Customer Reviews

One Love (Mcup)

5 star:		(85)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've been waiting for the new album by New Edition for eight long years and I can stay it's been well worth the wait. The CD opens up with a nice intro with the fellas, their manager Brooke Payne and P. Diddy in a Conference Call discussing their new merge. The second track reintroduces to the NE concert style with a track called Been So Long. From there we go into the lead single Hot 2 Nite.

Track 4: Sexy Lady - A midtempo track with Ricky singing lead.

Track 5 : Last Time - A uptempo song with a killer lead vocal by Ralph.

Track 6 : All On You - A chance for Ricky, Mike and Ron to shine BBD style.

Track 7 : Wildest Dreams - A feel good track with Ralph once again killing the lead vocals.

Track 8 : Start Turnin Me On - Personally I feel this should have been the lead single I heard it last summer and it's a great club feel to with nice raps from Mike & Ron.

Track 9 : Love Again - Nice little track with a smooth vocal from Ralph and raps from Mike and Ron.

Track 10: One Love Interlude - A track about unity and brotherhood within the group Ralph and Johnny once again show why they have two of the smoothest voclas and why there voices complient each other. Hopefully Bobby is listening.

Track 11 : That's Why I Lied - A song about Confessioning how you've done your girl wrong with nice production courtsey of Stevie J.

Track 12 : Come Home With Me - Johnny's solo track in the vein of Teddy P. Look for it on my mixtapes

Track 13: Best Man - This sounds like a Justin Timberlake track Johnny and Ralph kill the vocals.

Track 14 Rewrite The Memroies - All I can is WOW this song is easily on par with Can You Stand The Rain and I'm Still In Love With You as one of the greatest slow songs NE has ever recorded. My favorite song on the CD.

Track 15 : Newness - Another Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis gem it almost takes Rewrite The Memroies but Ralph's vocals on Memroies are so smooth .

Track 16 : Feelin It - Defnite club song a nice track you can dance to.

Track 17 : Leave Me - A heartbreaking ballad written by Mario Winas. Ralph, Ricky,Johnny all kill the vocals on this one.

All in all in my opinion this one of the best R&B albums of 2004. I can't wait to see my boys on tour! NE 4 Life

Let me first address the review below me written by someone else. First of all, the group "Bill Biv Dafoe" you're referring to is called "Bell Biv Devoe". Second of all, you say the members of BBD are nowhere to be found on this album. Wrong again, Bell Biv Devoe was a New Edition spin-off group, which consists of original New Edition members, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie Devoe. Their hits included "Poison" "Do Me" "When will I see you smile again" and whatever other song I forgot to mention. And yes Bobby Brown WAS in fact an original member of New Edition, but due to his wild behavior was voted out by the rest of the group in the mid '80s. The reason he is not in the group now is due to his crazy run-ins with the law, which he is to blame for, not his wife Whitney Houston. And Lastly New Edition is NOT a rip-off of groups such as New Kids on the Block. If it weren't for N.E. there would be no NKOTB. New Edition plain and simple, paved the way for modern boy bands, PERIOD!

Enough of that. On to the real review!

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First of all, I must say when I turned on 106 and Park that day after missing the premier of the Hot2Nite video, I was quite hyped to see non other than Johnny Gill, Ricky Bell, Ronnie Devoe, Michael Bivins and Ralph Tresvant who form my all-time favorite group: New Edition. Sure, I'd heard talk from my buddy, another N.E. that they'd come out with a "hot new song" called Hot2Nite! I do remember hearing a small bit of the song on the radio, but I just dismissed it as another typical modern day song about gettin' it on, and therefore assumed that my friend must have been misinformed.

But low and behold, some time later I heard the song in its full glory, and it was indeed New Edition. Everyone else thought it was hot. Even the swooners who'd been plagued with B2Kitis and said N.E. were 'old', thought it was hot. I thought it was...ok. And I still stand by that opinion, New Edition can do better than that. I mean, I honestly didn't understand what the hype around that song was about. I could understand the hype about New Edition being back, but the single that they dropped to announce their return, in my ears *cough* ears was nothing to get the least bit excited about. If you've heard one song about one-night stands then you've heard them all. And quite frankly Hot2Nite sounds to me more like "Hit Me Off 2004".

Now I wasn't even around when New Edition first came out, but I like many of my peers do have access to everything they've ever done since Candy Girl, and I can say that this album is just not up to par with what they've blessed us with in the past. Lets go through the songs, shall we?

