R&B group New Edition was at crossroads in the summer of 1987. The group’s fourth album, Under the Blue Moon, and their only one as a quartet, had only achieved gold sales. Those numbers were very different from the platinum sales of their previous two albums.
Nevertheless, the group was one of their label’s most popular acts. Label head Jheryl Busby had big plans for the group and would bring in producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and vocalist Johnny Gill to give the group a mature sound.
However, before working with Gill, NE built chemistry with Jam & Lewis for the lovely ballad. “Helplessly In Love.” Originally appearing on the soundtrack to 1987’s Dragnet, the song production was textbook Jam & Lewis, which perfectly accompanied the maturing tenors of group members Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell.
The double R connection sounds excellent together as they croon:
“Never knew the closing of a door
Could open up a heart
Since the day we met I needed you
(needed you)
In my life
To do and say the things that I
Needed to feel and hear
I’m just
Helplessly in love
(ooh)
Don’t know what to do, I’m
Helplessly in love
And the love in my heart
Is for you.”
A long-time favorite among NE fans, “Helplessly in Love” is one song that I wish they would add back to their concert setlist. While I was fortunate enough to hear Ralph perform it live during his stint with Heads of State (a side project with NE members Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown), I would love to hear it performed with Ricky Bell. “Helplessly in Love” was a perfect preview of the chemistry that Jam & Lewis would build with the New Edition collection.
Final Grade: A
“Helplessly in Love” is available on all streaming platforms.
There are some albums you revisit because of nostalgia, and then there are albums you return to because they remind you just how high the standard used to be. Anita Baker’s Rapture falls into that second category. Released in 1986, the album did more than make Baker a star. It helped define what sophisticated, grown R&B could sound like without losing any soul, sensuality, or personality.
Gwen Stefani had already established herself as a significant force with No Doubt when she released her debut solo album, *Love. Angel. Music. Baby* in 2004. This week, while my iPod was on shuffle, one of my favorite songs from that project, “The Real Thing,” came on. Although the original version has an upbeat new-wave feel, the Slow Jam Mix takes it to another level and is the perfect choice for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Unless you’re a music purist, mentioning Randy Jackson from the famous family is likely to elicit a joke. However, any serious Jackson fan knows that Randy had musical achievements long before the punchlines. Before he was old enough to buy a drink, he had already co-written “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” and “Lovely One” with Michael Jackson.