Forever My Lady (Expanded Edition)

the take

Maturity is realizing that the second half of the original release of Jodeci's debut is actually good and overhated. But I think I'm jumping ahead a bit. As a connoisseur of early-90's R&B, I don't know what else to say that everyone else hasn't said about the first half of "Forever My Lady". Jodeci came out the gate with five banger ballads in a row, with the quartet sounding incredible in harmony and was able to paint a picture via how they got their thoughts and feelings across. You can't help but get sucked into their world from an outside perspective through these songs. Or in my case (slightly), having these first five songs being a current mood for me in my life as of late, which is why it's hitting a bit harder for me than before. The title track clears, but I can listen to these five in any order at any given time. But the second half (from the interlude on)? I remember not liking this side as much simply due to the extremely fast tempo these New Jack Swing songs had. Nowadays (as of September 26, 2025), I actually enjoy this batch quite a bit. Not as much as the ballads, but still great to enjoy listening to. I don't know if it was intentional to split the original album like that, but I say it actually worked out in the end. The second half of the album definitely sounds like a product of its time, but Jodeci managed to be a bit multi-dimensional and made this side consistent at the very least. Though I might have to be in the mood more to listen, "It's Alright" is the best of the bunch. Waaaaay overhated, if I can be honest. There's a reason why Jodeci is one of the best 90's R&B groups of all time (hell, maybe one of the best R&B groups of all time in any time period). While the majority of said reasoning is due to "Come & Talk to Me", "Stay", the title track and the like, this whole album is amazing from top to bottom.