Three years after the all-covers Throwback -- a release that included some pleasantly surprising choices for new looks, like One Way's "Cutie Pie" and Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do for Love" -- Boyz II Men reappear with yet another covers affair.
As indicated by the title, the trio changes its focus to Motown for a set that ranges thematically and chronologically from the Temptations' "Just My Imagination" to Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" to the Commodores' "Easy" -- and, as something of a sly acknowledgment that they were once on Motown themselves, they close out the set with an a cappella version of "End of the Road" (featuring Brian McKnight).
Their backing is mostly all-star caliber, including the Dap-Kings Horns, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, percussionist Luis Conte, and string arranger Larry Gold.
The material tends to work best when they sound relatively relaxed, as opposed to when it is obvious that they are trying very hard to honor the originals while being over-demonstrative with their obviously gifted voices.
It's not that the disc won't please fans, because it likely will, despite Boyz II Men's continued shortage of new songs; but it's nearly impossible at this point to add anything to the likes of "It's the Same Old Song," "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing," or "Money (That's What I Want)" -- no matter how well they are handled.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)Barrett Strong, Norman Whitfield | Boyz II Men | Play | 04:24 | 0 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | It's the Same Old Song/Reach Out (I'll Be There)Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, Eddie Holland | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:55 | 0 MB | 30 MB |
| 3 | Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)Marvin Gaye | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:11 | 0 MB | 23 MB |
| 4 | The Tracks of My TearsWarren "Pete" Moore, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Tarplin | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:23 | 0 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | Money (That's What I Want)Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr. | Boyz II Men | Play | 02:54 | 0 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | EasyLionel Richie | Boyz II Men | Play | 05:25 | 0 MB | 40 MB |
| 7 | I Was Made to Love HerHenry Cosby, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:32 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 8 | All This LoveEl DeBarge | Boyz II Men | Play | 05:33 | 0 MB | 38 MB |
| 9 | Ribbon in the SkyStevie Wonder | Boyz II Men | Play | 02:51 | 0 MB | 20 MB |
| 10 | Ain't Nothing Like the Real ThingNickolas Ashford, Valerie Simpson | Boyz II Men, Patti LaBelle | Play | 02:50 | 0 MB | 20 MB |
| 11 | Got to Be ThereElliot Willensky | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:32 | 0 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | WarBarrett Strong, Norman Whitfield | Boyz II Men | Play | 04:20 | 0 MB | 32 MB |
| 13 | End Of The Road (A Capella) | Boyz II Men | Play | 03:56 | 0 MB | 26 MB |
| 14 | There'll Never Be | Boyz II Men | Play | 04:58 | 0 MB | 36 MB |
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| 54 mins | 397 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Altomari | Artist Coordination |
| 2 | Alan Armitage | Engineer |
| 3 | Tom Arndt | Package Coordinator |
| 4 | Nickolas Ashford | Composer |
| 5 | Rob "Fonksta" Bacon | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 6 | Tom Bender | Mixing Assistant |
| 7 | Boyz II Men | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Janie Bradford | Composer |
| 9 | Sean Brennan | Assistant Engineer |
| 10 | Jeff Chestek | Engineer |
| 11 | Vinnie Colaiuta | Drums |
| 12 | Luis Conte | Percussion |
| 13 | Henry Cosby | Composer |
| 14 | Kenneth Crouch | Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Wurlitzer |
| 15 | El DeBarge | Composer |
| 16 | Lamont Dozier | Composer |
| 17 | James "Jamie" Gamble | Drums |
| 18 | Marvin Gaye | Composer |
| 19 | Larry Gold | String Arrangements |
| 20 | Berry Gordy, Jr. | Composer |
| 21 | Keith Gretlein | Assistant Engineer |
| 22 | Kevin Guarnieri | Engineer |
| 23 | Mick Guzauski | Mixing |
| 24 | Lula Mae Hardaway | Composer |
| 25 | Brian Holland | Composer |
| 26 | Eddie Holland | Composer |
| 27 | Randy Jackson | Bass, Producer |
| 28 | Aaron Johnson | Trombone |
| 29 | Patti LaBelle | Primary Artist |
| 30 | Brian McKnight | Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 31 | Cornelius Mims | Bass |
| 32 | Warren "Pete" Moore | Composer |
| 33 | Evelyn Morgan | A&R |
| 34 | Wanya Morris | Assistant Engineer |
| 35 | Sylvia Moy | Composer |
| 36 | Tim Pierce | Guitar |
| 37 | L.A. Reid | Composer |
| 38 | Eric Rennaker | Engineer |
| 39 | Antonio Resendiz | Assistant Engineer |
| 40 | Lionel Richie | Composer |
| 41 | Dennis Rivadeneira | Mixing Assistant |
| 42 | Smokey Robinson | Composer |
| 43 | Matt Rollings | Clavinet, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Piano, Wurlitzer |
| 44 | Randee Saint Nicholas | Photography |
| 45 | Matt Serrecchio | Assistant Engineer |
| 46 | Daryl Simmons | Composer |
| 47 | David Simoné | Executive Producer |
| 48 | Winston Simone | Executive Producer |
| 49 | Valerie Simpson | Composer |
| 50 | Ramón Stagnaro | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 51 | John Stahl | Assistant Engineer |
| 52 | Barrett Strong | Composer |
| 53 | Neal Sugarman | Sax (Tenor) |
| 54 | Shari Sutcliffe | Contractor |
| 55 | Frank Sutton | Engineer |
| 56 | David Swope | Engineer |
| 57 | Marvin Tarplin | Composer |
| 58 | Michael Thompson | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Sitar (Electric) |
| 59 | Denise Trorman | Package Design |
| 60 | Norman Whitfield | Composer |
| 61 | Elliot Willensky | Composer |
| 62 | Stevie Wonder | Composer |
| 63 | Chris Wood | Engineer |
| 64 | Leon Zervos | Mastering |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |