Customer Reviews

II

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This CD is a throwback to my youth. I was about twelve years old when it came out--back when Boyz 2 Men was truly a hot commodity. They have a wonderful "old school" flavor reminiscent of the old doowop guy groups of 1960s. This is especially evident in the four part harmonies, the smooth and romantic lyrics and the original interpretations of old standards ("Yesterday").

Where do I begin to describe the mood of this wonderful and innovative R&B album? There is something for everyone on this CD. We have the funky, catchy "Thank You" that samples from "La-Di-Da-Di" performed by Doug E. Fresh. The hook is infectious! We have "All Around the World" to get you up and dancing, no doubt. One of my personal favorites is "I Sit Away," written by Tony Rich (of the Tony Rich Project fame). It has a haunting hook and a beautiful, introspective feel. Truly an ode to solitude. There are also a couple of songs on this album that became huge hits for the fellas back in the early 1990s. They include "I'll Make Love to You" (on those songs to get you in the mood), and "Water Runs Dry."

One of the strongest points of this album is the luscious arrangements and fine tuning of production on each of the cuts. Even my least favorite of the songs--"50 Candles"--has a very sexy, clean and catchy arrangment.

Check this out! And all of you young ones out there, don't write the Boyz as just another R&B band from the 1990s. They were truly in a class by themselves.

After the successful debut Cooleyhighharmony Boyz II men found their trademark sound on their sophmore effort II with singles that were lush mature ballads such as "I'll Make Love To You", "On Bended Knee" and "Waters Run Dry" that reached 1, 1 and #2 on the singles chart. "I'll Make Love To You" also scored a record of 14 weeks at number 1...not quite surprisingly it was later beaten by their own "One Sweet Day" with Mariah Carey in 1995 that mangaged to spend as much as 16. But thanks to producers like Dallas Austin and Tim & Bob there is plenty of variety here with uptempo/midtempos like "Thank You", "All Around The World", "U Know" and "Vibin" a moderate single hit by the way. But just like their peers, Jodeci and Dru Hill their strenght are the ballads. The Babyface penned "I'll Make Love To You" is one of the best ballads of all time and resemble their previous hit "End of the Road" Quite Alot, while "Waters Run Dry" and Janet's frequent collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's "One Bended Knee" are both equally strong ballads. Non single hits like Tony Rich's "Tring Times" and the wonderful Tim & Bob song "50 Candles" aren't bad either and the album ends with an a cappella version of the Beatles "Yesterday" and proves how good they sing together. With "II" it's obvious however that Boyz II Men are moving further away from New Jack Swing of the early 90's and settling for their own ballad heavy trademark sound. "II" sold 15 million copies in the end, a few more then their debut and successfully made Boyz II Men one of the greatest R&B bands of all time. If you're further interested in the band check, Evolution from 1997, but after that album their popularity vanished and they got plenty of competition from others. But when it comes to smooth ballads, few can deliver them like this, 30 million sold albums after 3 album speaks a clear message. This one is defenitely recommended, it's Boyz II Men at their peak.

Boyz II Men made it huge in the 90s by pairing up their tight harmonies recalling classic Motown groups (Temps and Tops) with more up-to-date rhythmic tracks incorporating samples and other hip-hop stylings. This album broke them into superstardom as their followup to "Cooleyhighharmony", placing 4 songs into the charts for the Philadelphia group.

HIGHLIGHTS:
This album pretty much divides into 2 'sides': The uptempo side (before "Khalil") and the ballads afterwards. Most of the biggest chart tunes fall in the 2nd half.

Part 1 has "Thank You" (the only up-tempo chart hit), an infectious number riding a Doug E. Fresh sample. "Vibin'" is a nice midtempo groove though the lyric's pretty lightweight (We're just vibin'/dancin' the night away/Groovin'/Vibin'/non-stop until the break of day). "I Sit Away" is a Tony Rich tune about drowning in self pity that stops short of being maudlin. (This and "Nobody Knows"..is Rich clinically depressed or what?)

In the "slow side", Babyface's "I'll Make Love to you" set a record for the length of time at #1. "On Bended Knee" (from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) and "Water Runs Dry" (another Babyface composition) also made some chart action. The group shows off their sterling harmonies on the Beatles classic "Yesterday" and they pull off the true feat of not embarrassing themselves on a rock classic. It's a wonderful rendition.

LOWS:
"All Around the World" is Boyz II Men's rewrite of Ricky Nelson's "Travelin' Man" more or less, but not nearly as memorable. Considering how pivotal it is to the album, "Khalil" is a pretty blah track. "Jezzebel" is a dull overlong affair. "50 Candles" includes the lyric "Holding your body like a plastic molding"....'nuff said.

