For this week’s slow jam Saturday, I wanted to highlight a track from an ill-fated reunion album that should have been more successful. After releasing their second album, The Future, Guy took a hiatus in 1990. Group members and brothers Aaron and Damion Hall would release solo albums, while Teddy Riley would become an in-demand producer and form another group, Blackstreet.
Despite two soundtrack appearances (“Tell Me What You Like” from New York Undercover and “The Best” from Wild Wild West), it seemed like the group’s reunion would never come to fruition. The R&B trio finally reunited officially, and their third album Guy III hit stores on January 25, 2000. The first single, “Dancin’,” would become the group’s highest-charting single on the Billboard Hot 100. While the follow-up single “Why You Wanna Keep Me from My Baby” wasn’t as successful, it showcased the pristine vocals of Aaron Hall.
“Love Online,” “Tellin Me No,” and “Not A Day” were all also strong album tracks and are still in my rotation today.
However, one particular song from Guy III is my favorite. “Rescue Me” was produced by Teddy Riley, Daryl “Dezo” Adams, and Walter “Mucho” Scott. The production trio did a creative sample of “Dedicated To The One I Love” by The Tempress. “Resuce Me” starts with a man calling his lady to check on her and realizing she is going through something. From there, listeners experience a five-minute slow jam that showcases the production talent of Teddy Riley and the vocal prowess of the Hall Brothers.
MCA should have released this one as a single, and I can only imagine how great it would sound in concert.
Final Grade: A-
Guy III is available on all streaming platforms.
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.