Customer Reviews

Hangin Tough

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I just listened to my long-lost tape of New Kids On The Block's
"Cover Girl" and oh man,did that bring back memories!!
That song transported me from now to the Summer of '89!
I know I might get laughed at,but I LOVE THAT SONG!!

And..."Hangin' Tough" is without a doubt,probably,the best
boy band album EVER(excluding maybe,New Edition or BBD).
New Kids On The Block were as processed and hated on as the
boy bands of today(they were basically a white washed New Edition) but in my opinion they are far better than Backstreet
Boys and N'Sync.They had great teenybop pop songs!

I still remember the dance steps from the "(You Got) The Right Stuff" video and I still know all the words to this album's title track too!

Oh,man,I know I may laughed big time folks but I mean the late
'80s and the early-to-mid '90s have so many memories and me being
a music fanatic,the music brings back the memories.Hope you understand!

Plus,you have to admit the teen stars of then are way more talented and groomed than the pesky teenyboppers of today!

It's particularly sad to see how many manufactured boy bands there are out there nowadays when you consider that raw talent such as the New Kids was allowed to flourish not much more than a decade ago. The title track is great to listen to if you want to get psyched up before an important business meeting or date - just don't get overexcited as I once did and ask your ladyfriend if she is 'tough enough'. That minor quibble aside, this is one of the best albums ever made. Go get!

I still like "Hangin Tough" today. Although half of the songs consisted of ballads, it was good pop for its time. Maurice Starr's dinky-sounding keyboards from it have me still humming to them today. The Right Stuff and Hangin Tough were tough sounding songs in their beats and sounds. I'll Be loving You Forever still sounds pretty. And I still like "I Remember When", even though they go on and on for nearly two minutes on the closing chorus. But the song I still like is the rock-driven guitar on "Hold On." To me that was the most challenging on the album. It sometimes recalls '70s rock in some ways and just amazes me every time I hear it. Donnie Wahlberg sounded good on it too. This song separates itself from the mostly teen pop that dominates the album and perhaps their most experimental. So before you dismiss it as another teen pop album, think about track 10 too.

I can still remember the day I saw the new kids on Mtv with I will be loving you for ever I was hooked after that I recently moved and when I was packing came across my new kids beach towel and water bottle and my vidoes I put on a few months back and it brought back so much of my teen years. I loved these guys and I will always be proud of that I still like them. I would recommend this album and step by step the greatist hits I'am looking forward to bhying to hear all the hits I loved. Thankyou NKOTB for great teen years you are missed loveing you forever.

Like many other preteen girls, I was entranced by NKOTB in the 1980s (Donnie in particular) and owned eveysingle tape possible. Although I never got to see them in concert, I also boasted a moderate collection of poster, dolls, t-shirts and a pillow. Perhaps also indicative of my later conversion to Rock, this was my favirote albumn of all time.

Unlike the earlier and Step by Step, this attempts to place the kids within the rough and rugged world of the inner city. No shiny metal vests and blond highlights here because these kids are seen on a graffitti strewn subway (among other dingy places) in the video for "Please Don't Go Girl" This is definely not the type of music that would later be associated with boy groups..

Donnie does the vocals for the title track which is just fine with me because I never fully understood why such large numbers of my classmates were going gaga over Joe and or Jordan. He also does the inherently lighter cover girl, and I still can't believe he did not sing more songs for the group because he was great in his own right Through no faults of their own, Joe and Jordan simply had too high vocal ranges for my tastes, and should have not been the primary singers for this band.

