Search - New Edition :: One Love (Mcup)

Usher's Confessions Has Finally Been Topped

Derrick Dunn | Woodbridge,VA | 11/09/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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"

Diddy done messed up........

Matsudo Kenji | Romulus, MI USA | 06/14/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



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*"

I'm Still In Love

Zydecogirl | Texas | 11/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."