REVIEW: NKOTB, Face The Music
- Bob Gajarsky
Before New Kids on the Block changed their name to NKOTB, the formula for success was simple: put a couple of bubble-gum pop songs together with a few ballads, add a couple dance steps, and watch them soar up the charts. However, after breaking with producer Maurice Starr and enduring a worldwide backlash against them, NKOTB don't have it easy anymore. So, it's time for the five men (yes, men) from Dorchester, Massachusetts to Face The Music.
The first single, "Dirty Dawg", is not garnering the attention it should receive. Sounding like Color Me Badd with a faster beat, NKOTB sample the James Brown "Papa Don't Take No Mess". Granted, James Brown isn't the most original person to sample, but you've got to start somewhere. And, taken as a *song*, instead of "New Kids", it's not bad; a driving beat and a catchy hook.
"You Got The Flavor" makes NKOTB sound like Portrait, while being a weaker song than Black Sheep's "Flavor Of The Month". The title isn't the only thing that's similar between the two songs; the refrain sounds quite similar to the Black Sheep tune. However, it's got a beat, and is a bit stronger than almost all of the group's previous tracks.
On the album's title track, "Face The Music", NKOTB say they've grown up. Unfortunately, these few songs are not indicative of the entire album. The hip-hop songs make NKOTB sound like an R&B act trying to break into the pop scene, but the album is laden with nods to their multi-million selling past as teenage heartthrobs.
Fans not into hip-hop will find immediate familiarity with the ballads "If You Go Away" and "Never Let You Go". Although the album includes producers such as Teddy Riley (Guy, SWV, Whitney Houston), Narada Michael Walden (Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey) and Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton), the ballads sound almost identical to tracks with Starr such as "Please Don't Go Girl".
NKOTB have stepped away from Maurice Starr to their self-proclaimed hip-hop roots. Although most people can only dream of NKOTB's past album sales, their previous success will continue to hang around their neck like an albatross until a formal break from the past is made. Face The Music should be viewed as a maturation as NKOTB discover for the first time what sampling and a groove can do. If they scratch the ballads and continue growing, NKOTB could evolve into a successful hip-hop act.
