21st December - Jodeci's Diary of a Mad Band

Artist – Album: Jodeci – Diary of a Mad Band

Released: 21^st December 1993

Sounds Like: Diary of a mad man

Why did I choose Jodeci? It was a straight shoot out between this and a half-decent DMX album called …And Then There Was X. Honestly, I kind of assumed that Jodeci’s Diary of a Mad Band was a metal album and so I chose it to give us some respite from the countless R&B records we’ve been through recently. How wrong I was.

Jodeci are not a metal band. They do not rock in the slightest. They are, instead, early 90’s exponents of boring R&B and New Jack Swing (fun fact: those irritating manchilds JLS are named after the movement Jack the Lad Swing, a direct descent of NJS) who sound like a Boyz II Men tribute act. Never bad, it somehow tightrope walks that thin line of total indifference, which in it’s own way is much, much worse. Previous bad albums such as those infernal Dixie Chicks were terrible, but at least they left a mark – Diary of a Mad Band skips across my conscience like a skimmed stone. I’ve half a mind to give it a worse score than the lowest ratings I’ve yet meted out but I actually don’t want to honour it with that anti-accolade.

The album may have a pretty damn impressive claim to fame – it features the first ever album appearances from each of Timbaland, Missy Elliott and Ginuwine – but even those illustrious acts cannot save it from beige mediocrity.

Albumaday... rating: 5/10

1.       My Heart Belongs to U – 5:02

2.       Cry for You – 5:01

3.       Feenin’ – 5:10

4.       What About Us – 5:20

5.       Ride & Slide – 4:57

6.       Alone – 4:44

7.       You Got It – 5:56

8.       Won’t Waste You – 4:55

9.       In the Meanwhile – 4:22

10.   Gimme All You Got – 3:42

11.   Sweaty – 5:54

12.   Jodecial Hotline – 3:11

13.   Success – 4:41

Listen to ‘My Heart Belongs to U’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh5h2hYMjbo

Also released on the 21^st December:

1999: DMX - ...And Then There Was X

20th December - Mary J. Blige's The Breakthrough

Artist – Album: Mary J. Blige – The Breakthrough

Released: 20^th December 2005

Sounds Like: No more drama in my life          

Hats off to Mary J. Blige. I do try to listen to each album with open ears (is that the correct phrase??) but, having grown up during a period of tepid R&B dominance, I had particularly low expectations for this one. Worse still, I remembered the chokingly poor team up with U2 for the cover of ‘One’, a version that was more bilge than Blige. Suffice to say, I was bracing myself for two thumbs down for this effort.

But, I’m pleased to say, I was dead wrong. On album highlight ‘MJB da MVP’ (one of many collaborations, this time with 50 Cent), Blige proclaims herself the “Soul hip hop queen” and she means it. Few can match her for her stunning vocals, and whilst Mariah got lost in some loopy dreamworld and Whitney battled with addiction and bad men, Mary had the smarts to keep it real. Her influence on the best R&B/soul artists such as Aaliyah and Alicia Keys is plain to see, but she was also able to keep up with the times – ‘Be Without You’ and ‘MJB da MVP’ are excellent singles.

Blige was 34 by the time of the Breakthrough, and so it’s understandable that matters in her life have settled somewhat. Despite her ‘Baggage’, she’s now happy and married and that old attitude has simmered down a bit. Regardless, great production, top notch vocals, and simply the most consistent set of songs Blige has worked with in a long time make for a thoroughly enjoyable record. As long as you ignore the U2 track.

Albumaday... rating: 7/10

1.       No One Will Do – 4:46

2.       Enough Cryin – 4:20

3.       About You – 4:04

4.       Be Without You – 4:06

5.       Gonna Breakthrough – 4:00

6.       Good Woman Down – 4:07

7.       Take Me as I Am – 3:57

8.       Baggage – 3:35

9.       Can’t Hide from Luv – 3:52

10.   MJB da MVP – 3:21

11.   Can’t Get Enough – 3:40

12.   Ain’t Really Love – 4:40

13.   I Found My Everything – 5:23

14.   Father in You – 5:23

15.   Alone – 4:29

16.   One – 4:20

 
Listen to ‘Baggage’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmrnnr_1Ipk