Block [Bonus Tracks]

Performer: New Kids on the Block
Artist: Lady Gaga; Teddy Riley; Pussycat Dolls; New Edition; Akon
Engineer: Chris Billias; Chris Godbey; Fernando Garibay; Keith Gretlein; Matty Green; Tom Syrowski; Hakim Abdoulsamad; Tony Terrebonne; Emanuel Kiriakou; Skye Lewin; Jeremy Page; Benjamin Chang; Perry Geyer; Teddy Riley; Adam Messinger; Aaron Pearce
Producer: Fernando Garibay; Polow Da Don; Nasri Atweh; Hakim Abdoulsamad; Donnie Wahlberg; Emanuel Kiriakou; Adida Kavarro; RedOne; Rick Rock; Teddy Riley; Timbaland; Aliaune Thiam; Adam Messinger; Jerome Harmon; Aaron Pearce; Ne-Yo; Fernando Garibay; Polow Da Don; Rickrock; Nasri Atweh; Hakim Abdoulsamad; Emanuel Kiriakou; Akon; Redone; Teddy Riley; Timbaland; Adam Messinger; Aaron Pearce; Ne-Yo
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: New Kids on the Block: Donnie Wahlberg (programming); Danny Wood, Joey McIntyre, Jordan Knight. Personnel: New Kids on the Block (background vocals); Redone (various instruments, programming, background vocals); Fernando Garibay (various instruments, programming); Rickrock, Hakim Abdulsamad, Adam Messinger, Jerome Harmon, Aaron Pearce (various instruments); Emanuel Kiriakou (keyboards, programming); Joe Wolfe (keyboards); RedOne (programming, background vocals); Tyler Thurmond (programming); Zukhan Bey (drum programming); Nasri Atweh, Joaquin Bynum, New Edition , Teddy Riley, The Pussycat Dolls (background vocals). Programmer: Fernando Garibay. Audio Mixers: Chris Godbey; Jean-Marie Horvat; Robert Orton; Adam Messinger. Recording information: AMP Room, Nashville, TN; Bristol Studios, Boston, MA; Chalice Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Cybersound Studios, Boston, MA; G2 Studios, Hollywood, CA; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; Hit Factory, Miami, FL; House Of Hits West, Studio City, CA; Night Bird Studio At The Sunset, West Hollywood, CA; No Excuses Studio, Santa Monica, CA; Sanctum Sound, Los Angeles, CA; Sunland Music Studio, Gambia; ZAC Recording Studio, Atlanta, GA. Editors: Matty Green; Pat Thrall. Photographer: Olaf Heine. Arranger: Fernando Garibay. One of the pioneering and best-loved boy bands of the 1980s, the New Kids on the Block in their prime represented rosy-cheeked cuteness and innocent puppy love. In the long, album-less interim between 1994's FACE THE MUSIC and 2008's THE BLOCK, the Kids did a lot of growing up. The intervening 14 years have rubbed the teenaged glow off the group's sound and sensibility, and replaced it with a club-oriented vibe that is more concerned with sexing its listeners up than charming them with nostalgia. From the opener "Click Click Click," which details a homemade photo shoot, it's clear that the emphasis is on adult themes, while "Grown Man" and "Big Girl Now" also sing the praises of adult fun. The album's sonic make-up is taken from contemporary R&B, radio-ready hip-hop, and digitized club music (the solo releases of fellow boy-band alum Justin Timberlake seems to be a touchstone), and a roster of guests, including Akon, Lady Gaga, and the Pussycat Dolls, help update THE BLOCK. The Kids don't bear much resemblance to their old selves, but longtime fans may still thrill to hear their favorite boy band back again. The problem facing New Kids on the Block on their 2008 reunion The Block is the same one they had on their last album, 1994's Face the Music: the quintet are no longer kids and don't quite know how to be adults. That dilemma drove them apart back in 1994, as the group stumbled away from their clumsy stab at hip-hop on Face the Music, remembered chiefly for embarrassments like "Dirty Dawg" where the boys tried to be gangsta, as that was the style of the time. Fourteen years later, NKOTB are none the wiser, restyling themselves to fit into current trends and piling on guest artists by the dozens. Coming off the heels of the astounding multi-platinum success of Hangin' Tough and Step by Step, such desperate attempts to hang onto stardom made sense in 1994, but now that all the members save Joey McIntyre are pushing 40, it's awkward to hear the group abandon sprightly bubblegum for youthful rhythm-driven club music. At their peak, NKOTB only sang about puppy love -- how could they not, as their fans were almost entirely preteens too young to hear sticky songs of seduction, the kind that comprise the entirety of The Block. Two of these are pitched directly at those older fans -- "Big Girl Now," where the Kids sing to Lady GaGa about what they can finally do now that they're all growed up, and "Grown Man," where they sing pretty much the same thing with the Pussycat Dolls. They also turn an homage to "Dirty Dancing" into a bump and grind that is far, far from the innocence of the Patrick Swayze original, or the New Kids music, for that matter. Draped in washes of chilly analog synths straight out of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, Autotune inspired by Akon (who appears on the barroom pickup anthem "Put It on My Tab"), chanting choruses, and brittle, skittish rhythms, The Block sounds nothing like the New Kids, nor does it feel like them, either. [The CD was also released with bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The problem facing New Kids on the Block on their 2008 reunion The Block is the same one they had on their last album, 1994's Face the Music: the quintet are no longer kids and don't quite know how to be adults. That dilemma drove them apart back in 1994, as the group stumbled away from their clumsy stab at hip-hop on Face the Music, remembered chiefly for embarrassments like "Dirty Dawg," where the boys tried to be gangsta, as that was the style of the time. Fourteen years later, NKOTB are none the wiser, repeating the exact same mistakes as they did last time around as they restyle themselves to fit into current trends, piling on guest artists by the dozens with the hope that it will get them all the way back into the Top 40. Coming off the heels of the astounding multi-platinum success of Hangin' Tough and Step by Step, such desperate attempts to hang onto stardom made sense in 1994 but now that all the members save Joey McIntyre are pushing 40, it's awkward to hear the group abandon sprightly bubblegum for youthful rhythm-driven club music but, more than