Jagged Edge
Twins Brandon and Brian Casey, heart and soul of Jagged Edge, have got a good thing going: What artist wouldn't want to clone himself in the name of tight harmonies and flow that's DNA-deep?Jagged Edge,the brothers' fifth outing with bandmates Kyle Norman and Richard Wingo, finds them tight as ever, only in a slightly raunchier mood than we're accustomed to (were previous Jagged titles plastered with "EXPLICIT" stickers?). All the standard seductions expected of smooth R&B; operators sit in a mid-disc, mid-tempo clump--"Get a Lil' Bit of This" begets the moaner that is "Crying Out," which begets the tender "Good Luck Charm"--and padding them on either side are a handful of songs on which the word "lovin'" could be rhymed with "hotter than an oven" interchangeably. "Watch You" paints a lusty post-shower scene, the title of "Baby Feel Me" is to be taken literally, and "A** Hypnotic" pretty much speaks for itself. The exception is "Season's Change," on which superstar John Legend guests. There, the vibe is "Ordinary People" and the vocals are a small miracle of give and take, besting even this disc's two likable Jermaine Dupri-produced tracks. Is there anything Legend--who's fast growing into his last name--can't class up?--Tammy La Gorce