1992 Boyz II Men: The End Of The Road

It's an interesting question I suppose - when is a boy band not a boy band? In essence a nineties phenomena, 'boy band' is generally used as a derogatory description of a certain class of group who are somehow not regarded as legitimate. For example, The Rolling Stones are (or were) all boys, but they have never been classed as a 'boy band' the way (for another example) Boyzone were. How the act came together, who writes the songs, who produces is and for what specific audience - all these factors play their part in determining how an act are perceived and whether they are due any kudos because of it.

For my money, Boyz II Men walk a fine line between credibility and whatever you imagine the opposite to be. Taking their lead (and name) from New Edition (a definite boy band if ever there was one), the genre's influence is palpable, but Boyz II Men nevertheless plied a more sophisticated take to the norm that always knew its place in its own history, with 'The End Of The Road' being as good as an example as any. Though signed to Motown, their reading of this borrows less from the pop history of their label and more from the swing of Philly soul; I can hear more than a splash of The Delfonics' 'Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)' in its amalgamation of solo and harmony vocals set to a smooth groove that builds in intensity as the desperation grows. As such it's a song that would benefit from a more tentative watercolour approach instead of the elephant stomp we get.

Writer/producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds' latter day CV reads like a who's who of modern R&B, but the clipped and icy separation on each of the music tracks on 'The End Of The Road' ring with a cold and hollow clang. They provide too hard a bed for the song to lie comfortably on and would have benefited from a little blurring round the edges instead of being laid on thick in poster paint primary colours. Vocally too the Boyz aim for an earnestness of tone that ultimately translates as seriousness of the furrowed brow, chin stroking variety that are devoid of the warmth they aspire to. The shuddering diction on each of the 'girl's makes them sound like an insult based on gender and the spoken word middle eight at 2:35 ("I’m not out to go out and cheat on you all night. Just like you did baby but that’s all right") would play better with a little vulnerability instead of a Darth Vader intensity and it all serves to unravel 'The End Of The Road' and re-knit it into something bordering on parody. It's a decent song with a class and a pedigree, but ultimately I'm afraid its larger than life Hanna Barbera soul doesn't have either of its feet in any kind of reality that I can relate to.