Forever My Lady - Jodeci

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Lots of bangers
Disadvantages:	A few tunes let it down

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"Forever My Lady" is the debut album from one of the biggest R&B group of the nineties, Joedci. Made up of brothers, DeVante, and Mr. Dalvin, as well as other set, K-Ci and Jojo (who went on to be a separate duo), the group changed the way that R&B would be performed. It has them do the style of music in such a way that it would not only be appealing to the idyllic female fan base, but also the males too as they were branded, the "Bad Boys of R&B".

1. "Stay

This is the second single from the group, and one whichc managed to get them to the top of the R&B singles chart at the time of release. It is a smooth one to start things off, and gets the group all show off their individual talents before getting into a themed tune, in which the focus is put on expressing heartbreak after a lover has gone.

**Four Stars**

2. "Come & Talk To Me"

In the slowly paced track, you get the group coming together for a gentle love song. I have to say that despite being one of the amin single from the piece, it did very littel for me. I was impressed by the performance of the Hailey brothers though (K-Ci & Jojo), who dominated the tune.

**Three Stars**

3. "Forever My Lady"

This is another chart-topper from the group, and has prodcution taken over by Al B. Sure (instead of DeVante Swing, who deos it for the remainder of the album). As the title track from the thing, it had to be a big one, and it certainly fulfils this with a highly emotive piece, which has Jojo lead.

**Four Stars**

4. "I'm Still Waiting"

The pace is kept low for this one, however DeVante attempts to switch things up with a little experimentation in his production. It is a highly complex one, anthe vocals a little too much, but it remains a decent one from them, as there is very little wrong with it aside from this.

**Three Stars**

5. "U&I"

You get some very typical early ninteis/late eighties R&B for this one as all the prodcution is done by Devante Swing all on the 808s. it brings back the feel of the times, and brings down the mood, to create a rather sensual one; perfect for how they do things.

**Four Stars**

6. "553-Nasty" (Lude)

7. "My Phone"

The tempo is brought up for this one as they are given a more energetic thing to work with on this one. They try a Swing track for this one, and the switch is need by this point, as many of the males are bound to have been bored of this sensual stuff directed only to the females.

**Four Stars**

8. "Gotta Love"

DeVante changes up his style even more for this one as he keeps the lively nature of things goign. The momentum is built up by another of these, and it shows how well the group can cope with material which is suited to more feel-good moments to what they are generally known for.

**Four stars**

9. "Play Thang"

This one really gets you goign as the group hit us with a comlpex New Jack Swing one, where lots of energy has been put into making the beats perfect for grooving to, and it certainly works. Although not as strong as the others in this style, it does what you want from it.

**Three Stars**

10. "It's Alright"

This one has Jodeci performing a little New Jack Swing. Although it s late in this phase of R&B, this short display of up-tempo, club-suited stuff is just the type of thing you expect to here from a male vocal group who aim to appeal to both genders equally. Its difficult to pull yourself away from this hot dance number.

**Five Stars**

11. "Treat U"

Everything heard in the salt few tracks is brought onto this one, and it seems that they have progressively been working up to some bangers in this and the one which proceeded it. You can't help but get into a throwback mood to match the time when this was all recorded an performed.

**Five Stars**

12. "Xs We Share"

This one is perfectly in tune with what was going on at the time with music in general. it has DeVante lending from the reliable source in Synth Pop and what was going on in the R&B game to come up with a gentle one for you to just vibe to without having to really put much effort in. it is a great way to end thing as the tempo is maintained at a high, and they sing about the themes whcich have been prevalent throughout the album.

**Four Stars**

For a debut, this has got to be one of the best in R&B as Jodeci came up with a hit-filled release, having them show off how they are capable of seducing women with seductive lyrics and giving the men some enterainment by offering dance tunes too. It all works very well, and you can't complain about much in it.