BOTTOM LINE:
There are enough hits to make this a mini-greatest hits all by itself, but the extras like "I Sit By" and "Yesterday" make this one worth owning. Recommended for R&B fans.

I own all the Boyz II Men albums, and this is by far the best CD they've ever made. EVERY SINGLE SONG on this CD is outstanding, well, except for "All Around the world", but who cares?? 12/13 incredible songs is quite an amazing feat. I've listened to this cd so much that I'm surprised I still love it!!!! With such amazing songs as Thank You, I'll Make Love To You, On Bended Knee, 50 candles, Water Runs Dry, and Yesterday...the bottom line is that you can't go wrong buying this CD. It is definitely the best all-around CD I've ever listened to. As someone said earlier, if you are only willing to purchase one Boyz II Men album, this should definitely be it.

This is one of the BEST accomplishments of the 20th CENTURY! These four guys just seem to sing away all the sorrow and the sadness the world can bring. I'd definitely recommend it to everyone. I'd love to buy everyone a copy if I had enough money!

WHOA! This CD has it all. Mainly the biggest hits were slow jams off this cd, but it also had a lot of dance tracks on it as well. What it sounds like Boyz II Men are trying to Mix the old acapella singing from way back and mixing it in with new jack swing. The big hits off this cd were "I'll Make Love To You," which stayed top ten for over two months, "On Bended Knee," "Water Runs Dry," these two songs were major hits also, and "Thank you," was a big dance hit off this CD. "Vibin" was a hit too. This CD is a classic to R&B/New Jack Swing. II has everythang to offer in music, so if you don't have this cd I highly recommend you buy cuz you'll get ya moneys worth. So yall can thank Michael Bivins from Bell Biv Devoe for discovering these guys.

It's....perfection truly my dear. This is Boyz II Men at their best and their vocals heartfelt, not contorted or forced like they sounded in Evolution. Lush and romantic...My favorites are I'll make love to you, On bended knee, Yesterday, Water runs dry, Thank U, I sit away... Heck they're all great! This album had me dreaming about them day and night. Girls, don't you wish men like this existed in real life? Well they do. Just haven't met any worthy yet. If you buy only one Boyz album, this is the one to get!

I have worn this CD and Cassette out. I know the words to every song on this CD it was JUST THAT GOOD!!!! From the Funky "U Know" to "Water Runs Dry" which was absolutely beautiful. I miss there brand of R & B and wish they could repeat it.

Happy Listening

I will never be able to sing enough praise for this splendid, heavenly, romantic, touching CD. These songs are absolutely superb. "On Bended Knee", "I'll Make Love to You", "Thank You", "Trying Times" "You Know", "All Around the World" are some examples of the wonderful and magnificent songs.

But the best song of all is "Fifty Candles". That song is so touching, splendid, and romantic, I can almost smell a rose-scented fragrant candle, and can almost hear raindrops beating against a window sill and birds chirping. I feel the song is so romantic and tender, I can almost sense a wedding in process! This song is perfect to listen to during a rainy or stormy evening, or while getting a massage or during a nice, long soak in the bathtub. I am highly sensitive; I notice certain things and sense things that the average person might not. But this CD is superb, even for someone who is not so sensitive.

This CD deserves more than five stars, just by itself. And I'd love it all the same even if it weren't for my best friend, Leah. Leah loved Boys II Men, and whenever I listen to this CD, it makes me think of her. She died three years ago; I'm just now getting over the rawness of it. Leah was the best friend I've ever had in my life (not counting family, kids, husband, etc.) And she's even better than this CD, and this CD is hard to beat.

Boyz II Men was probably my favorite musical act when I was growing up. I knew every word to just about every one of their songs, and this album in particular was always playing in my room. Starting things off with `Thank You', a song that's sure to get you moving in the right direction, Boyz II Men capitalized on their impressive harmonies right from the beginning and delivered 13 impressive tracks to serve as a complete musical experience.

Tracks like the aforementioned `Thank You', `All Around the World' and the funky `Vibin' give us a throwback to `Cooleyhighharmony', giving us those slick beats and hip-hop vibe, but it's on tracks like the chart topping `I'll Make Love To You' and `On Bended Knee' where the boyz really shine. Songs like `Water Runs Dry' hits every note right and comes close to sending chills down the spine.

The two tracks that stand out the most for me is the laid back cool `U Know' which takes the cake as the best hip-hop inspired track here, but it can't hold a candle to '50 Candles' which is just dripping with pure sensuality and sets the right kind of mood if you know what I mean. Great album, perfect addition to any music collection...after all these years it's still my favorite album by the crooning quartet.