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.
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.