Backstreet Boys- Never Gone (WWWW)
(Jive/Zomba/BMG)
If there’s anything that the
music industry teaches us, it’s to expect the unexpected.
Back in 2000, when the
Backstreet Boys released their previous album, “Black & Blue”, they were at
the height of their popularity. A year before, their album “Millennium” broke
sales records and spawned four hit singles, and had a fifth hit in 2000 with
“Shape of My Heart”. However, the public was growing weary of them and their
“rivals” *N Sync, and by the end of 2001 neither had a public presence
(although *N Sync fizzled long after the Backstreet Boys did).
A year later, BSB’s Nick Carter
and *N Sync’s Justin Timberlake both released solo albums. Carter’s rockier
material lacked the pizzazz that Timberlake’s R&B-tinged album had
(especially in its singles), prompting Carter’s first album to debut at a
horrendous No. 45, even though it had considerably less “filler” than
Timberlake’s album did. Carter’s failures and Timberlake’s success prompted
many to think that BSB was “over” and that *N Sync would eventually come back.
*N Sync had the pizzazz- which is all that matters really in the cutthroat pop
music scene- and not only that it had a bona fide star in Timberlake. BSB
simply didn’t have anything to compete.
Yet here we are, in 2005, and
it’s the Backstreet Boys- not *N Sync- who have managed to come back first, and
my, what a comeback it is. I’ll admit, I was never much of a fan of BSB in
their prime, mainly because their later stuff was overdone and lacked the energy
that their earlier, more youthful work did, but on “Never Gone”, BSB suddenly
find their “on” switch and provide the kind of album that many probably didn’t
think they had. The album has all the urgency of Game 7, and that pays off for
them in spades.
What struck me most about “Never
Gone” was its consistency and its focus- “Never Gone” has a bit of a
workman-like attitude, with the Boys simply focused on making good pop music.
They’re on a comeback, which doesn’t leave them much time for dithering, and
while some may be disappointed in that it’s not as adventurous as, say, Britney
Spears’ comeback “In The Zone” was (which failed due to its lack of
focus), given the circumstances, it’s understandable. Besides, simple, straight
pop music is what their fans want, and here they deliver. It also doesn’t hurt
that all five members give outstanding performances and each play their roles
extremely well- if the song calls for a group member to do background vocals,
they do it. This really is a “team” effort, and “Never Gone” is better for it.
The songs too are quite stellar
themselves- “Incomplete”, the epic first single, is a grand opener, the kind of
song that will make people stand up and listen to the rest of the album. Once
they’re there, they’ll find gems like “Weird World”, featuring Five for
Fighting (AKA John Ondrasik), a nice, charming piano-led song that deals with
its topic very well. Then there’s also the title track, which closes the album
and lets the Boys do what they do best- sing- even if the lyrics are a little
plain.
Of course, “Never Gone” does
have its faults, especially in those very lyrics I mentioned. Mind you, on a
pop album (which places more emphasis on the music itself than on the lyrics),
this can be overlooked, but in some cases the cheesiness of the lyrics (such as
in “Siberia”) can get a little much. Also, as I said before, the workman-like
attitude may disappoint some people hoping for an “adventure”, and it may also
disappoint some fans that were hoping for their favourite “Boy” to grab the
spotlight (Carter gets most of the leads here). However, for a group that lost
its focus late in their previous chart life, a back-to-the-basics album like
“Never Gone” is exactly what they needed. BSB- and, by extension, pop music in
general- is back; whether you like it or not.
-DG