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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
STAYING ON THE SAFE SIDE - PART II to the 1984 album..., May 27, 2000
This being New Edition's third complete album, 'All For Love' was the last of their successful bubblegum records. 1986 was around the corner and the sound of music was changing and rap was becoming more popular in mainstream media - which meant fans wanted a more mature sound. In some respects, they got that from "All for Love" and once again, New Edition managed to keep going. The best way to describe this album is that it is a sequel to the previous one, with little change in formula. The album opens up with "Count Me Out" which employs the same sonic elements as "Cool It Now", but the song is still able to satisfy. "A Little Bit Of Love (Is All It Takes)" is the album's standout track, and sounds different than any of their previous material. The album mellows out on "Sweet Thing", another personal favorite of mine. New Edition manages to drop another classic on us in the form of "With You All The Way", which is a distant cousin of "Lost In Love" sonically. After one listen, you cannot deny its power however and quickly realize that this song is a gem."Friends" is a mellow song featuring Ricky Bell, Ralph Tresvant and Bobby Brown, and is the last song in the first five song line-up that is consistently good. This song is innocent yet seductive at the same time, and illustrates the growing up that New Edition must have been going through during this time. "Kickback" is O.K. Then on "Tonight's the Night", Ralph is able to convey a deep adolescent yearning for intimacy with his loved one. "Whispers In Bed" is the most risque of the ballads on this album, but somehow maintains the same innocence that we have come to expect from New Edition in the early to mid 80s. "Who Can You Trust" is another solo Bobby joint which is nice and catchy - too bad he was not around to push it as a single, it may have had a chance since it sounded somewhat different. The N.E. posse gets together on "School", a rap about the importance of staying in school. The message is good but the format is extremely cheesy. You have to give them props for the effort though. The title track (and last one) is utterly disappointing. To sum things up, the album starts off strong and goes downhill after "Friends". But it is still a good one to have for any NE fan in that it still has relevance in three hit singles and some noteworthy album tracks.
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by New Edition 
