The Bootlegger's Chronicles

New Kids on the Block: New Kids On The Block

Waaaaaaaaay back when the Black girls had New Edition and the Spanish girls had the Menudos; the drug of choice in a boy band, for White girls, rested with New Kids On The Block. Right after Maurice Starr lost his grip on New Edition he decided that he could make more money with a clean-cut, obedient and hungry group of White boys from around the way. A call went out and the fellas came to answer. (Before there was Joey, there was Mark. He didn't stick around but soon was able to spread his wings in another group called Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.)

In this debut album, these fresh faces wanted to blow the mind of the industry and they did not miss their goal. With the knowledge that Blacks would spend the dough on artists that they liked and be a good building block, Starr marketed his young group to the Motown charts and even sent them to the Apollo where they received a standing ovation.

They had about two or three rap songs, some pop and a few ballads. This seemed like a receipt for disaster but they did not lose supporters. Didn't gain much, but did not become driftwood. "Stop It Girl" was pure bubble gum and I never liked chewing gum let alone listening to it. There also included a cover song from the Black Legacy group The Delfonics, "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)." The group did not ruin the song and from present day, that's the least one could ask for. They introduced me to the Delfonics, and that's a good thing.

The falsetto voice of Jordan Knight is an amazing one to listen to, and Joe McIntyre's young voice helped to add the "sweet/innocent" sound to the group. Donnie Wahlberg and Danny Wood both bring the rap element and Jonathan Knight seems to tie it all together. Jordan and Joe have obviously been thrown to the forefront as co-captains of this team; but hearing from the others every now and then may add purpose to them than simply back-ups.

All in all this seemed decent for a pop group in the 90's. The early Bubble Gum Age brought us many boy bands fashioned after the Osman's and the Jackson 5. These groups have changed since then but the main difference is the peddling of more flesh and less music. The magnitude of their success cannot be denied as they charted a completely new era of marketing. From the typical posters and pillow cases to the untypical curtains and telephone hotlines. Fans could get wake-up calls or Christmas messages from their fav New Kid. The phenomenon was one never seen before and yet to be matched.

8 blades for the age that it represented.

Original Drop: April 1, 1986
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