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Review By Troy
The Men Are Back on The Block
After a fourteen-year hiatus, the boys return
to the block as men. The New Kids announced
their reunion earlier this year amidst a hurricane
of media speculation. Complete with a tour,
this reunion is the biggest thing since the
Spice Girls announced their comeback. The album
aptly titled The Block, is everything an album
in 2008 should sound like.
The album starts with the mid-tempo "Click
Click Click," which is a nice way to get
us back into boyband mode! It keeps with the
same formula of the original NKOTB songs, Jordan
and Joey trading verses, with a rap bridge.
You can almost hear the former teeny boppers
screaming nostalgia! Highlights from the album
include: "Summertime" [their return
single, which is a smooth summery hit], "Single"
[featuring Ne-Yo, is a perfect club anthem],
"Big Girl Now" [featuring Lady Gaga,
is probably the best song on the album and great
to listen to in the car!], and finally the most
exciting song on the album is "Full Service"
[with fellow reunited boyband, New Edition,
which is just a great duet.]
This album is chock full of drum beats, thumping
bass lines, and electronic samples. Along with
the aforementioned artists, collaborations include:
Pussycat Dolls, Akon, and Teddy Riley. Donnie
Wahlberg became the most involved with the project,
getting several co-writer credits as well as
an executive producer credit. With titles like
"Sexify My Love", "Grown Man",
and "2 In The Morning" its clear to
see the kids have officially grown up and delivered
a solid pop album, that will please fans both
old and new. As Joey McIntyre puts it in the
albums thank-yours, "Now let's take care
of business" and they sure have.
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