Black And Blue - Backstreet Boys

...to review the others, so, Black and Blue was the follow up to Millennium, so I guess it makes sense to continue with it. I'll perhaps then go on to review Never Gone and then the other two much earlier albums...

Anyway, Black and Blue was indeed the follow up to Millennium, which was their most successful album to date, so releasing a follow up to match the success of Millennium was a challenge. All the same, Black and Blue was released ...
...album that came out after Black and Blue, nearly five years later in June 2005). Having said that and while it is true that some songs here are sickly sweet and all, they aren't without some charm and they still generally showcase their vocals pretty well.

Also its interesting if you look at the cover work for this album, they were clearly trying to be seen as more adult, more grown up and mature, with the 'mean and moody' look on ... more

- Introduction -

Now if I am to review all of BSB (BSB = BackStreet Boys) albums, I've got it in the wrong order but oh well! I did mention while ending my review of Millennium that I might go on to review the others, so, Black and Blue was the follow up to Millennium, so I guess it makes sense to continue with it. I'll perhaps then go on to review Never Gone and then the other two much earlier albums...

Anyway, Black and Blue was indeed the follow up to Millennium, which was their most successful album to date, so releasing a follow up to match the success of Millennium was a challenge. All the same, Black and Blue was released on November 20th, 2000, after they had finished their fairly heaivly publicised '100 hour tour' where they flew around the world, stopping off in Japan, Australia, South Africa, Rio de Janeiro and then landing back in the US in New York, on the albums release date, where they went on to perform a couple of songs on the rooftop of the TRL studios by Times Square on an MTV special called 'Backstreet over Broadway'.

Three tracks from this album were released as singles, these being Shape Of My Heart, The Call and More Than That. The Call was made into many different dance remixes and features a more underground dance vibe.

The group say that they named the album 'Black and Blue' after those colours were used in a photo shoot around the time they were trying to come up with the name for the album, however they have also pointed to it having to do with how exhausted they were after all the touring they'd done for the last album and for all the different lawsuits they've had to deal with and that its more them acknowledging that its been a hard journey dealing with fame and success and keeping their heads above water, so to speak, which is a more interesting story behind the name, in my opinion.

For more information on the tracks that make up 'Black and Blue', read on:-

- Track Listing -

1 - The Call - This is a dance track, that was quite popular at the time of release. It features quite a dark video to go with it and it has a bit of an 'underground' feel to it, with a bit of a heavy beat. Its been remixed by a few different people, the most well known one being the one done by The Neptunes, who were quite popular at the time too. The song is about a guy who leaves a phone message lying that he's going to go out with his friends, when he's cheating on her and in the video, he gets caught.

2 - Shape Of My Heart - Another one of BSBs trademark midtempo songs, this was their first single from the album. Shape Of My Heart has a nice flow to it and is quite catchy, like most of their singles. Its a good example of fun bubblegum pop, I guess you could say.

3 - Get Another Boyfriend - This dance track is also very catchy, with a strong beat to it. It mainly features AJ, Brian and Nick on vocals and it talks about how they know that a girls current boyfriend is a player and that she must leave him because he's not worthy of anything, so she's got to get another boyfriend.

4 - Shining Star - This track is very similar in beat and tempo to the previous track, its very energetic and it was co-written by both Nick and Howie from the group. The lyrics are pretty simple but its still a good enough track to want to get up and dance a bit too.

5 - I Promise You (With Everything I Am) - Back to another slower track, this is a slow to mid tempo song. It features acoustic guitar and drums. It is one of the more sickly sweet tracks, if you can't stomach slightly cheesy pop love songs then perhaps give this one a miss, the title should be a hint!, though Brian sounds good at the start and it does have a pretty good 'flow' to it, its the chorus that is more sickly sweet I think. AJ also sounds quite good in his parts, otherwise its more average to a bit too close to overly sicky sweet really.

6 - The Answer To Our Life - This is an interesting track, which was written by all five members of the group (this album came out before Kevin left). Its another mid tempo which has a more mature feel to it, it has an optimistic and energetic feel to it and its pretty catchy too. In it, they talk about how the world is ill at ease and claiming 'its up to you and me to face our destiny'. It is quite a cheery track that you can tap your toes to.

7 - Everyone - This is one of my more favourite tracks from the album. Its a high tempo dance track that is somewhat similar to Larger Than Life, where again the group credit and thank their fans. In the song, like they say, 'Everyone, we're standing strong cause of what you've done, and this one goes out to you.' its another strong and catchy track.

8 - More Than That - This is another typical BSB mid tempo, that was also released as a single. It has a nice beat to it and showcases the guys vocals quite well. Its one of those songs you might not remember all the words to after only hearing it once or twice but you could quite easily walk away humming it instead. Its quite a pleasant track that is neither one of their best nor one of their worst, just another fairly decent BSB mid tempo track, I think thats about all I can say about it, oh other than that AJ sounds quite good in it too.

9 - Time - This track was also written by all five members of the group and is very sentimental. Its more of a vocal harmony, near acapalla track and in it, they reminisce about their past, how things were in the early years of the group and how things have changed. Its slower than the other tracks so far too but it has quite an optimistic feel to it, from the lyrics and the background instrumentals used (keyboards, bass, guitar). It gathers some momentum mid way through it and leads to a nice mini crescendo and it again shows the guys vocals quite well. There is an element of being able to hear that what they sing, comes from the heart too, which is nice. This is a track that I suppose means more to the fans in a way, particularly those who have, or had, followed the group from the start and so can relate to the lyrics.

