Source: Starshine Magazine
It's been said before. It's been done before. Bands like this have died before with barely a fond memory of the phenomenon they had started. Bad tastes are left in fans? mouths. Jokes and grimaces are all that's left when mentioning their name. Many have expected the Backstreet Boys to go just as they came? They were a fad that boomed a following of other groups like 'N Sync, LFO, 5ive and Youngstown. Maybe only a couple of those groups sound familiar. Maybe because either those groups broke up, flopped with the decline of boy bands or egos and side projects prolonged their return.
But we're forgetting several factors. None of those groups-with the exception of 'N Sync-had the success of the Backstreet Boys. None of them have been around as long-12 years-and counting. And none of them seem to have the brotherhood and talent that these 5 men-yes, men, not boys-have.
It's been almost 5 years since their last album, not counting their greatest hits album, which some found to be released too soon. Some fans hung on devotedly waiting, still checking message boards, fan sites and official sites for their return. To them, they were still out there though. Through their individual side projects, BSB still kept their most dedicated supporters in the know. Others gave up hope. As StarShine has witnessed, some were almost bitter and moved onto the next big thing in pop music. Then there are the critics and the haters... they never cared to begin with. They might even have thought it was over for the group and happily accepted their "break". So, why should they care now? Hmm, read on and see.
Now, it's 2005 and music is not so much about young, sweet Britney Spears and crooning Latin hunks like Ricky Martin. The closest you come to those reminiscent idols is Hilary Duff and Jesse McCartney, but even their music is a little more pop-rocked than the sugary love songs from the late '90s. Making it even more difficult for pop artists to rise is the domination of rap and rock on TV and the airwaves.
Maybe for other pop acts, this might be discouraging. For the Backstreet Boys... it's just d�� vu. They've been there, done that. This time though, they have experience and a name behind them. Whether people love that name is another story. Whether they love the music or not... well, stereotypes and looks aside, everyone might find themselves divulged in at least one song from the Backstreet Boys in the near future.
Never Gone is appropriately the name of the new Backstreet Boys album. Named after the song of the same title, ironically, that's not the best track by far on the CD. That being said, the other 11 songs offer diversity and a sentiment you just can't find anywhere else in music right now.
From the first single, "Incomplete", which is still holding strong in the top 20 on Billboard's singles charts, to the exotic, almost foreign beat of "My Beautiful Woman", Never Gone's brilliance can't be denied. The five R&B/pop voices blend harmoniously like never before on each track with alterna-pop beats, creating an enjoyable mixture of genres of music.
If you say anything about Never Gone, whether it's negative or positive, there should be one thing everyone agrees on... This album is unlike any previous Backstreet record. Songs like "Just Want You To Know", "Lose It All" and "Climbing The Walls" are material you?d expect from a rock/pop band rather than a boy band, which once adorned the walls of prepubescent girls. "I Still..." and "Safest Place To Hide" reflect back to the Boys of yore, but still have a bit more edge to them.
Besides "Incomplete", the tracks that stand out most on Never Gone have to be "My Beautiful Woman", the contemplative "Weird World", the agonizing pining of "Crawling Back To You" and then there's "Poster Girl"-the edgy, pop sing-a-long you can?t deny yourself of.
To go into more detail, what was very noticeable on this record were the voices behind it. AJ McLean's soulful rasp is much sharper and clean this time around due to his sobriety. On the contrary, Nick Carter's baby cute sugar filled sound incorporated more of his solo rock edge on this album. He exudes intense passion and a power he may have lacked in the past. We also hear more of Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson's vocals on Never Gone than probably all three of their previous albums put together. Their vocal performances on "Lose It All", "Safest Place To Hide" and "Never Gone" round out the album well. Then there's angel voiced, Brian Littrell. He never changes and that's a good thing.
StarShine Magazine is driven by hoards of Backstreet Boys fans from across the world. We knew they would return and they'd blow up big once again. With 6 StarShine Readers' Choice Award nominations, we only know this will be the beginning of the accolades for the Backstreet Boys in 2005. In conclusion, if you're still skeptical, American Idol's evil judge, Simon Cowell called Never Gone "brilliant"... what more can we say?