Twenty-six years in the game, Atlanta-based quartet Jagged Edge remains strong. Fans are eagerly awaiting All Original Parts, the group’s eleventh studio album. Thankfully JE stays on the road and recently blessed fans with a new single. This year for Valentine’s Day, JE released a cover of Deon Estus’s “Heaven Help Me.” JE changes things a bit by changing the last phrase to us.
Now I was overly critical of JE’s last two albums, The Layover and A Jagged Love Story. However, I was a fan of their cover of the Air Supply hit, “All Out Of Love,” so I was open to giving the song a chance. The song “Heaven Help Me” by Deon Estus was a heart-wrenching plea for help as the narrator reflected on the loneliness and difficulty of dealing with a breakup. Deon expresses a longing for their former partner and pleads with Heaven to help them move on. The change overwhelms him, and he finds comfort in reminiscing about her. Despite their situation, his plea for help reminds him never to give up hope in difficult times.
The Casey twins’ production has always complimented their vocal harmony. Twins Brian Casey & Branden Casey, Richard Wingo, and Kyle Norman deliver some of their familiar four-part harmonies in their rendition. Additionally, the twins produced the song. JE updated the song with more contemporary instrumentation. The added bass line and modern instrumentation give the updated version of the song a sound some will love.
Although the song sounds good enough to satisfy die-hard JE fans, auto-tune isn’t working. We all know that Jagged Edge can sing, and why they use auto-tune is beyond me. The original version is simplistic, which makes the song work. Here it seems like Jagged Edge is chasing trends again. Silk Sonic showed us what can be done with R&B covers last year when they did “Love’s Train,” which catered to the younger generation and old-school fans. Sadly this song is another heartbreak for this JE fan.
Final Grade C-
“Heaven Help Us” isn’t available to stream yet. However, you can view the video here JAGGED EDGE – HEAVEN HELP US (DEON ESTUS REMAKE) – YouTube
I’ve always been a fan of Eric Bellinger. My admiration stems not only from the records he has released under his own name but also from the impressive career he built behind the scenes. Long before casual R&B listeners recognized his face, they were already familiar with his songwriting through tracks he penned for artists like Chris Brown, Usher, Justin Bieber, and Wale.
As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit Paisley Park earlier this week while vacationing in Minnesota. During the tour, our guide shared that an expanded edition of Prince’s album “Parade” is expected to be released to celebrate its 40th anniversary. After spending the day exploring the Twin Cities, it felt like the perfect excuse to revisit one of the most fascinating and underrated albums in Prince’s legendary catalog.
One of the reasons I’ve always considered Prince to have the edge over Michael Jackson is his remarkable collection of ballads and