Daron Jones made a name for himself in nineties R&b as a member of 112, in addition to writing songs for the likes of Usher, Pink, and Jamie Foxx. In 2010 five years after the release of 112’s fifth album, Mr. Jones released his first solo album, Uncensored. However, I wanted to look at one of Daron’s cover EPs this week.
Arriving on platforms in 2015, The Unofficial Diary of Daron Jones allowed the singer to show off his baritone vocals and piano skills. Mr. Jones opens the EP with the interlude “Gift To You,” which transitions into a commendable cover of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song For You.” Kudos to Mr. Jones for making the song his own and never trying to out-sing Donny.
Two Stevie Wonder songs, “Overjoyed” and “All Is Fair in Love,” sound good. But the fundamental strong points are in his versions of “Tender Love” by Force MDs and “Never Felt This Way” by Brian McKnight. Both songs were already piano-driven ballads, so Daron has a chance to show out.
“Zoom” by The Commodores closes out the EP, and Jones evokes the church feel of the original song. The only minor misstep on the EP is The Carpenter’s “Superstar,” which Luther Vandross already claimed back in the early eighties. Jones sounds find on the song; I wish he would have given a different Luther song.
Nevertheless, this is a fine EP of covers worth a listen to.
Final Grade: B
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.