Customer Reviews

Full Circle

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What do you call this stuff? Judging by what I hear on the radio, it's fairly archaic, with a DNA based on doo-wop and an RNA from Motown. I get the impression that Boyz 2 Men are passe with the Youth, but I swear I never heard or heard of them until they sang the Star-Spangled Banner at a baseball game I attended. Usually the national anthem is a form of torture to the ears almost as vicious as a Bush State of the Union to the conscience, but the Boyz sang the old song with artistry and taste. I was impressed. Just the fact that they could sing four-part harmony in very good tuning made me want to hear them on their own turf.

And now I have. Scoffers, pay attention. There are definite musical values here. The rhythm tracks are too monotonous and predictable, and the Boyz take very few chances with their riffs, way fewer than traditional gospel singers like Claude Jeter for instance. But their songs have structure and even some chromatic development, and the Boyz have the ears for close harmony. Another reviewer declares that he's "waiting" for them to cut loose. I'm not sure what he wants to hear, but I feel the same way. The pop genre is too confining for their talent. Like the Beatles when they discovered Indian music, the Boyz are ready to reveal their awareness of the larger musical world. I can imagine them taking on the challenge of real jazz singing, or just to be totally fantastical, hearing the Hilliard Ensemble singing Orlando de Lassus and thinking 'Wow! That's something we can learn from!"

Boyz II Men is the best R&B group in history. They have won nearly every award and accolade there is to win, broken numerous music records and brought real talent and beautiful harmonies back to R&B and pop music, totally overshadowing, from a talent standpoint, all the other boy bands and groups of their time.

Boyz II Men has creativity that rival Prince and Michael, and vocal maturity matched only by Gospel greats Commissioned and Take 6.

I used to be a rap fanatic and thought music was for sissies and girls. That is, until Boyz II Men came along and helped me not only discover my voice for music. Now, instead of rapping and hearing girls say, "shut up", now I'm singing and hearing them say, "Oooh, do that again!" Music truly is a manly art when done correctly, as Boyz II Men has proven.

The only weakness of Boyz II Men is their marketing. Some of the best songs never make it to the radio or to video. The American public is partially to blame for turning their backs on Boyz II Men, instead listening to lesser groups who's names I won't mention (please, you know who you are). That's not to say these groups aren't talented - they are - but they're no Boyz II Men by far. Sorry, you're not.

And what is up with the way Americans view this group? I think we were so blown away by their lush harmonies and skillful voices over smooth tracks and slow tempos with great lyrics that we expect them to only sing slow songs. I'm so tired of hearing people say their fast songs aren't good or they're played out. Are you serious? This is a group of skilled men who've perfected their art. If they were martial artists with this same level of greatness, Bruce Lee would not be the best ever, he'd be 2nd to Boyz II Men.

Boyz II Men spends most of their time in asian countries because their largest fan base is there. Why? Wake up, America! This is and always has been a fantastic group, better than any other groups R&B has to offer and they deserve to be paid attention to and recognized as the best there is.

Be it slow, mid to fast tempo, or acappella, Boyz II Men writes and sings some of the best songs ever written. Slow songs like IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE, UHH AHH, 50 CANDLES, YESTERDAY, DREAMS, MAKIN' LOVE DO YOU REMEMBER, DOIN' JUST FINE, OH WELL, I DO, LUV N U and I'LL SHOW YOU, they are unmatched in their level of skill. Mid and fast tempo songs such as MOTOWNPHILLY, ON BENDED KNEE, JEZEBEL, THANK YOU, TO THE LIMIT, HUMAN II, WHAT THE DEAL, COME ON, BABY C'MON, ROLL WIT ME, I'M OKAY, YOU'RE OKAY, ON THE ROAD AGAIN and I FINALLY KNOW...no one else in the music business has the depth, variety and maturity that Boyz II Men has. And this isn't even close to half the list of great songs they have!

The only song I haven't really cared much for from Boyz II Men is I CAN'T LET HER GO, produced by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. Mixing Puff with Boyz II Men, for this song, anyway, is like mixing dirty water with clean water. All you end up with is dirty water! The song wasn't terrible, but it's my least favorite from this group; it could've been better.

In this album, Boyz II Men has created the perfect blend of upbeat dance songs and songs with a more hardcore vibe with some of the best harmonies and ballads to date. Songs like AIN'T A THANG WRONG, WHATCHA NEED, ROLL WIT ME, ON THE ROAD AGAIN, and I'M OKAY, YOU'RE OKAY, light up the album with the hard baselines, great arrangements, and solid lyrics. All this, coupled with COLOR OF LOVE, an anthem of a hope for peace to the world, in a classic Boyz II Men style, and songs like MAKIN' LOVE, THAT'S WHY I LOVE YOU, LUV N U. And my personal favorite, due to its rich harmonies and deep meaning, I'LL SHOW YOU. I feel that this is their best work ever and, as the previous album title EVOLUTION suggests, they'll only get better, even with the exit of Michael "Bass" McCary from the group. Yes, sadly enough, it's true...

One more thing: Boyz II Men, as individuals and as a group, need to become better marketers. Just before the release of the FULL CIRCLE album, the group appeared on TV (BET) and Shawn Stockman called it "a pretty good album". I dropped my head in shame. Michael McCary then called it, "the best album we've ever made". Shawn Stockman's reply was: "...Okay", as if he didn't believe it was, which means he felt like he settled for less than the best. I could've punched a hole in the TV set. SELL THE ALBUM! YOU CAN'T DO THAT IF YOU SOUND LESS THAN TOTALLY HAPPY AND ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT IT! People will pick up on that and you'll lose record sales because of it! Why would anybody buy your album if even you don't like it?

