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'Scuse me SHAstayhigh while I get on my A&R shit for a minute...
Why haven't these negroes figured out BALLADS/downtempo songs are their bread and butter?
Yall didn't make the best uptempo/party tracks in your heyday (remember side B of 'their debut?),
so yall definitely ain't gonna make the best uptempo tracks in the turnup era. These
are the kinds of things that maturity in the game are supposed to fix. Know your strengths.
In the scheme of the album, this is a small complaint, but big because it *opens* with
this grave mistake.
Like I say in the review below:
"they have a MUCH MUCH better shot at hitting in 2015 with a ballad than they do
with trying to sound "hip". Take notes from John Legend's recent success!
Even Lionel Richie once said the ballad would never go outta style. Listen to the old man."
With that said...
That 1st AND 2nd tracks need to either be eliminated or thrown on the tail end of the album.
As a matter of fact, just cut them both for the sake of having less filler on the album.
The album would then begin with one of the better songs on it, "Checkin For You"...
which is a ballad (surprise!)
That's when I said "THIS is what Jodeci is good at". Classic Jodeci chorus and everything.
"Those Things" is a nice pander to the nostalgia-lovers while doing a good job sounding "current".
Good job meeting everybody in the middle. Song is decent... not great, not bad... playable.
"Every Moment"... again, THIS is what Jodeci is good at. I can hear some things in
there that actually could have made the song better that they probably wouldn't have
let slide in the 90s, but it's a really good Jodeci song. DO MORE OF THIS.
"Nobody Wins" is an ok track, but I don't know why it was the single. In 2015, if they're
trying to do numbers, "Jennifer" probably should have been the single. If they don't
care about numbers, they shoulda gone with "Checkin For You" or "Incredible". At any
rate, song is decent and decent as a single if they wanted to make a social statement.
Also I understand having BOB on it for the possibility of reaching new fans, but I
find him unnecessary, personally, and would eliminate this version and just end
the album with the version without him.
Overall, I have the same feelings on the song I have for "These Things". Playable.
"Incredible" is a good ass song. Even the beat is dope (really dope). Nice, laid back
chill joint to slow dance or just vibe to. I fux with this one.
"Jennifer" .... yo. See this is why I say these Brothers need to understand how good
they are at ballads. It's like they can pump out a classic one in their sleep,
AND they have a MUCH MUCH better shot at hitting in 2015 with a ballad than they do
with trying to sound "hip". Take notes from John Legend's recent success!
Even Lionel Richie once said the ballad would never go outta style. Listen to the old man.
If they don't give a shit about that crossover money tho, I can respect that, but as
long as you're writing songs like this, you might as well GET IT.
"Body Parts", ..., aside from the 1st two songs, this is the only other one I think is trash.
It doesn't sound terrible, but the chorus (and title) are just silly sounding, and isn't
the best display of writing. Beat is actually pretty decent, but foh with this song, lol.
"Stress Reliever" is some more classic Jodeci. It's got that Jodeci feel you'd get from
the "Diary of a Mad Band" album. Good stuff here. All around good Jodeci music.
Overall, this is great Jodeci return. Only real changes I'd make would be eliminating
the 1st song, 2nd song (both versions), and the version of "Nobody Wins" with BOB
on it.
From my A&R perspective (sorry SHAstayhigh), "Jennifer" would currently be on
youtube with a touching video racking up millions of views. While "Checkin For You"
was also there to give cats like me (and most of us) a reason to check the album out.
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Days like this I miss Sha Mecca
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