It's no secret on today's music scene, and amongst music audiences, that since being introduced to the world by Michael Bivins and Motown's revived music machinery, that Boyz II Men have been red-hot. Since the release of the 1991 debut LP Cooleyhighharmony, which has sold more than seven million copies worldwide, they've been on a seamless hit streak that has included breaking some of the rock era's most cherished, long-running records. When they're now-classic "End of the Road" smash clung to the number one position of Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 13 weeks, they had officially broken the record set by Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog" success. Though not long after, superstar songstress Whitney Houston toppped that record, when her ballad-for-all-seasons, "I Will Always Love You," snatched that same top spot on the Hot 100 chart for a phenomenal fourteen weeks. Touche' you say? Well wouldn't it figure that "I'll Make Love to You," the Boyz' Babyface-produced smash single, from their already quadruple-platinum followup II, has also held the number one post for fourteen weeks, tying it with Whitney's single for the number one single of the rock era. If that's not enough for your nerves, they've been ushered into The Beatles, and Elvis territory by being the third recording act in chart history to replace themselves at #1. Indeed it was anothe historic feat when "On Bended Knee" acquired the long-held spot "I'll Make Love to You" dominated.
Though some of music's superstars of the past have spoken of the intense presure to repeat record-breaking successes, Philadelphia's favorite sons knew exactly what they were going for the second time around, part of which including keeping it real. "We basically wanted to keep the same format," explains the group's Shawn Stockman. "It has the same variety of sound, because people get into the slow stuff a little better than just keeping everything uptempo," In addition to co-writing/writing eight of the tracks on II, as well as co-producing five and solely producing two cuts, the guys admit to wanting a variety of producers without concerning themselves with the issue of sacrificing continuity. Their voices are the star of the show, and those trademark R&B-styled harmonies hold everything together. Top contemporary producers lending their stuio wizardy to II are the team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, Babyface, the Tim Kelley/Bob Robinson team (from Dallas Austin's camp), L.A. Reid, and The Characters (Troy Taylor and Charles Farrar), who also did production on Cooleyhighharmony. "We put our attention into both sides," says Michael McCary of the balance between ballads and uptempo tunes. "We tried to put our one hundred percent into each song that we did, and we didn't favor one side or the other. With the last album, it was like that also, it's just that the people got into ballads a little more than the uptempo ones. We give our all in every song, but we can't help what the other people lanch on to."
"People seem to always be looking for negatives," Shawn shares in a rather dissapointed tone. "This is it," Nate states sincerley. "There are no deep-hidden secrets or skeletons in the Boyz II Men closet," Slim continues. "We are in no way perfect, but there is nothing else to know. What you see is for real," he reassures.
For now, Boyz II Men have no plans of any drastic changes in the gentlemen that we've come to know. There are no plans for any marriages, moves out of their current cities of residence, and according to "Bass," no solo recording projects. They all agree that working with Take 6 would be the ultimate. On the recent Jason's Lyric soundtrack recording for Mecury Records, they worked with just about every other male group in R&B, and agree with Wanya that "it was the bomb."
And it's their exquisire choie of songs that make them such a winning formula. Beyond their two pop/soul anthems, "I'll Make Love to You," and "On Bended Knee," II boasts a collection of memorable, hit-bound sounds that eiher touch the heart or move the feet. Aside from "On Bended Knee," Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also produced the plush and funky urban groover "All Around the World." "It's basically a song dedicated to all our fans," reveals Wanya, "and just all of the people we met in all of the places we've been. It has a nice groove to it, and we helped write it with Jam & Lewis." Similarily, Babyface, who wrote and produced "I'll Make Love to You," brings new flavor to the Boyz' sound with his other contribution, the acoustic, guitar-propelled pop/soul tune "Water Runs Dry," "It's a different song for us because the track was done with live instuments," shares Shawn. "like live strings, live drums, and live giutars. And it has somewhat of a different feel for Boyz II Men because it kind of simulates a Beatles-type of vibe. We dug the song at first because it was so different. We wanted to branch off on this album a little bit, and still have the same format as far as subject matter, but interpret it in a different way." Nathan (Morris) adds, "Thank You" (produced by Boyz with Dallas Austin) is also different for us because there are no actual instruments used on the song. It's an a capella uptempo tune, where we're actually the kick drum, the bass, the snare, the high hat, you name it. We were everything on this song, and that's what made it different. The sngs just says thanks to everyone who has helped us throughout the years, even before we became entertainers. We're thanking friends, family, and the Lord." Other smash-sounding gems on II include the moody, jazz-spiced urban riffs of "Jezzebel," the loose swingin' funk/R&B jam "U Know," the warm and romantic soul sway of "Trying Times," and their heavenly, a capella reworking of The Beatles' "Yesterday."
Now we, the music audience, can sit back and watch these four silky smooth voices acheive even higher levels of success, and perhaps, break even more records. Though personally, their goals are more basic. "We just want to simply continue to make the the kind of music, hopefully, that people will get into," offers Shawn. "The mission is still the same, we want people to accept our music, accept our vibe and roll with that."