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.
In the year 2023, if you were to count the number of singing competitions that emerged after the success of American Idol in 2002, you might run out of fingers. One constant from all of the shows is that they rarely produce a male R&B singer who becomes a force in the genre.
R&B singer Tank has been in the music industry for over two decades. He is currently on the road with R&B legends Guy and Keith Sweat as one of the opening acts for New Edition’s Legacy Tour. Despite Tank’s pen game and impressive catalog, some eighties babies weren’t keen on Tank as part of the tour.
The production teams of McFadden & Whitehead and Gamble & Huff of Philadelphia International Records stand out for me because they have always brought something unique to the table. So for this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I decided to give flowers to the self-titled debut album from McFadden & Whitehead.
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