Unlike so many of today's groups, the lyrics for a preteen audience were far more innocent and comforting. Although I am hardly a proponent of the music censorship movement, I would like to see less in your face sexuality aimed at an elementary and junior high audience. Sure, some people might still cringe at this band, but we have the admit they had a lot more originality than today's wannabe pimps (who unlike the band members) did not experience a hardnock life before stardom.

i was THE BIGGEST fan of new kids on the block. I had all of their albums, starting with this one, toys and clothes--and I'm a guy!!!! my sister got me into their music. now the music and lyrics may seem sugary now, but they were fun anyway. i was 22 years old when they were big and now I'm 39. I still have HANGING TOUGH in my record collection. "plese don't go girl' was and is my all time favorite song, s is I'll be loving you". Like one of the other reviewers here (capricornrising-I feel what youre saying!!!)

all in all, HANGING TOUGH is a fun album. love ballads and dance trax in one album. I just wish they could have stayed around just a little longer. who know wha they would have accompliched next

Let me start off by saying that the New Kids hit my freshman year of high school -- so I have very fond memories of them from the age of 14 to about 16/17.

I had this album on LP and tape during it's popularity and ran across it again while I was looking to spend a Christmas gift certificate -- hence the purchase. Like most late 80s/ealy 90s music, I have had a blast listening to this CD. Say what you will about the boy bands of that era -- but the music is fun and -- honestly, not that bad.

While the 1980's were not the best time to be growing up (plenty of money and tax breaks for the ultra-rich, unapologetic corporate greed, and nothing to do for the children of the working middle class except create trouble), I can't help but smile whenever I listen to New Kids on the Block, especially their sophomore effort, "Hangin' Tough," the album that put them over the top on the pop charts.

I recently came upon a copy of their 1989 videotape of the same name, a half-hour compliation of their hits at the time (four videos: "Please Don't Go Girl," "You Got It (The Right Stuff)," "I'll Be Loving You Forever," and the title track) along with clips of their life on the road, backstage pranks and even Jordan Knight playing the piano beautifully, and it reminded me of a more innocent time (to use a cliche).

I smiled as I listened to their harmonizing and to the lyrics pledging innocent love, as opposed to the groups that came after them (Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, 98 Degrees, etc.) that tried doing the same and came off beyond plastic.

New Kids were the first super group - the model for the five-member boy bands such as the aforementioned - to make an impact on young teenaged girls and they were also the first group to be mass marketed to the extent that they were (drawing inevitable comparisons to the way The Beatles were marketed a generation before, although The Beatles' image didn't appear on every conceivable item in the 60's like New Kids would be in the 80's and early-90's).

But the group proved they were worth the hype (unlike later boy groups) by turning out two very successful albums ("Hangin' Tough" and "Step By Step") that were loaded with likeable songs and making videos that weren't sexualized to the hilt (hard to believe that the actresses in their videos were actually fully clothed).

My favorite cut here is "Hold On." Although heavy on the required 80's instrument, the synthesizer (just like the rest of the cuts on "Hangin' Tough"), the general style of the song diverts just a bit from the rest of the album making it stand out for me.

As the saying goes, "You can't go back home." While things can never be like they were "back in the day" for boy groups to sing about innocent love and make videos where the women are dressed and not grinding against anything that moves (I'm far from a prude but the sex thing gets tired after awhile), we can look back on New Kids on the Block and thank them for putting out feel-good music that was cute now as it was then.

Although the 80's and early-90s stunk, listening to some of the music put out then makes me feel like a teenager again.

I thank Jonathan, Jordan, Joey, Donnie, and Danny for the music.

Hangin Tough was one of their greatest albums, the vocals were superb. Coming from a father of two girl's, I took them to the NKOTB concert in Las Vegas and attended it myself. It was a super experience and I enjoyed it immensely. The group was
fantastic. Us older folks enjoy music to and I would recommend this CD to anyone. NKOTB your great!!!

I truly enjoyed being able to find this CD on your site after so many years of not hearing anything new from this long lost group. As soon as I logged on it reminded of better times: first crushes, first kisses, and childhood in general. I am now a twenty two year old career woman who still loves to be able to take that step back into a better time and place even if it is only for a short period of time. I never got the chance to meet any of the group but they still hold a very special place in my music archives. Thank you to all of them again for all the great times that they are able to remind me of and the wonderful music they created.