that, it's a bit nauseating to hear them sing about nothing but sexifying their love. At their peak, NKOTB only sang about puppy love -- how could they not, as their fans were almost entirely preteens too young to hear sticky songs of seduction, the kind that comprise the entirety of The Block. Two of these are pitched directly at those older fans -- "Big Girl Now," where the Kids sing to Lady GaGa about what they can finally do now that they're all growed up, and "Grown Man," where they sing pretty much the same thing with the Pussycat Dolls. This isn't the only time the smut comes in pairs -- "Click Click Click" and "Lights, Camera, Action" both enthusiastically celebrate homegrown pornography -- nor is it the only time that NKOTB decide to trample upon the nostalgia that's their very reason for reuniting, as they turn an homage to "Dirty Dancing" into a bump and grind that is far, far from the innocence of the Patrick Swayze original, or the New Kids music, for that matter. Draped in washes of chilly analog synths straight out of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, Autotune inspired by Akon (who appears on the charming barroom pickup anthem "Put It on My Tab"), chanting choruses, and brittle, skittish rhythms and containing no hook in earshot, The Block sounds nothing like the New Kids, nor does it feel like them, either: this is grim, joyless mechanical music, only made uglier by the group's sunny past, as it plays like those cheerful kids grew up to be the dirtiest of old men. [The CD was also released with bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The problem facing New Kids on the Block on their 2008 reunion The Block is the same one they had on their last album, 1994's Face the Music: the quintet are no longer kids and don't quite know how to be adults. That dilemma drove them apart back in 1994, as the group stumbled away from their clumsy stab at hip-hop on Face the Music, remembered chiefly for embarrassments like "Dirty Dawg" where the boys tried to be gangsta, as that was the style of the time. Fourteen years later, NKOTB are none the wiser, restyling themselves to fit into current trends and piling on guest artists by the dozens. Coming off the heels of the astounding multi-platinum success of Hangin' Tough and Step by Step, such desperate attempts to hang onto stardom made sense in 1994, but now that all the members save Joey McIntyre are pushing 40, it's awkward to hear the group abandon sprightly bubblegum for youthful rhythm-driven club music. At their peak, NKOTB only sang about puppy love -- how could they not, as their fans were almost entirely preteens too young to hear sticky songs of seduction, the kind that comprise the entirety of The Block. Two of these are pitched directly at those older fans -- "Big Girl Now," where the Kids sing to Lady GaGa about what they can finally do now that they're all growed up, and "Grown Man," where they sing pretty much the same thing with the Pussycat Dolls. They also turn an homage to "Dirty Dancing" into a bump and grind that is far, far from the innocence of the Patrick Swayze original, or the New Kids music, for that matter. Draped in washes of chilly analog synths straight out of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, Autotune inspired by Akon (who appears on the barroom pickup anthem "Put It on My Tab"), chanting choruses, and brittle, skittish rhythms, The Block sounds nothing like the New Kids, nor does it feel like them, either. [The CD was also released with bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine The problem facing New Kids on the Block on their 2008 reunion The Block is the same one they had on their last album, 1994's Face the Music: the quintet are no longer kids and don't quite know how to be adults. That dilemma drove them apart back in 1994, as the group stumbled away from their clumsy stab at hip-hop on Face the Music, remembered chiefly for embarrassments like "Dirty Dawg," where the boys tried to be gangsta, as that was the style of the time. Fourteen years later, NKOTB are none the wiser, repeating the exact same mistakes as they did last time around as they restyle themselves to fit into current trends, piling on guest artists by the dozens with the hope that it will get them all the way back into the Top 40. Coming off the heels of the astounding multi-platinum success of Hangin' Tough and Step by Step, such desperate attempts to hang onto stardom made sense in 1994 but now that all the members save Joey McIntyre are pushing 40, it's awkward to hear the group abandon sprightly bubblegum for youthful rhythm-driven club music but, more than that, it's a bit nauseating to hear them sing about nothing but sexifying their love. At their peak, NKOTB only sang about puppy love -- how could they not, as their fans were almost entirely preteens too young to hear sticky songs of seduction, the kind that comprise the entirety of The Block. Two of these are pitched directly at those older fans -- "Big Girl Now," where the Kids sing to Lady GaGa about what they can finally do now that they're all growed up, and "Grown Man," where they sing pretty much the same thing with the Pussycat Dolls. This isn't the only time the smut comes in pairs -- "Click Click Click" and "Lights, Camera, Action" both enthusiastically celebrate homegrown pornography -- nor is it the only time that NKOTB decide to trample upon the nostalgia that's their very reason for reuniting, as they turn an homage to "Dirty Dancing" into a bump and grind that is far, far from the innocence of the Patrick Swayze original, or the New Kids music, for that matter. Draped in washes of chilly analog synths straight out of Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, Autotune inspired by Akon (who appears on the charming barroom pickup anthem "Put It on My Tab"), chanting choruses, and brittle, skittish rhythms and containing no hook in earshot, The Block sounds nothing like the New Kids, nor does it feel like them, either: this is grim, joyless mechanical music, only made uglier by the group's sunny past, as it plays like those cheerful kids grew up to be the dirtiest of old men. [The CD was also released with bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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