The New RS 500: #495 Boyz II Men — II

Release Date: August 30, 1994

Label: Motown Records

Have I heard this album before? No

2003 List Ranking: N/A; 2012 List Ranking: N/A; Does the move feel appropriate?: N/A

Is This Album the 495th Greatest Album of All Time? Doesn’t really feel like it to me, personally.

Review: I’ve always heard the name but this is actually my first exposure to the group outside of the singles and, to be honest, it isn’t really for me. Their voices are incredible but most vocally-driven music, regardless of whether that’s pop, rock, or R&B, always hits me as a little sterile. Perhaps it’s something I need to break myself out of the habit of, but I tend to listen to music for instrumentation first and vocals second, with lyrics probably a distant third. Songs like “Thank You,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” and the cover of The Beatles’ “Yesterday” that I have already heard were highlights, but as a whole, the record was a bit spotty for me and something that I see myself picking and choosing songs that I found to be genuinely great from more than an album that I will be returning back to in full a ton. It feels weird to be like “meh” about something with so much obvious talent, but alas.