Customer Reviews

Poison

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Either you all weren't listening to and buying music in the early 1990s or are jumping on the Bell Biv DeVoe/New Edition-bashing bandwagon, but "Poison!" was one of the best soul albums of that decade. "Poison!" was the predecessor of what is heard in soul music today -- the influence of the hip-hop culture, sexist and doggish slang and cutting-edge, slap 'n' swing beats.

The album produced five Top Five soul hits -- the title track, "Do Me!," "BBD (I Thought It Was Me)?," "When Can I See You Smile Again?" and "She's Dope!" -- and sold some 4 million copies, so you can't say it wasn't successful. Moreover, the album bridged the formerly distinct worlds of soul and rap; hip-hop's acceptance into mainstream soul music was easily sped up thanks to "Poison!"

The success of "Poison!" also made the New Edition umbrella a supergroup -- in early 1990, no one thought former N.E. members Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe could be successful without headliners Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill, yet BBD was more successful than Tresvant and Gill as solo acts. To this day, New Edition is still the only act in which all of its members garnered platinum albums as solo acts.

And another sign of success is imitation: TLC was created as a female version of BBD (which it still is), and the "Poison!" album allowed Bivins to parlay that success into a record label (Biv 10) and discover, among other acts, Boyz II Men -- yet another New Edition clone.

The album also got rave reviews when it was released (including even from Rolling Stone magazine). When you add it up, "Poison!" dropped a gigantic bomb on the popular soul music landscape.

Ok, so Ricky Bell isn't the best singer in the world, and Lord knows that Mike Bivins and Ronnie Devoe are not great rappers, but damned if they don't know how to get a party started. Man, back in the day when you heard the opening chords of "Posion" you couldn't help but move. I disagree with those who claim that this CD has not aged well because I still enjoy this music, as do many of my peers. It feels kind of weird to already have oldies at this age, but it has been 11 years since this CD dropped.

The genius of this group lies not so much in their talent or lyrics, but in their foresight to combine hip hop and R&B for a different type of sound. They were among the first to do this, and people loved it! To this day, if you start the phrase "Smack it up, flip it, rub it down.." among certain folks over 25, they will finish it up with "Oh nooo..." Heck, this is the group that coined the verse "Never trust a big butt and a smile." All of which is to say that no matter what your opinion of the music, you have to acknowledge that have left an imprint on the musical landscape.

The music is sexually blatant, but is way milder than Luke AKA "Me So ..." Luther Campbell who also let his imprint during the 90's with booty music.

The boys smooth things out with a couple of Bell-led ballads "When Will I See You Smile Again" and "I Do Need You" just to round things out. Ricky's falsetto is kind of thin, but he is so earnest that you don't even mind.

Overall, this is a classic CD that reminds me of my early years. I was young, in college and having a ball. Years from now I can still see myself playing this CD and breaking out into the running man and maybe even cabbage patch as I tell my kids "You don't know anything about this."

Before Bell Biv Devoe, it was New Edition (Ralph Tresvant, Michael Bivins, Ronnie Devoe, Ricky Bell, Bobby Brown, and Johnny Gill) After New Edition Ricky Bell, Ronnie Devoe, and Micheal Bivins formed a three man group called Bell Biv Devoe. Bell Biv Devoes 1st Cd Poison is a New Jack Swing Classic. Songs like "Poison," "Do Me!," "B.B.D. (Thought It Was Me)," and "Shes Dope," are 4 New Jack Swing Classics, and are by far the best songs off Poison. Bell Biv Devoe didn't really make any soft tunes, but they made one good one called "When Will I See You Smile Again?) which was also a big hit. So people who diss and make fun of Bell Biv Devoe just look at how many classics they have, they got atleast 5. After this Cd they made Hootie Mack, and then did one last New Edition CD. Ricky Bell and Ronnie Devoe didn't do anything after 1996, but Michael Bivins in the early 90's made debut albums for Another Bad Creation and Boyz II Men, which are two great albums.

One one my favorite groups, with New Edition being my favorite. This cd takes me back to the days when your boyfriend use to make love song mixtapes. I know i had one with "I Do Need You" and When Will I See You Smile Again. Love every song on this and with the way music is now it's rare to have a cd with more than 1-2 even decent songs. Classic, Classic, Classic!!!!!!

I bought this CD as a joke to relive my memories from the 90s. After a first listen, I could tell that the album sounded a bit dated from the mixing (levels of instruments), but after that, I realized that this is a REALLY good album. There are some sweet tracks like "Dope", "Do Me" and "When Will I See You Again?", and they aren't held back by dated instruments. Instead, the songwriting, harmonies and song structures overshadow everything that might be perceived as "old". Of course, this has their hit "Poison". Recommended.

