by Alex HendersonSide Effect entered the '80s with its fifth album, After the Rain, which found Miki Howard replacing Sylvia St. James and becoming the group's fourth female singer. It also found Side Effect switching to Elektra after four albums with Fantasy, and it marked the first time a Side Effect album wasn't produced or co-produced by Wayne Henderson (Augie Johnson serves as producer this time). Despite all these changes, After the Rain isn't a radical departure from Rainbow Visions. Side Effect's distinctive sound was still something to admire, but on the whole, the quartet still didn't have five star material to go with that sound -- and it was still unable to hit big commercially. Nonetheless, this isn't a weak album. Material ranging from the exuberant "The Thrill Is Gone" (which has a Philadelphia type soul/disco appeal) and the insistent "Black Beauty," to the silky ballad, "Close to Me," is enjoyable, and "Pretty Baby" is a rare example of Side Effect delivering a 12 bar blues. Also noteworthy is the group's disco take on the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby." After the Rain is a likable LP that has more plusses than minuses, but even so, it's still clear that the group wasn't living up to its enormous potential.