January 03, 2005 @ 1:46 pm
New Edition - One Love (Bad Boy)
Sad but true, contemporary R&B has become one of the most at-risk genres on radio.
Sad but true, contemporary R&B has become one of the most at-risk genres on radio. With the exception of a few brave neo-souls, pretty much anybody making a pop R&B album these days is following a formula that can be traced back to the mid-’80s and the group New Edition. So it’s impressive that this group, which built the mold, has returned with One Love, a sleek new version of their own sound.
The album’s first single, “Hot 2Nite,” swings easily with just the slightest hint of a Caribbean tinge to the groove. The song’s lyrics remain runof-the-mill seduction patter, but New Edition’s five-way, tag-team tapestry of harmonies has never sounded better. “Start Turning Me On,” produced by Dre & Vidal, is similarly modest; the beat suctions along, steady but low key, creeping in the shadows as Ralph Tresvant moans, coos, and pleads for some girl to stop being so sexy. The backing vocals are a subtle, startling wall of oohs and aahs, rising and swelling like a string section. This reverie is slightly broken when Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe take turns rapping—not a good idea. (Save for R. Kelly’s recent attempt at emceeing, these days rappers rap and singers, well...sing.)
There are a few other unforgivable missteps: “Been So Long” is a little turgid and feels self-conscious, both in addressing NE’s long absence and in the song’s needlessly complex melodic shifts. And the Nisanproduced “Wildest Dreams” sounds like every R&B cliché you’ve ever heard tossed in a blender. The Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis–produced “Newness” and “Re-Write the Memories” also fall flat.
Making the most out of a few sparse elements, though, the gentle but insistent Stevie J–helmed “Sexy Lady” is a prime example of One Love’s masterfully slick, coolly discreet, and totally irresistible R&B.
While many of their contemporaries struggle to create sublime, baby-making tunes that glisten with a palpable, focused intensity, New Edition, after all these years, keeps the love alive.
Page printed from:
http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2005/01/new_edition_one_love_bad_boy/
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