This album is a classic that I had to have. When it came out back in the day I rushed to Leopold's in Berkeley to get the tape, and I had the same determination to get the CD from Amazon. There are so many hits on here that one can listen almost all the way through--even the slow songs bring the heat when it comes to good listening. Get it!

When Bobby Brown left New Edition for a solo career, he released the popular album Don't Be Cruel that was a colaboration with producer Teddy Riley that populized New Jack Swing with it. The fifth original member Ralph Tresvant also released a solo album Ralph Tresvant and so did Bobby's replacement Johnny Gill with the successful Johnny Gill. This left Ricky Bell Michael Bivins and Ronnie Devoe on their own, but instead of completely giving up music they founded the New Edition spin-off group Bell Biv Devoe and made an attempt on New Jack Swing aswell, but instead of completely emulating Bobby they made their own version of the genre, mixing both Hip Hop, R&B with Pop with a tougher edge. Infact, their new band sound very little like the sweet pop/soul of early New Edition. Most of the songs are uptempo here, like the daring "Do Me" and "Posion" both becoming top #5 hits or "Dope", "B.B.D (I Thought It was Me)" "Word To Tha Mutha" all minor singles, but apart from all those sexy uptempo's, they were also able to make good slow jams, especially with "When Will I See You Smile Again" that is the best example and "I Do Need You" is not far behind. The last song was called, "Let Me Know Something" that was another decent uptempo. The album closed with a remix of "Poison" making it just 10 songs which is quite little today. Like many New Jack Swing albums of the early 90's this is another one that doesn't sound like it was made a day after 1990 (the year it was released) but it's one of the more original albums to come out and it feature enough memorable hits for anyone to bother. unfortunately this project didn't do much more then this, but as we all know New Edition re-united again in 1996 with all 6 members with Home Again and had a hit with "Hit Me Off".

It was in the MTV era( when they actually played music )when i heard a beat that made me stop...it was Poison by BBD. That was just the begining for me and this album. i was just starting to DJ back then and i was always looking for the next heater for the dance floor. BBD gave me more than one, in fact they gave us all music that to this day is still being requested and played well after 12:00AM...their songs are still heaters!!!"I thought it was me" and " Do me" never got old on the dancefloor. I never played a party without all of the above being requested by everyone back home in Santa Paula,Ca. For anyone who had a taste for the 80's dance music ...this is a mixture of R& b, New Jack, Soul-(When will I see You Smile Agian?) that you need in your collection. It's 2007 and i'm still DJing and i'm still playing these same BBD cuts on the dancefloor on the regular! This album is a prime example of how good the music was back in the 80's...want proof...i'm still playing BBD almost 20 years later and getting the same reaction from the dancefloor...! JC Cota[...]

The spin-off trio from New Edition formed by Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe to form Bell Biv DeVoe. Their debut album and lead single Poison combined R&B, dance and hip-hop with timeless quotable "...never trust a big butt and a smile..." to bring back memories of that day in time. The ten song album starts off with "Dope!". This song definitely sets the tone for the LP and builds expectation that hasn't been left out with again memorable lyrics "...come here girl I wanna knock your boots..." that was also produced by Dr. Freeze. "B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me)?" continued on exposing the multi-talented group and their style. As a majority of this LP "Let Me Know Something?!" continues with fast pace dance tunes smoothed by Bell's vocals. "...take a look at me / tell me do you like what you see..." bluntly stated on "Do Me!" as they slow the tempo down a few degrees for a hot sexual encounter. Referencing the life of New Edition and the transition, "Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph And Johnny (Word To The Mutha)!" connects to the members and the fan which was produced themselves with the help of Peace Production. "Ain't Nut'in' Changed!" is all hip-hop down to the production from Hank Shocklee, Eric Sadler and Keith Shocklee (also Public Enemy) as one of the three songs produced by the team. Tracks nine and ten contains the only ballads found on this album produced by Timmy Gatling and Alton Stewart with "When Will I See You Smile Again?" and "I Do Need You". The ballads show more mature sound (N.E. with Johnny Gill) harmonies that made them popular for that time. As New Edition or B.B.D they still know how to entertain with great classic songs.

What a fabulous album! It reminds me of growing up in the carefree 90s. [...]The memories I have of this album are as a 5th/6th grade African American student living in Germany during the Gulf War and it being the most popular song at talent shows for children of U.S. soldiers. [...]