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
One of the great things about buying a soundtrack when I was in my DJ prime was discovering a slow jam that I could put on my mix CDs. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to highlight one of the songs: Jagged Edge’s cover of Air Supply’s, “All Out of Love.”
After twenty-six years in the game, Atlanta-based quartet Jagged Edge is currently on the road celebrating the anniversary of their magnum opus sophomore album, “J.E. Heartbreak,” with a tour titled “An Intimate Evening With Jagged Edge.” To kick off our seventh wedding anniversary celebration, my wife and I will be the D.C. date on the tour this coming Wednesday.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to travel back to 1999 and show some love to R&B group Amyth, which was initially signed to LL Cool J Rock the Bells Records. Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the group was formed in 1995 while the members were students at Southern University.