1. Conference Call - (2/5) This actually isn't a song, but I don't care for it. Its mostly just a role-call, thingy reminding you who you're listening to. Understandable. But it just sounds way too scripted, even for a quick skit. And that operator lady is just annoying and fake sounding. She just hits a certain nerve , everything from her voice to the way she smacks her lips in the mic. And I can't forget this line "Excuse me for being unprofessional, but are you guys New Edition?" lets see, you called out Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Johnny Gill, Ronnie Devoe and Michael Bivins, some of the most familiar names in R&B history! Each of whom were in a group from the 80s throughout most of the 90s called NEW EDITION! No, they can't POSSIBLY be the same guys.

2. Been So Long - (3/5) The title speaks the truth, and the song itself ain't bad. Its performed live by the guys, or at least its supposed to give you the illusion that they are. It serves the exact same purpose that "Feels So Good" from the Home Again album does, in that the guys remind the fans that they're still here and kickin' it etc.

3. Hot2Nite - (1/5) I've already given my opinion on this song, for the most part. So I'll just say that its one of those songs that you listen to every now and then if you're bored.

4. Sexy Lady - (3/5) I like the way this song is sung, and the track is pretty funky. The biggest beef I have with it is that it talks about the all too familiar subject of sex. Something that a lot of songs on this album have in common.

5. Last Time - (5/5) Good ol' Ralph holds it down on this track! The beat sounds like it could've been used for one of the Notorious B.I.G's songs, but it's still good. The hook is very simple to remember, which makes it all the more fun to sing-along too. But one thing though, is it just me or has Ralph's voice actually gotten a bit deeper since we last heard him?

6. All On You - (2/5) Everytime I actually stop to listen to this song all the way through (rarely) I always feel rather embarrased for the guys. The only part I actually listen to is the end where the group is actually singing together, and even then it only sounds like Ralph, Ricky and maybe a little bit of Ronnie. And speaking of Ronnie, this song made me realize something about him; his raps are horrible. He was all the rage back in the Candy Girl/Poison days, but by todays standards, he sucks.

7. Wildest Dream - (5/5) Ok, I don't care what anybody says, Ralph's voice has definitly gotten deeper since the Home Again days. I guess it makes since, because if you pay attention Ralph has always sounded a lot like Micheal Jackson, and he's always done a lot of his vocal tricks too (minus the screams and the "Ee-hee!") But considering the crap going on with the King of Pop these days, its quite understandable that he might be trying to wean himself away from that style. The song itself though, as far its lyrical content sounds like "Sensitivity 2004". Now the "I heard you like to ball a lot/Heard you like shoppin' at the mall a lot" bit at the beginnig sounds way to B2Kish, and should've been replaced with something better. Heck, it would've been a trip down memory lane if he started it off like Sensitivity "Girl I know its been hard...." but whatever.

8. Start Turnin' Me On - (3/5) The guys sure are hooked on those sex songs, don't they? I'm serious, New Edition have enough raunchy songs on this album to create the 2004 return of Bell Biv Devoe. Thats really what these songs should've went to, a modern day BBD album. At least it would've sounded in place, since BBD was all about the more raunchier side of New Edition anyway.

9. Love Again - (4/5) This sounds a lot like the New Edition I'm use to. Ricky actually takes the lead for most of this song (what?!) and he does an exceptional job, while Ralph holds it down with the bridges. Ron's rap flow is a little too choppy on this song, but his rhymes are actually almost good. Don't get too comfortable though, because this is as good as it gets for him. And does anybody noticed how at the end of his verse, the track kind of skips a bit? Whats up with that?

10. One Love - (5/5) This song is excellent!! But its only 2 minutes long. That sucks! This song actually has Johnny holding it down for the most part, with a little help from Ralph. This song sounds really soulful, from the vocal harmonies to the guitar riffs. I wish the guys would do more songs like this. Maybe next time...

11. Thats Why I Lied - (3/5) I was surprised to see a song on hear other than the previous track to actually break some new ground. Ralph brings it home for us on this one, and yet again he sounds good. But for some reason this song just sounds too much like something Omarion would do. And Ronnie's constant claims of "strictly for the ladies" are just irritating.

12. Come Home With Me - (2/5) By this time, I'd had it to over my head with these sex-related songs. Johnny takes the lead here, and he does sound good. But the subject matter has just really worn out its welcome, and therefore makes it hard for me to actually listen to this song all the way through without feeling as though I must skip to the next track.

13. Best Man - (1/5) I really don't even remember who actually sings lead on this song, because its just so uneven and the music just seems way too loud over the vocals.

