Hard

by

Jagged Edge

Edit

Anyone who doesn't feel this CD is crazy! Each track has a certain personality to it. When you are done listening to the CD you will find at least one song stuck in your head! This CD is the best of JE's work. They never fail to amaze me. I have been a fan since A Jagged Era and will continue to be one. This is a great CD with tracks everyone can relate to. What's It Like is a personal favorite. It talks about leaving your childish ways and wanting to know what love is like. The beats are hot and the lyrics are great. If you don't have Hard make sure to go out and get it, you will not be disappointed!! JE YA'LL

Jagged Edge is a pretty talented male R&B group (and probably one of the only ones around right now) that is still capable of making good stuff. I liked "Walked Outta Heaven" as soon as I heard it, and their new song, "What's It Like", is pretty good too. But as far as the remainder of this album called Hard, well, they didn't really hit very hard.

The thing is, I think Jagged Edge are far more impressive when they do slow songs. Because as far as uptempo tracks go, the only one they ever did that really stood out was, of course, "Where the Party At". The fast songs on here aren't bad, but they're not that memorable either. Songs like "Tryna Be Your Man" and the Neptunes-inspired "Dance Floor" are okay, but they're full of nothing special.

Actually, some of the fast songs really COULD have been left behind, like "Girls Gone Wild" and "Car Show" (featuring Big Boi). And one truly uninspiring song is the obligatory Jazze Pha song "They Ain't JE", and its remix is included as a bonus track (and that's not very exciting either).

Like I said before, the slow songs are where things REALLY impress, like on the title track and "I Don't Wanna". But even those songs only show a little bit of how JE can deliver, especially when measured against past ballads like "Promise", "Gotta Be" or "Let's Get Married". This album is okay, but it seems weak compared to their other stuff. It looks like Jagged have lost their Edge.

Anthony Rupert