Jade - Mind, Body & Song

Jade's sophomore album, Mind, Body & Song, balances assembly-line r&b slow jams with funky, futuristic, and sexy mid-tempo cuts. Had they upped the emphasis on the latter, the album would have been more solid and the trio's future could have been brighter. Regardless, this set was released during the early-to-mid-1990s American r&b onslaught, when vocal groups were literally a dime a dozen. Jade were lumped with the SWVs and Xscapes of the era, although these gals exhibited class and sophistication similar to En Vogue. The first couple of songs on this set rank as absolutely average, with lyrics rarely reaching beyond banal good lovin'-type themes. However, by the set's first single, "5-4-3-2 (Yo Time Is Up)," the focus shifts to sexy, cool, and funky mid-tempo cuts. This track sounds almost futuristic, and was probably quite a bit ahead of its time, which explains its lowly peak on the American pop and r&b charts. The second single, the r&b disco cut "Every Day of the Week," proved to be a long lasting sleeper hit, and was definitely the album's most infectious and sassy cut, and one of the 1990s better dance hits. Other highlights include the almost neo-soul "Everything," the steamy "Do You Want Me," the jazzy, new-jill swing of "Bangin'," and the funky, low down jams "There's Not a Man" and "It's On." Despite an average beginning, this sexy and classy album turns out to be rather intoxicating, and a couple of tracks, namely "5-4-3-2," didn't deserve the lack of attention they received. ~ Jose F. Promis, All Music Guide

Name Credits Aaron Broussard Mixing Assistant, Assistant Engineer Antonina Armato Vocal Arrangement Booker T. Jones III Engineer Captain Curt Mixing, Remixing, Producer Carlos Warlick Mixing, Mixing Assistant Cassandra Mills Executive Producer, Producer, Vocal Producer Catherine Wessel Photography Chip ? ? Craig Porteils Engineer, Mixing Dave Hall Engineer, Producer David Betancourt Engineer, Mixing David Dashinger Mixing, Engineer Derek Nakamoto ?, Instrumentation Di Reed ?, Vocals DJ Pooh Producer, Mixing Donald Parks Drum Programming, Producer, Keyboard Programming, Keyboards Emanuel Officer Vocals (Background), Vocal Arrangement, Arranger, Producer Emmanuel Dean Producer Fred Kelly Assistant Engineer Gabriel Sutter Mixing, Engineer Greg Ross Art Direction, Design Jade Vocals, Producer, Vocals (Background) John Howcott Drum Programming, Keyboards, Producer, Keyboard Programming, Percussion, Vocals Joi Marshall ?, Vocals Jon Gass Engineer Jose Sanchez Assistant Engineer, Engineer Joseph McClendon Vocals (Background), Voices Josh Achziger Engineer Josh Achzinger Engineer L.A. Reid Producer, Keyboard Programming Laurnea Wilkerson Vocal Arrangement Leslie Paton Vocals (Background), Voices Lisa Po-Ying Huang Assistant Engineer Lorna Stovall Logo Art Louis Hinton Keyboard Programming, Keyboards Mark Morales Drum Programming, Producer, Mixing Mary Mary Voices, Vocals (Background) Matthew Ellard Assistant Engineer Mike Fonda Engineer, Mixing Milton Chan Engineer, Mixing Nick Brophy Engineer Rashad Coes Producer Richie V. Vocals (Background), Mixing, Voices Rob Chiarelli Remixing, Engineer, Mixing Robert Jerald Producer, Keyboard Programming, Drum Programming Robert Watson ? Shaun LaBelle ?, Instrumentation Shavon Smith Voices, Vocals (Background) Shivell Wilder Voices, Vocals (Background) Stan Jones Guitar Steve Churchyard Engineer, Mixing Steve Hall Mastering Terrance Davis Keyboards, Keyboard Programming Tina Antoine Mixing Assistant, Mixing Tonya Kelly Vocals, ? Warren Woods Engineer Wendell Wellman Keyboards, Keyboard Programming, Arranger, Drum Programming