14. Re-Write the Memories - (5/5) YES!!! Its no wonder all the other songs on this album sound so out of place, because of the absence of Jam and Lewis. At least until this song! This song serves exactly the same purpose that the title-track on Home Again did. The song and the key its sung in is extremely remeniscent of "Can You Stand the Rain". Ralph and Johnny with a little bit of help from Ricky make this song complete. This is a song that just seems impossible to get tired of. The first and only ballad on this CD with that classic New Edition sound. THIS should've been the first single, not that Hot2Nite tripe.

15. Newness - (5/5) Two Jam and Lewis gems in a row! Hot damn! Enjoy it while it lasts though. Ralph and Johnny with again a little bit of help from Ricky, to make this song complete. I'm not even gonna mention Ronnies 'rap-singing'. And you know it begs the question, if Ronnie and Mike were to leave the group, would anybody even care? Yeah you're right. Because they actually can sing, well at least I know Ronnie can, I don't think I've ever really heard Mike sing before.

16. Feelin' It - (?/5) I'm gonna be honest, I've never listened to this song past the first few seconds, because it just sounds way to much like filler. And I don't think I need to ask what its about.

17. Leave Me - (4/5) This song can be a tear-jerker if you're in a an emotional mood. Heck, even if you're not it can choke you up bit. Ralph and Ricky take lead here. Michael Winans pinned this song, and its actually not bad. I just wish it could've been in a different key or something.

And there you have the New Edition One Love album. And I'll say again, that while its good to see the guys back and doing their thing, this album just leaves much to be desired. Its quite obvious that P. Diddy was more concerned with money and bringing in a younger audience, than he was with bringing the legends back and letting them do what they do best, making memorable music. Because seriously, out of all 17 tracks here, only two songs are actually mememorable. Those songs are tracks #14 and #15, which were obviously written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The guys should've had Jam and Lewis all over this album, when you think about how good the results are, and the songs with their Midus touches on them just blow up. But whats done is done, and hopefully the rumor of N.E. already being gone from the Bad Boy label is true, as Bad Boy clearly is not doing them any justice. Either way, I look forward to the groups next album!
Peace!

*Steps off soap-box and bows*

If you want to hear some grown up music, then this is the CD for you. New Edition has produced some great tracks that have there own unique sounds. It's not the typical same old music most artist are coming out with these days. It has a new feel but with the time honored NE sound. Most artist today are just looking for those one or two hits that you stop playing after awhile. This is one CD that I wil continue to listen to for years to come. I especially enjoyed "That's Why I Lied" because the songs meaning was so unexpected and "Start Turnin' Me On" gives us the sexier side of the group. This is one CD that I haven't put down since I bought it.

When i first heard that NE was signing with Bad Boy. I wasnt really quite sure what to expect or what would come out of this venture. But its safe to say after listening to "One Love" for the 2nd time in as many days. It very obvious that it is more than alright or good. It is fantastic. I've been an NE since "Cool It Now", "Count Me Out", "Is This The End" and so many other classics. They still bring it with a venegance. NE has been in the business for 20 years and they are still. If not more talented than quite a few acts out there right now.

The only other thing i can say. Is that by giving this CD a chance from beginning to end. You will see how New Edition got it started and is still doing it with mad talent to spare.

One love indeed. I gonna play this CD for a long time to come.
Enjoy!!!

This new CD finds the group on Bad Boy under the direction or shall I say mis-direction of P. Diddy... The fellas manage to pull off one of the most unlikely pairings in recent history! In my opinion, NE simply does not fit with Bad Boy and P. Diddy has done a less than spectacular job of promoting one of the finest R&B projects in the past several years! Having said that, let me make one thing perfectly clear, the fellas have managed to make a very well produced and unique sounding album.

This latest effort, featuring Ronnie, Johnny, Ricky, Mike, & Ralph, has a little bit of the new mixed with some of the very best of their past. The first single Hot 2 Nite is a catchy tune that features all five members taking a turn on the Mic and a taste of that classic NE harmony. This track truly grew on me after I saw them perform it live on Jay Leno, wow what a stage show, nobody can "step" like NE, Nobody. These gentlemen are truly my generations Temptations. Featuring smooth as silk vocals from Ralph Tresvant and Ricky Bell, Deep soulful vocal acrobatics from the one and only Johnny Gill, and the trademark raps from the "Biv" and Ronnie "Blake" Devoe.

