Source: WCF Courier
By VICKI ST. JAMES, For Pulse
After a five year hiatus, the multi-platinum '90s pop phenomenon, the Backstreet Boys have re-emerged with "Never Gone," released on last month. With their latest album, the boys return as men with a fresh, new sound and a highly respectable No. 3 Billboard debut. International fans have also continued the love for the Backstreet Boys, embracing "Never Gone."
Loyal BSB fans looking for harmonies reminiscent of "Millennium" (1999) which spawned the platinum single "I Want it That Way" will find the Boys' vocal synchronizations to be just as pleasing as ever. Furthermore, to their credit, they have gone sans-synthesizer on "Never Gone," sounding a bit like Coldplay with a hint of R. Kelly to please R&B fans. With an emphasis on live instrumentation, we see a transformed Backstreet Boys that should be well received by a new, more mature audience.
Additionally, the Boys have enlisted the help of a host of stellar musicians and producers on "Never Gone," including Five for Fighting's John Ondrasik, ex-Savage Garden member Darren Hayes, 2004 Grammy Award-winning producer John Shank, and original production guru Max Martin.
The opening cut is the haunting, piano-driven power ballad, "Incomplete." Co-written and tightly produced by Dan Muckala, "Incomplete" beautifully showcases the Boys' new sound. The recently gruff vocals of colorful New York native Nick Carter complement the earthy vocals of rehab grad A.J. McClain in a variety of angst ridden verses: "Empty spaces fill me up with holes/Distant faces with no place left to go/Without you within me I can't find no rest/Where I'm going is anybody's guess." Howie Dorough, aka Sweet D, and wholesome cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson offer the perfect alchemy to an equally emotional chorus: "Without you all I'm going to be is incomplete."
Another strong cut is the Ondrasik collaboration "Weird World," a song about self absorption --- getting so caught up in our day to day routine that we miss the bigger picture of what is happening in the real world: "Send a message to a GI in the desert/Said thank you man for bringing another dawn/Back here it's her and me and we're having our first baby/He's out there taking them on." Lyrics laced with irony, and a smart string arrangement by Paul Buckmaster and Gregg Wattenberg make this track highly memorable.
The Boys took over a year to record "Never Gone" and during that time period over 100 songs by a variety of artists were submitted and recorded by BSB, so it is hard to fathom any weak tracks. However, the cliche-ridden "Poster Girl" unbelievably manages to make the cut: "She says nothing's forever in this crazy world/Still I'm falling in love with the right now poster girl." Furthermore, "Beautiful Woman" could have done without the spelling lesson: "B is for Beautiful as the sunshine/E tells me Everything's feeling alright ..." however, intricate vocalization on this upbeat hook-laden Bon Jovi-sounding anthem more than makes up for its lyrical deficiency.
Only time will tell if the Backstreet Boys will be capable of defying the odds that most teen idols face of trading in their abbreviated, flash-in-the-pan fame for an enduring career. The success --- or failure --- rests on the shoulders of five very talented, newly matured performers, who prove on "Never Gone" that they are certainly well deserving of your attention.