatile" gets a 10/10.