This is really two CD's in one. With 16 actual tracks, (Minus the conference call) the fellas strike Gold in my humble opinion on at least 11 of them!! Last time is an "If It isn't Love" type of track and I can just imagine the dance routine!! All On You is a taste of BBD with JG and Rizzo lending their vocal stamp on the track. While juvenile, the song is catchy and both Ronnie and Mike handle the raps in classic fashion. The best thing about Ronnie and Mike is they don't try to sound like anybody else... You immediately know it's them!! Rounding out the first phase of the project are Wildest Dream, Start Turnin'Me On and Love Again. The first two feature Ralph re-establishing his rightful place as front man and lead singer of the group. His vocals are textured and mature yet still full of what made him a fan favorite from the start, his unique delivery and soft tenor voice that whispers effortlessly accross the verses. Ricky takes lead on Sexy Lady and Love Again and does a more than admirable job. His falsetto is one of the best in the biz and between him, Ralph and JG, they hold down the harmonies while Biv and Ronnie complete the package.

My favorites on the CD come at the start of the One Love Interlude... Awesome track, only complaint, it's too short!! JG and Ralph absoutely tear this track up!! Ralph does an admirable job on the Usher inspired That's Why I Lied, proving that Rizzo has still got that suave smooth style that made teenage girls go crazy back in the day. JG has one of the finest ballads on the CD, Come Home With Me which is sure to be a live show crowd pleaser. Then there's the instant classics... Re-Write The Memories and Newness both produced by the legendary production team, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. These are clearly the best tracks on the CD in my humble opinion and the direction the group should go in the future. Re-Write The Memories is definately a compliment to the classic NE track, "Can You Stand The Rain" and the fellas sound nothing less than outstanding on it, especially Ralph. His vocals are so clean, smooth and touching, that everytime I play this for the ladies, well what can I say, they swoon!! Then the fellas ease into Newness which epitomises the very best of NE... Smooth lyrics, excellent lead and background vocals, storytelling, and a mid tempo groove which means the dance routine should be absolute FIRE!! This song really sounds like an open love letter to the fans as much as it is about a love relationship between long time lovers. The track opens up with JG asking the question... "Did I stay away to long, have we grown apart are we still cool? As if asking the fans are we still cool. Then during the bridge Ralph says, "I hold you, I go back to the beginning, remember when we traded our first kisses, fell in love with you the feelings haven't changed, the Newness stays the same..." Reflecting on the title One Love, the fellas have a unique relationship with their fans as the fans have been the ones to keep the fellas solvent all these years... It's no secret that the fellas have made their living off of touring due to bad business deals in the past. Yo Ralph, the Newness is still their my brother!! The chorus then finds the fellas all joining in with "I see your face and everythings new again, love til the end, starts over again, just like the first time..." As if to say to the fans we're still here, the story is not over, and it feels just like the first time!! The CD closes with an emotional love ballad, Leave Me which features a subdued Ralph a plaintive Ricky (one of his finest vocal performances) and a soulful JG bringing this Mario Winans written track to climax. The harmony is in the pocket and the fellas really brought this track home.

All in all an outstanding effort by these young thirty somethings with a twenty plus year history, over 40 million records sold, and a legacy that includes maybe the only vocal performance group in history to have all of it's members find success in the biz outside of group. JG, Rizzo, BBD, & the one and only Bobby Brown who is noticibly absent from this project. Much love to all the fans and the Fan Clubs who have kept the NE Mystique alive and well!! Much love to CandysMall NEW EDITION FAN CLUB and to all the NE yahoo clubs showing love to my favorite Group New Edition... "One Love" Peace, Wordz...

This album is definitely underrated. I can not believe that NE did not go triple platinum with this one. This album is a blend of NE, BBD, JG and RT, w/o losing that true NEW EDITION sound. Maturity and growth can defnitiely be seen on this album. This is a must have! If you're a true NE fan or a lover of GREAT music, you need to go pick up like 5 copies of this CD so you can have one in the house, one in the car, one at work and two on standby should something happen to any of the others. The CD is smooth, sexy and hip w/o being overt. My boys are at it again and I will make sure I'm in the house at their concert next
month.

PS Don't forget to watch their Behind The Music Special on VH1 04/28/05. It's a must see!

Well 1st of all let me tell you, I'm a big NE fan, I grew up with them, well grew up listening to them and this album was a very good album but you wouldn't really know it because Bad Boy has given them next to no promotion for it. I like all of the songs on here except for Best Man and Leave Me. Those 2 should not have made the album. I see many people in their review's didn't like All On You, so said because Mike and Ronnie can not rap good. Well guess what most of these so called Rap Artist CAN'T RAP either. Please remember that a good beat doesn't make a good rap verse. Getting back to the album, my favorite songs are, Start Turning me on, Re-Write the Memories, Newness and the others are very solid songs,other than the 2 I mentioned and there definetly should have been at least 3 singles from this album, but I guess unless you are The Notorious B.I.G(R.I.P.), you gets no help from Puffy. For all those out there who have not bought this album, I recommend you pick it up. Peace Out.

