Longevity in music often has as much to do with the backstage abilities of the management team as with the onstage capabilities of the stars. Corporate strategy can be the key that unlocks the doors to more than just the promised land of increased royalty rates and vanity record deals. It can and should lead to a career that allows for creative risk taking after all the bills have been paid. In other words, when you sell 30 million records, like Boyz II Men have, you should be able to do whatever you please - including working with the best producers and finding the best songs. Which, for the most part, the Philadelphia quartet have done this time on their 3rd album - with simutaneously brilliant and confusing results.
Evolution opens with a bang.
And for six straight tracks, Boyz II Men top themselves over and over again. The lush, overorchestrated balladry they're famous for has been replaced by a touching subtlety. No more boyish melodrama. With grace and skill, the Boyz in the band have indeed morphed into Men, and they have the songs to prove it. Breathtakingly simple in their approach, Stockman, Wanya Morris, Michael McCary, and Nathan Morris do it a cappella, minus the opulent orchestration that has cemented the song in Quiet Storm history.