Twenty-two years ago, the fresh-faced New Kids on the Block made the teen world scream by tearing a page from the Elvis Presley playbook: They placed a white face, and spin, on sounds and styles created by African-Americans. Their svengali manager, Maurice Starr, had the brainstorm of taking the formula he'd concocted for the black teen act New Edition and superimposing it on five suburban cutie pies.
The result? Five times the sales.
It should come as no surprise, then, that on the New Kids' reunion album, "The Block" - released a long 14 years after their collapse - they likewise seized on current "urban" sounds and greatly popped them up. Only now, in the age of Justin Timberlake, there's a far blurrier line between "black" and "white" takes on R&B.
Oh, the irony.
The New Kids of the '80s begat the 'N Sync of the '90s (which gave Justin Timberlake his first berth). Now these one-time Kids have come back to ride Justin's coattails.
The weird part? They ride them well. Given the guys' inability to sustain careers as individual singers in the time between (with brief flurries of attention for Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre), it's a shock how strong they sound on "The Block." The "kid" who had the most notable career (Donnie Wahlberg) earned his kudos for acting, not warbling.
Singing isn't always the strongest suit on "The Block" either, though the guys do have their creamy moments. Many of the vocals get fed through a trendy vocoder synth sound, which blurs their voices as eagerly as it strives to mimic the hit-making style of T-Pain (who's made a fetish of this effect). Other vocals sound more processed than a vat of Velveeta. Thankfully, the song quality and production make up for it. At times "The Block" sounds like a smoother, and catchier, take on the hits of Chris Brown and Ne-Yo (who appears on one track).
The list of the CD's guest stars is telling. On one hand they've invited current hit-makers like human hook Akon and sight gag the Pussycat Dolls. On the other, they've brought back old-schoolers Teddy Riley and even New Edition. (The latter appear on a song that appealingly recalls Timberlake's pact with Madonna on "4 Minutes.")
Several '80s references turn up, as in "Swayze," a clever reference to the movie "Dirty Dancing," and the single "Summertime," which openly courts nostalgia. But the now old kids don't have to look back to make a connection. A cut like "2 in the Morning," with its airy Marvin Gaye allusion, has the kind of melody that proves they've once again got the right stuff. via
