It’s a bit of a tragedy that with 60 million records sold and 4 Grammy Award wins, Boyz II Men, the best-selling R&B group in history, is known to most young music lovers possibly as the guys whose countdown was sampled in Beyonce’s “Countdown”.

Then again, 20 years in the music business, which their newest release Twenty celebrates, is longer than some UrbanWire readers have even been alive. It doesn’t help that the Motown stalwarts haven’t released any new material in 7 years, by Wanya Moris’s admission to MTV News, and that then preppy Shawn Stockman, one of the original quartet members, now sports a beard noticeably peppered with white.

Together with brothers Nathan and Wanya Morris, Stockman and Michael McCary formed the legendary a cappella band Boyz II Men that debuted in the ‘90s to overnight success with platinum single, “Motownphilly”.

Since then, the recent Hollywood Walk of Fame inductees recorded more chart-dominating hits like “End of the Road”, “On Bended Knee” and “One Sweet Day”, recorded and composed with Mariah Carey in 1995, which spent a record-setting 16 weeks on the number 1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

Fast-forward to today and you have Twenty, the double CD set that commemorates their hit-making years with updated classics like, “I’ll Make Love to You” and “Four Seasons of Loneliness”, minus the earthy bass vocal stylings of McCary. Topping off the auditory indulgence are a dozen new songs to appease die-hard fans who’ve been counting down to this day since the project was announced in 2009.

A strong start to the album, “Believe” is a radio-friendly tune whose thumping rhythm and catchy melody eases you into the album effortlessly.

Dominated by love ballads, what they’re known best for, the trio’s richly layered emotions break through every last defence, tugging on your heartstrings with “More Than You’ll Ever Know” and “Will You Be There”.

“Benefit of a Fool”, is an upbeat love song, a refreshing change from the ballads in the album. Coupled with vibrant percussion and delightfully lush vocals, this one’s going into the playlist.

Another highlight is “One Up for Love”. An uplifting tribute to love, it draws you in with an infectious melody. Member Wayne explains the meaning behind the song, “We live our lives talking and singing about love. This song felt like a song that everyone can relate to on a global level. We all struggle, we all question, yet love always pulls us together.”

While a comeback album wouldn’t be complete without former bass member, Mike McCary, it seems that “Mike just completely got lazy,” said Nathan, who recorded bass parts on top of his own.

Bringing a refined sound and a myriad of updated melodies to this album, the album enlisted the expertise of Babyface, Rob Knox, Teddy Riley, hit producers for big names in the industry like Beyoncé, Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake. The catchiness of their new songs contrasts nicely with their re-recorded hits, bring an old-meets-new vibe to the listeners.

Moving to the second CD is akin to taking a trip down memory lane. Distilling the R&B legends’ illustrious musical journey in 8 unforgettable tracks including “Water Runs Dry” and “I’ll Make Love to You”, the selection is a good introduction for the kind of new demographic that these 3 are trying to reach out to by getting on Justin Bieber’s Christmas album.

As the last song fades to a finish, you finally realise what all the Boyz II Men fuss is about. Their mastery of love ballads and ability to belt out tightly harmonised, flawlessly beautiful vocals, time after time is the reason why Billboard has named them as “the most successful group of the 1990’s”.

Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait too long for their next album.

Album Details

  • Artiste: Boyz II Men
  • Album Name: Twenty
  • Rating (out of 5): 4/5
  • Language: English
  • Genre: R&B
  • Record Label: MSM Music Group/Benchmark Entertainment
  • Release date: Oct 17

Tracklist

Disc 1

  1. Believe
  2. So Amazing
  3. Put Some Music On
  4. Slowly
  5. More Than You’ll Ever Know
  6. I Shoulda Lied
  7. Benefit of a Fool
  8. Refuse to be the Reason
  9. One More Dance
  10. Will You Be There
  11. Flow
  12. One Up for Love

Disc 2

  1. Motownphilly
  2. On Bended Knee
  3. Four Seasons of Loneliness
  4. Water Runs Dry
  5. A Song for Mama
  6. It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
  7. I’ll Make Love to You
  8. End of the Road
  9. Not Like You