The Jones Girls weren't from Philadelphia; Shirley, Brenda, and the late Valorie Jones were natives of Detroit. But because they recorded for
Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International Records in the late '70s and early '80s, and enjoyed their greatest commercial success at that label, some R&B fans have automatically assumed they were from Philly. In 1983, however, the
Jones Girls left Philadelphia International and signed with RCA, which released
On Target that year. Produced by Robert Wright and
Fonzi Thornton,
On Target is a stylistic departure from
the Jones Girls' Philadelphia International output, and instead of sounding like a combination of
the Three Degrees and
the Emotions,
the Jones Girls end up sounding like a combination of
the Emotions,
Chic,
Change, and Dick Griffey's Solar Records sound (as in
Shalamar, Dynasty, and
Carrie Lucas). Unfortunately,
On Target didn't sell; the album only made it to number 59 on Billboard's R&B albums chart, whereas 1979's
The Jones Girls and 1980's At Peace with Woman both reached the Top Ten on that charts. But this is a solid outing nonetheless, and Wright and
Thornton do right by
the Jones Girls on infectious grooves such as "2 Win U Back," "Curious," "I Can Make a Difference," and the title song (all of which Wright and
Thornton wrote). One of the few songs on this album that Wright and
Thornton didn't write is
Van McCoy's "Baby, I'm Yours," which was a major hit for
Barbara Lewis (of "Hello Stranger" fame) in 1965;
the Jones Girls successfully add a touch of funk to the tune, while staying true to its sentimental nature. For a long time,
On Target was out of print. But in 2011, the Brooklyn-based Funky Town Grooves reissued it as a 60-minute CD and added three bonus tracks (including extended mixes of "2 Win U Back" and the title song), as well as two sets of liner notes (one by
Thornton, the other by Brian Chin). And while
On Target isn't as essential as 1979's
The Jones Girls or 1980's At Peace with Woman, it is an enjoyable effort that should have done much better back in 1983. ~ Alex Henderson