10 - Not For Me - This is another strong dance track, similar to Dont Want You Back on the Millennium album, where they talk about how they know that the girl is cheating, that they know whats going on and so that girl isn't for them. Its got quite a strong beat to it as well.

11 - Yes I Will - This is definitely one of the more sickly sweet, a bit overly lovey-dovey tracks, in my opinion. It is a fairly slow track and features the following lines in the songs chorus

"Yes I will, take your hand and walk with you
Yes I will, so these three words I promise to
Yes I will, give you everything you need
And someday start a family with you"

you get the idea.

12 - It's True - This track is also a bit sickly sweet but not quite as over the top lovey-dovey (lol) as Yes I Will. It's True was given away on CDs you were able to get for a limited time in the year 2000 in Burger King outlets in America and so many fans expected this to be one of their singles but instead they went with Shape Of My Heart, so that people had to actually buy the CD! lol. The track starts quite slowly with Brian talking about his regrets towards a girl and it builds up to a quite nice mid tempo featuring the other group members, with more of an audible beat added as it gets going (though it doesn't particularly lead anywhere as such). Again it showcases some fairly decent vocals, though I know they can do better. Also I notice Kevin is credited as a co-writer for this song as well. The lyrics I feel are pretty repetitive too and im glad that it doesn't last much longer than it lasts, or it might grate a bit.

13 - What Makes You Different (Makes You Beautiful) - This track is co-written by Howie and is one of my favourite from the album. It is also quite an understated track and has a nice, pleasant 'feel' to it. At the start, Howie and Brian sing in turn about somebody who's different from most people, they have a different kind of style, that they don't run with the crowd but thats what sets them apart and how they know that they feel they dont fit in but that they see this person as someone special and no-one else can compare etc. it probably sounds pretty sickly sweet but its not so bad, at least its always been a track I've liked, as a light, fun song and I admit I did originally like it as I felt it maybe talked to me, since I am someone who blends into the background and doesn't stay out all night like the song says and all of that, so its nice to think that others might still notice such people and like that or whatever! *cringe* well I like it anyway lol!

14 - How Did I Fall In Love With You - This is my favourite track overall, from this album. This track was also co-written by Howie. Its a ballad that I find to be quite touching. It starts with Brian singing about how things used to be, with a piano playing in the background (which, of course, reminds me of Kevin). It is quite slow and very atmospheric, its somewhat similar in 'feel' to Back To Your Heart from the Millennium album with the piano and the atmospheric feel to it, I suppose. It builds up a bit and then ends quietly.

15 - All I Have To Give (acapella) - This track is originally from their second album, entitled 'Backstreets Back', so the track itself isn't new, instead this is a fully acapella version of it added to the end of this album. All I Have To Give is a nice mid tempo and it works pretty well as an acapella track.

- Conclusions/Any Other Thoughts? -

Apart from the few tracks noted above for being pretty sickly sweet, this is a good album. I was a little disappointed at the time after I first listened through the whole album, if I remember correctly, as I didn't feel that it was as good as Millennium but I've kind of learnt not to expect a duplicate of that album anyway, that was a one off in some respects and we shouldn't expect an equivalent of Millennium Part 2, in my opinion. I also felt that it didn't sound like the group had matured, lyrically and instead they were continuing with some tracks sounding suspiciously similar to those from the previous album. However, that doesn't mean that their not enjoyable, indeed of course Millennium was my favourite (well, still is) album they've done, so to have similar tracks isn't an entirely bad thing! Alot of the tracks were recorded in Sweden, using the Swedish producers that they've become famous for using (such as Max Martin and Remi).

My favourite tracks, tracks 13 and 14, I do still enjoy alot and the singles are all good tracks, so it is still a good album but I do feel that the weaker tracks stop it from being anything other than a generally ok to good album. I know I always say that I feel the guys can do better, they can and should venture to more mature music with lyrics that don't entirely revolve around singing 'baby' five times or anything like that, they've proven it with some tracks like some of the unreleased tracks from around the time of the Never Gone album (that was the album that came out after Black and Blue, nearly five years later in June 2005). Having said that and while it is true that some songs here are sickly sweet and all, they aren't without some charm and they still generally showcase their vocals pretty well.

Also its interesting if you look at the cover work for this album, they were clearly trying to be seen as more adult, more grown up and mature, with the 'mean and moody' look on the back of the CD and the front cover being 50% black and 50% blue, with the only 'picture' of the guys on the front being a thin silhouette image that you can only really see if you shine a light at the right angle. Inside the CD booklet are more photos from the official album photoshoot, which continues the generally 'mean and moody' theme, however I feel that does sort of clash when you listen to the sicklier ballads, to me it doesn't, or didn't, really sound like that much more of a step up from the tracks on their previous album

If I were to write a school report, I think 'Good but could do better' would come to mind. Having said that, something else I haven't mentioned until now thats worth baring in mind is that there was only 18 months between the release of the Millennium album and the release of this album , so it was fairly rushed. I think the record label were keen to cash in on their large success at the time and later on, the group have indicated that they weren't so happy about how little time they had to work on this album, I think they would agree that it was pretty rushed too, so that is worth baring in mind.

I hope this review either serves as a nice trip down memory lane for some or that its useful to anyone looking to add to their CD collection from this time... thanks, as always, for all r/r/c's. 

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