As much as I love New Edition, I can't reccomend this album to anyone but die-hard N.E. fans. Why is that? Because N.E. didn't try to stand a cut and above the rest of its current dopplegangers like it did with its previous masterpiece, 1996's "Home Again". Does that mean that this album is sub-par? No, but just not... New Edition. Maybe being on Bad Boy is the culprit. Shame on you, Bad Boy! Now onto what makes the album good: There ARE some bangers on this album that should not go unnoticed, such as the brilliant single "Hot 2nite", Slick and Ralph's alternate crooning on the hook of "Sexy Lady", the BBD-esque "All on You", the Harris & Davis-produced "Start Turning Me On", Ralph's Michael Jackson-esque vocals on "That's Why I Lied", J.G.'s Teddy Pendergrass-esque vocals on "Come Home With Me" and the "trequel" to "Can You Stand The Rain" with "Re-write the Memories" (the sequel being "Home Again). To be honest, New Edition is less interesting when they venture into the uptempo. Their more hip-hoppy songs are less than stellar. BUT... enter Jam & Lewis and New Edition make a ballad shine like a piece of jewelry cleaned with Tarn-X. I've always liked the slower side of New Edtion with Ralph on lead, sometimes likening their sound to what Force M.D.'s did with "Tender Love". And without those type of songs, this album would be... well... bland. Besides my just aforementioned gripe, my 2nd gripe is the last 2 songs could've been left off entirely and "Newness" should've come before "Re-write The Memories" (which is more suitable as a closer than the semi-decent "Leave Me"). My 3rd gripe is that Johnny Gill should NOT be relegated to being a background singer. The man's voice is brilliant and he should have a bigger role. I commend Ronnie DeVoe and Michael Bivins for stepping up and making the group a more cohesive whole. Despite people's negative comments, DeVoe and Bivens are capable rappers. I love Ron, he's a vital part to the group to me, and Mike makes for a good hypeman. Ricky Bell is the glue that holds the group together; the clutch player in the game. Ralph Tresvant is as smooth as butter like always and on "That's Why I Lied", he couldn't be more in the zone. My 4th and final gripe is... where is Bobby Brown?! His ego is too big for him to partake anything that doesn't involve fame and fortune I'm guessing. It had been 8 years before the first reunion album and now 8 years after that one. This is what one would consider history-making (as P. Diddy insists on the listeners realizing on several songs), but with Brown's apathy and some filler songs, true victory is somewhat thwarted. But all in all, on the songs that I said were good, New Edition couldn't be any better and if I were you, I'd listen to the poppier songs and the ballads if you want to get the most out of listening to "One Love". All in all... not a bad return for the group that started it all, but I hope we don't have to wait another 8 years. None of us are getting any younger.

"One Love" is one of New Edition's best albums since "NE Heartbreak." The group, which as been around for more than 20 years, has the great skill of adopting current musical trends without loosing their own unique vocal style. (Something that their contemporaries haven't been able to do.) This was seen in their last studio effort, "Home Again," in 1996, and it is repeated in this album. This compact disc is filled with up-tempo and mid-tempo songs about love, lies, and heartbreak-the dramas of life. The smooth vocals of Ralph Tresvant and the soulful vocals of Johnny Gill are not lost in the hip-hop beats and Bad Boy production. As a matter of fact, the beats were chosen to complement and not overpower their voices. (Unlike what beat choice did to Boyz II Men on their album "Evolution.") The especially enhances the sound of the remaining members Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, and Ricky Bell. (Remember BBD? They just about created the R&B smoothed out on the hip-hop tip back in the early `90s with tracks produced by rap group Public Enemy's producers.)

The best tracks on the disc are those where New Edition really get to harmonize, and show the listener why they've been around for two decades. The stand out tracks are "Hot 2 Nite," "That's Why I Lied," and "Best Man." The only downside is that there is only really one true ballad on the CD.

This CD is a keeper, and surely will continue to extend the legacy of this long-lasting vocal group. I hope P.Diddy will provide better promotion of these living legends as well as a video collection to celebrate their longevity.

There is so little good R&B on the radio and on the store racks now...yet R&B is still holding it's market share. New Edition has been a valued part of that market share for over twenty years, and I hope they continue for at least a few more albums.

One Love gives the true fan and the new fan an opportunity to enjoy the overall great entertainment value of NE, with strong vocal and touring performances by the group.

The only down side is that they have grown to be such admirable men and that doesn't come across in the song selection, which I understand was out of their control.

Still, you've got to get a copy of this CD or your new millenium R&B collection will not be complete.