Regardless, after reviewing this album for myself, I've come to the conclusion that this is a great work of art and I will buy every Boyz II Men album that comes out. This is how I feel about Boyz II Men:

"...I bought 2 copies, cuz other than that, all y'all other dudes is sloppy!"

-Jin (Learn Chinese), Rough Ryders, freestyle in the booth with Big Tigger on BET.

Be on the lookout for the upcoming album from Boyz II Men entitled THROWBACK, in stores August 24, 2004!

Wow, Boyz II Men are back and coming on strong once again. With the vast dissapointment of Evolution, and the poor marketing of Nathan, Michael, Shawn, & Wanya, Boyz II Men are back with a new label, Arista, and are letting everyone know that they aren't leaving with Full Circle. This CD is awesome and the tracks like Whatcha Need are reminiscent of the ballads from their Sophmore album II. I would recomend this album to anybody, fan or just looking for some good music.

I'm a huge Boyz II Men fan. I have all of their albums and think they are arguably the best singing group out there (talent wise), but you can tell Babyface's influence. Their last album was subpar. I can't even remember a song off of it. This album is just as bad with the exception of "Color of Love" (Babyface again) and maybe "Oh Well". None of the other songs flowed well. I can't tell the chorus from the verses in some. Guys, stick to the ballads that's what you do best. I still think they are great guys and I'll continue to buy their music.

Boyz II Men will always be the best when it comes to harmonic ballads.
What makes this album good is the ballads and slow melodies.

Notable tracks:
-Relax your Mind(ft Faith Evans) - This is a great intro song, slow/uptempo so you can sit back or get up and dance.
-Color of Love - This is what Boyz II Men are all about. A classic ballad!
-Oh Well - Sad ballad, meaningful lyrics
-Whatcha need - good melodies and harmonies
-On the road again - one of my favourites on the album. displays their ability to combine their voices.
-Makin' Love (Interlude) - Okay, it's an interlude, BUT A VERY GOOD ONE INDEED!
-Roll Wit Me - The only dance track that i liked, very non-Boyz II Men, but its pretty good
-I'll Show You - the outro song. Strong ballads and great vocal capacity.

Overall, this is a whole LOT better than their previous effort.

I waited for this CD all summer and I was not disappointed.
Boyz II Men are still the best male vocalizers out there. Their attention to harmony and sound is phenonomenal. There is no group who can flat out, out sing these guys. The selections on this CD are truly great. My favorite so far is "Right on Time". That song takes me back to a time when R&B singers knew how to evoke pure emotion from a song. Also listen to the harmonic mastery found on "Oh Well", a perfectly arranged love song that inspires you to fall in love. The Jam/Lewis, Babyface collaborations are brilliant to say the least. I'm glad they worked with the masters again for this project. I thought NMSW, the last CD, was their best, but Full Circle is pulling a close second if not a tie. Any Boyz II men fan will love this CD.

Wow! I can't believe I took so long to listen to this album. Early into its release, I heard negative stuff about it because I didn't care much for their previous release, I avoided this one until now...two years later. This album is AWESOME and really is a full circle back to the day when Boyz II Men became my favorite group. I love this compilation of songs and their harmony is as tight as ever here and the songs compliment their voices. In the days when it seems to take very little singing talent to get an music contract, Boyz II Men prove once again that their silky smooth voices rides FULL CIRCLES around the rest of the "boy band" competition! I LOVE YOU, SHAWN! (just had to throw that in) :-)

Well, Full Circle is a lot better than Nathan Michael Shawn Wayna (admit it, fans in denial, that album wasn't that great). Musically, their harmonies haven't sounded this good since II, and this album is overall solid (with the exception of "Roll Wit Me", a corny attempt to reach out to the younger audience). The best songs have to be the piano ballad "Oh Well" and the lustful "Right on Time", and this album may even be on my Best of 2002 list. Unfortunately, their glory days have come and gone. Boyz II Men are still the best modern-day group I've heard and they can still sing circles around anybody, but in a world full of *NSYNC's and B2K's, the Boyz are about as relevent as The O'Jays (as in, "Girl, they used to be the bomb back in the day!!"). I know I might get a lot of unhelpful votes for that comment, but that's the way the ever-changing music biz is. It's up to the public whether or not to accept their comeback.

Ahhhh...Boyz II Men is back with a set full of their lush vocal harmonies and trademark ballads. Many groups of this nature tend to all sound alike after awhile, but Boyz II Men can get away with keeping on the straight and narrow as far as their material goes...they know what works for them and they work it to the bone! I don't think I'd like them nearly as much if they tried to stray away from the music that they're known for...I'm so glad that they're not an experimental bunch.

On this new CD, the Babyface penned "The Color of Love" is the ballad to melt your heart, much as "Dreams," "4 Seasons of Loneliness," and "I'll Make Love to You" have been on their previous releases. The disc then proceeds into a couple of poppy tunes and more smooth ballads before closing with my personal favorite here: "I'll Show You" which has such intricate harmonies and turns of musical phrase that it just begs to be listened to.

While there is really nothing new here for Boyz II Men, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I would highly recommend this and any other Boyz CD to anyone who enjoys pop inflected, power R&B ballads with amazing harmonies!

Boyz II Men is the standard for any true R&B group or singing group period. Full Circle is a great album, and if you think othewise, then you really don't appreciate good R&B music. Boyz II Men is this generation'S Temptations.