Word: boyz
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Fortunately, the situation is not quite so dire. The vocal quartet Boyz II Men is living, singing proof that the love song -- like love itself -- will never really disappear. Other performers may grab the headlines and spark debates on the op-ed pages, but by going against the critical tide and recording harmonious ballads, Boyz II Men has won an enormous following. Its 1991 debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, sold 7 million copies, and in 1992 its mournful, melodic single End of the Road stayed at No. 1 on Billboard's charts for 13 weeks, breaking a record set by Elvis Presley...
What's remarkable about Boyz II Men is that its unabashed romanticism never bogs down the members' considerable musical skill. Motown is their label, and with their harmonies and look-alike outfits, they hark back to the classic Motown vocal groups like the Temptations. The Boyz released their debut CD just after the Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal. It was a cynical time for pop music. Vanilla Ice had a best-selling pseudo-rap album; New Kids on the Block had gone multiplatinum. Were there any real singers left? Was everyone as fake as Rob and Fab's hair extensions...
...shamelessly traditional it's almost radical. While elsewhere in pop, bands like Nine Inch Nails scream such lyrics as "I want to f -- -- -- you like an animal," the Boyz uphold a quaint gentlemanliness. Women aren't objects of lust; they are cherished. "Girl, your wish is my command/ I'll submit to your demands," go the lyrics to I'll Make Love II You. Monogamy is celebrated. "Wanna build a new life," goes On Bended Knee. "Gonna make you my wife/ Raise a family." Boyz II Men has found a niche by seeming to be blissfully unaware of its cultural...
...Boyz -- Wanya Morris, Nate Morris (no relation), Shawn Stockman and Michael McCary -- didn't live in a fantasy world growing up. All are in their early 20s, and all were raised by single mothers of modest means. That helps explain why their music is so empathetic toward the opposite sex. "Women go through a great deal in the day," says Stockman, "and we feel the man should be the one to say, 'Hey, relax, now I'm going to do the things you want to be done...
...Lewis (the masterminds of Janet Jackson's rise to megastardom). Every song on II is about love and is performed at mid-tempo; the whole enterprise could easily have become just another bland-as-the-Weather-Channel collection of precision- crafted pop songs. It didn't. Each of the Boyz has a robust, nimble voice -- "There's not a weak link in the bunch," says Jam -- and the group turns almost every song on II into a vocal workout. Water Runs Dry, with its plaintive singing backed by a spare acoustic guitar, creates a mood of sublime melancholy...