Never Gone is the long awaited follow-up album to the Backstreet Boys' 2000 studio release Black & Blue. Originally to be released in 2004, the release date has been pushed back to June 14, 2005 due to unknown difficulties. The first single off the album is "Incomplete", and has been followed by "Just Want You To Know". Other songs are "Weird World", "Beautiful Woman" and "Climbing The Walls".
I am not a fan of the band because of their early work with their teen pop sound, but with this new album they have put out in 2005, they have gone in a different direction with a new sound which is totally different, in which in my opinion is much better. It is Pop to Rock/Pop near enough so they are starting to sound like Hanson and other bands like that, but they are more of a ballad style. This shows that the band are trying to reach an older range to show that they have matured. This band needs no introduction even if you heard little of them. It may seem wierd for me to review this kind of band due to my liking of music which is Nine Inch Nails but I am trying something different.
The Band: (All Vocalists)
Nick Carter
Kevin Richardson
A.J McLean
Howie Dorough
Brian Littrell
--- The Review ---
"Incomplete" is their 1st released single. It is a ballad style song, with a nice starting of dark piano style playing. The Verses are mostly sung by A.J and the Chorus by Nick but further on they all harmonise together beautifully. The emotion on this song is rather sad and it gets hold of you to listen to the song. I reckon this song is a great start for their comeback as it proves successful. This song is beautiful at all places with its string arrangements and mostly the vocals. Perfect start to an album.
"Just Want You To Know" starts with a rhythm playing on a keyboard with gets repetitive but it doesn't matter really. The verses are quite good with some great vocals by Nick, but the chorus comes out with an outburst with guitars and drums playing and the vocalists harmonising as always and it sounds excellent, this song represents a new life for the band. This songs sounds so much like Hanson but IMO much better as it has so much emotion. Very good song.
"Crawling Back To You" is another ballad. It has an acoustic start with sliding fretting. The singing on this song is beautiful everywhere and the music is lovely and it has that sad feeling to it. It is a very mature song for them and it wonders me how they going to sing these songs live? Even so, this song is lovely. The ending is great with its decending vocals and strings which is a beautiful way to end a song with lots of emotion in it.
"Wierd World" is very upbeat and it is not a ballad. The atmosphere of this song makes you want to dance with its catchy beat and vocals which is mainstreamed by Nick Carter who is very versatile when performing. Tis song refers to the 9/11 attacks on America. His voice is excellent on this. The Piano is the main rhythm here which sounds good to this song. The most uplifting song on the album. Doesn't strike me as much as the other songs but still is listenable.
"I Still..." is
ANOTHER ballad. It is a dark song but it is the most uplifting ballad here. The vocals are great again, the chorus is so good with its lovely singing and music with it. The piano creates the dark atmosphere here. There isn't much to say here with this song as it has a repetitive structure to it so it repeats the same "verse, chorus, verse" all the time but this song has a lot of emotion so overall the song is very good.
"Poster Girl" is an R'n'B song really. A.J is the mainstream vocalist here and he is a good vocalist. The song has a lot of soul and it actually sounds like their old songs in the early 90's, but it sounds mature. The chorus has a beautiful harmonise to it. It overall it sounds great but some people might think it is a bit too corny, but if you put it aside the song really shines a great R n' B song.
"Lose It All" is
ANOTHER ballad. It starts off with a lovely piece of piano playing and Nick singing. Another song with a lot of emotion and the chorus is so overwhelming with excellent music and nice lyrics talking about how sad it will be if you lost all you loved.This should be released but it's not going to be which is a downer. Lovely song, one of my favourites on the album.
"Climbing The Walls" is halfway between a ballad and a rock/pop song. This song has this alternate rock feeling to it with its rock style guitaring and live drums on it. The song is kind of creepy from the Boys as the song sounds nothing like the rest on the album and it has more of a dark element to it with some distortion which is really new from them. The chorus has a dark feeling to it with powerful singing and music. The bridge is beautiful and best part to it. A very good song.
"My Beautiful Woman" is a very soulful song with its style of Michael Jackson. It is very catchy with its music and vocals. The vocals are very versatile and very good as they harmonise well. The song has a cultural sound to it with its reggae style music and R'n'B style singing to it. It works well but it doesn't really shine out from the rest of the album but again still listenable.
"Safest Place To Hide" is the most beautiful song I have ever heard. It has a Bryan Adams style to it. The music is excellent and vocals are outstanding. It has a tiny bit of spanish style to it. The song has a nice atmosphere to it with its heart warming vocals to it. The piano is lovely and the whole rhythm is nice. Everything to this song is nice to listen to, it makes you feel refreshed from a bad day. The best song on the album and my favourite. Brilliant, should be released but its not going to be which is so irritating as it is a song that really grabs attention to people.
"Siberia" is one of the darkest on the album. It has an eerie feeling to it, it is a slow song and is mostly full of strings and guitars. People say it is a romantic song which is correct but it doesn't feel like it, maybe it is the lyrics. The bridge on this song is very powerful with is boosting bass line and vocals. Very powerful song.
"Never Gone" is the title song and most emotional song here. It is about Kevin's dad as he passed away and Kevin had a strong relationship with him, this is shown on this song which he talks about that he will be always by Kevin's side. The Vocals are nice and the music is good. It is a ballad and one of the best on the album. The chorus is very emotional with its lyrics and its warming vocals. It is a heart warming song and a very good ending to an album.
"Song For The Unloved (Bonus Track)" starts off with an acoustic/spanish style feeling. The verses are with a dark atmosphere with the guitar notes used. The vocals on this track is excellent with some great usage of their vocal skills. There is a good beat to it and the chorus is very good but the song doesn't strike me as much as the others as it doesn't have that "boost of energy" to make you want to listen to it frequently, give it time like I did and it gradually sinks in.
"Rush Over Me (Bonus Track)" is the darkest of them all (except "Siberia" which is on the actual playlist) with its percussion effects and eerie guitaring. The singing here brings up the mood with their harmonising ability which sounds wonderful on the chorus. The song is actually outstanding as it is constructed well with the music and the voices are pin-pointed right on the spot which really brings out the colours of the song. Excellent song and should be on the real line-up of the album.
--- Overview ---
Here are the ratings of the songs:
1. Incomplete - 5/5
2. Just Want You To Know - 4.5/5
3. Crawling Back To You - 4.5/5
4. Wierd World - 3.5/5
5. I Still... - 4.5/5
6. Poster Girl - 4/5
7. Lose It All - 5/5
8. Climbing The Walls - 4.5/5
9. My Beautiful Woman - 3.75/5
10. Safest Place To Hide - 5/5
11. Siberia - 4/5
12. Never Gone - 4.5/5
(13. Song For The Unloved - 3.5/5)
(14. Rush Over Me - 5/5)
Overall this album is very good turn for the best for the boyband. This album shows that the band is still strong and will still be successful after 12 years and sold over 73 million copies!!!! Hopefully this album will boost their years and success as it is deserved on this great album.
Best of Album:
- Incomplete
- Crawling Back To You
- I Still...
- Lose It All
- Climbing The Walls
- Safest Place To Hide
- Never Gone
Overall: 4/5
This Message Edited On 06.30.05
