The Mary Jane Girls
were always known as
Rick James
' protegees, because that's what they were. The superfreak dressed 'em up in skimpy outfits and provocative costumes, and had them sing songs very reminiscent of
James
-- actually, it's probably more accurate to say that the sound was closer to
Prince
or one of his proteges, because there was a heavily Minneapolis vibe to his songs and productions for
the Mary Jane Girls
. They hit a home run once, with the spectacular
"In My House,"
one of the great urban
funk
songs of the mid-'80s. They never got that good again, although they almost hit the Top 40 with
"Wild and Crazy Love"
and
"Walk Like a Man."
Those three songs, along with a bunch of other singles,
R&B
hits, and album tracks are on
20th Century Masters
, as good a retrospective as could be assembled on
the Girls
. It's not totally comprehensive, but it does have anything that anybody would want to hear, and while it won't make a case for the girls or
as a Svengali, it's pretty enjoyable for those that want to hear songs like
only not as memorable. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine