Although they had a number of R&B hits during the late '80s, Surface didn't cross over into the pop mainstream in any notable way.
They scraped the bottom reaches of the charts a few times, but they never had a breakout hit that would establish them as stars.
Listening to Columbia/Legacy's definitive retrospective The First Time: The Best of Surface, it's possible to hear why they didn't break out -- they simply didn't have a song that would break them big.
That doesn't mean that they were a bad group, since they were very competent within their genre and several hits here are very pleasant late-'80s urban cuts, either on the ballad or dance side.
But there's nothing particularly striking, nothing with a hook that would send the band soaring up the pop charts.
Still, if you happen to be a fan, either of the group or of this sound, this is a pleasing listen, and a very representative overview of what Surface achieved.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HappyDavid Conley, Bernard Jackson, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | The First TimeBernard Jackson, Brian Simpson | Surface | Play | 04:15 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | Gotta Make Love TonightDavid Conley, Bernard Jackson, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | Hold on to LoveDavid Conley, Bernard Jackson, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | All I Want Is YouDavid Conley, Derrick Culler | Surface | Play | 06:01 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 6 | LatelyDavid Conley, Bernard Jackson, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 7 | Let's Try AgainDavid Conley, Bernard Jackson, Isham Jones, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 8 | We're All Searchin'David Conley, Bernard Jackson, David Townsend | Surface | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Shower Me With Your LoveBernard Jackson | Surface | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 10 | Closer Than Friends (Single Version) | Surface | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 11 | I Missed (Single Version) | Surface | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 31 MB |
| 12 | Can We Spend Some Time (Single Version) | Surface | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 13 | Never Gonna Let You Down (Album Version) | Surface | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 14 | Don't Wanna Turn You Off (Album Version) | Surface | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 36 MB |
| 62 mins | 144 MB | |||||
| 62 mins | 394 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melainie Baker | Musician |
| 2 | Carlos Baptiste | Musician |
| 3 | Regina Belle | Vocals (Background) |
| 4 | Vassal Benford | Arranger, Keyboards, Piano, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Programming, Synthesizer Strings |
| 5 | Sandra Billingslea | Musician |
| 6 | Bob Brockman | Drum Programming, Overdubs |
| 7 | Alfred Brown | Musician |
| 8 | Everett Collins | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 9 | David Conley | Composer |
| 10 | Larry Conley | Saxophone |
| 11 | Derrick Culler | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Jeremy Engel | Packaging Manager |
| 13 | Felix Farrar | Musician |
| 14 | Eileen Folson | String Contractor |
| 15 | Howard Fritzson | Art Direction |
| 16 | Crystal Garner | Musician |
| 17 | Juliet Haffner | Musician |
| 18 | Cecilia Hobbs | Musician |
| 19 | Clarissa Howell | Musician |
| 20 | Bernard Jackson | Bass, Composer, Drum Programming, Fretless Bass, Guitar, Producer, Rap, Synthesizer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 21 | Isham Jones | Composer |
| 22 | Jon Kass | Musician |
| 23 | Gene Lennon | Programming |
| 24 | Patmore Lewis | Musician |
| 25 | Alvin McCall | Musician |
| 26 | Diane Monroe | Musician |
| 27 | Garfield Moore | Musician |
| 28 | Stephen Moore | Project Director |
| 29 | Nedra Olds-Neal | Compilation Producer |
| 30 | Darcy Proper | Mastering |
| 31 | Maxine Roach | Musician |
| 32 | Brian Simpson | Composer |
| 33 | Richard Spencer | Musician |
| 34 | Surface | Primary Artist |
| 35 | Lesa Terry | Musician |
| 36 | Joshua Thompson | Keyboards, Strings, Synthesizer Bass |
| 37 | David Townsend | Composer, Drum Programming, Guitar, Keyboards, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass, Vocals (Background) |
| 38 | Diego Uchitel | Photography |
| 39 | Cesar Vera | Photography |
| 40 | Brenda Vincent | Musician |
| 41 | Bruce Wang | Musician |
| 42 | Belinda Whitney-Barratt | Concert Master |
| 43 | Bobby Wooten | Conductor, String Arrangements |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |