My growing fear for Boyz II Men is that with each passing album they become a little bit less than the successors of New Edition, and more adult contemporary like Michael Bolton. Not that there’s anything wrong with adult contemporary music, but with a group like Boyz II Men which has an abundant talent, you want people to be able to appreciate their craft and artistry.


- Who Is Boyz II Men? -

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last ten years then it’s quite possible that you’ve never heard of the quartet – but if you haven’t, the likelihood that you’ve never had a Boyz II Men experience of some kind is doubtful. Nate, Mike, Shawn and Wanya make up the soulful R&B group who hail from Philadelphia (do all R&B groups come from here?) and were discovered by New Edition member Michael Bivins.


Full Circle is the groups 5th full-length studio album (not including a Spanish language album, remix and Christmas album) and is probably the closest to their best album: II.

- Track Listing -
1. Relax Your Mind f/ Faith Evans
2. The Color Of Love
3. Ain’t A Thang Wrong f/ Rob Jackson
4. Oh Well
5. Whatcha Need
6. On The Road Again
7. Makin’ Love (interlude)
8. Roll Wit Me
9. Right On Time
10. Howz About It
11. That’s Why I Love You
12. I’m OK, You’re OK
13. Luv N U
14. I’ll Show You

The first song on Full Circle is ”Relax Your Mind” which features an infinitely small came from Faith Evans. The mid-tempo ditty is actually good in my mind until Evans drops by. It’s not that she can’t sing (I love her voice), but it just seemed so unnecessary to have her show up that she could have been left out. ”The Color Of Love” is one of the reasons that I almost didn’t buy this album. The notion of adult contemporary really rears its head on this track. Written and produced by Babyface - I expected much more but I will say that the vocals are flawless and its easier to listen to without the video.

Although adult contemporary seems to be a recurring theme in this review I have to say that the fellas seem to have gelled together well. The vocals are confident, strong and they even wrote and produce some of the albums tracks, which seems to be a logical progression and one that works for them.

”Ain’t A Thang” doesn’t suit the group at all. It’s just too mainstream and not classy like you’d expect from the group. In addition there is a guest rapper which I’m lobbying against – I want all R&B artists to stop putting raps in the middle, beginning, end or any part of songs.

It just so happens that the two best songs on the album are ”Oh Well” and ”That’s Why I Love You” which were both produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. What makes ”Oh Well” so supremely beautiful is that it has an amazing string arrangement – not just 4 people, a full all out section of strings that is so mellifluous. The latter is not so musically impressive but Jam and Harris really know how to work their magic on a love song and this is no exception. Being able to include Michael who is the bass and being able to pick out everyone else’s vocals but still getting the effect of having them be meshed is quality.

”Whatcha Need” is another standout and surprised me because its upbeat which I don’t prefer from Boyz II Men. Same thing with ”Roll Wit Me” - upbeat but manages to work really well for the group. Produced by Scott Storch for Angry Jew Productions (actual name that I found comical and decided to include).

- The Bottom Line -

Boyz II Men really has done something good with ”Full Circle”. They’ve managed to convince me that they aren’t just balladeers capable of bringing women to their knees but able to move me as well. Without question this is their best album since II and hopefully it will be able to gain them the respect and attention they deserve. For now they still do dangle a bit between that dreaded adult contemporary title and strict R&B, but regardless of genre or label this is a good album.







Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving