When you think of nineties music, it usually conjures up thoughts of grunge, or gangsta rap, possibly even the late decade surge of teen pop, yet forgotten in nineties nostalgia is R&B powerhouse Boyz II Men who only broke records held by The Beatles and they even their own record of most weeks at number one on the pop charts. They were a godsend for guys hoping to get their ladies in the mood and thanks to the death of RnB last decade, they remain a go to baby making soundtrack.
The group started out earnest enough as a Michael Bivins vanity group, even having shout out to him and the “East coast Family” in their first single Motownphilly (which begs the question, what ever happened to Sudden Impact, the token white boys of the crew who showed up in the video but didn’t even warrant a shout-out in the song? And what was the Vanderpooleera that was supposable coming soon?). Shameless plugging aside, the song was fun and when it got to the breakdown, who didn’t scat along with the group?
But any novelty of the first single wore off with the release of the follow up, It’s so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday. The a capaella song became a staple of choirs everywhere and is still poignant today to play for the serious, like a loss of a friend, or even the not so serious like when I cue up the song whenever the token hot chick is voted off Survivor.
Of course Boyz II Men if best known for their baby making song and though they didn’t hit the pinicle of that type of song until their sophomore record, there is still plenty to get you in the mood on Cooleyhighharmony, most notably Uhh, Ahh. If I’ll Make Love to You is for love making, then Uhh, Ahh is what you put on during foreplay. The album also features a song that is still a go to for sad songs, Lonely Heart with its heartbreaking chorus which is a must to heal any broken junior high heart.
Added on later after being a smash hit off the Boomerang Soundtrack, End of the Road is another heart wrenching song, the first for the group penned by Babyface who would go on to write two of their biggest hits from the second album. The song makes you wonder why the group didn’t utilize more spoken word from the group’s bass singer Mike McCary whose voice is so low, you need a subwoofer to properly hear his voice. Also added to the deluxe edition of Cooleyhighharmony was a second a capella track, an updated version of In the Still of the Night made famous by The Five Satins, that, again, was worn out by high school choirs everywhere.
With RnB almost dead, it is time for a Boyz II Men revival as they are about to hit their twentieth anniversary next year. I do not expect them to be as huge as they were a decade and a half ago, but if they reteam with Babyface, they should have a few more bedroom anthems in them. Until then, I will just have to induct Cooleyhighharmony into my Scooter Hall of Fame.
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