Blackstreet to another level - 1996 - I remember this album when I was in the 4th grade. I played this tape out. This album elevates contemporary urban music, expanding its soulful parameters in the process. This album is a reflection of where this group has been, where they are and where they were going(in 1996). The sound is stronger, tighter and more diverse. The melodic passion ingrained in Mark s timeless tenor and fearless falsetto adds to the emotional sonic wealth of this record. This album has stronger leads, live instruments, hyper harmonies, and ending on a spiritual high note. This is the off-the-hook album they wanted the debut to be. This album has been certified 4x Platinum. Remember, this was 1996-1997.
4 5 Stars - Blackstreet Reaches Another Level - Another Level Blackstreet s second album is truly a 90 s classic. After releasing their eponymous debut album a few years earlier Teddy Riley and co. came back with a sophmore album in 1996 that was better in every way. Hollister and Little were replaced by Eric Williams and Mark Middleton but the sound was also more suited for it s time with less New Jack Swing but a fresher sound with great production and plenty of variation. It was like going from phase 1 that made Riley famous with the New Jack Swing sound with his previous group Guy and Blackstreet s first album to phase 2 that blends all kinds of R&B into a great concept that both worked for classic R&B fans and for commercial radio. The absolute standout here is obviously the mega hit No Diggity reaching #1 with a guest rap from Dr Dre. It blends Hip Hop beats with R&B perfectly without sounding like it s from the early 90 s and it s sound and production is so memorable it s still fresh to this day. They continue with another good song in Don t Leave Me Now a midtempo that samples Debarge, the same sample that 2Pac used for Ain t Mad at Cha, this song was a hit in Europe but not in USA. A personal version of Beatles (Money Can t) Buy Me Love is almost unrecognizable and therefore fascinating. Fix sound quite simular to No Diggity but is a defenite highligh and so is the sweet ballads Good Lovin and I Can t Get You (Out Of My Mind). There are also several interesting interlude s if you re interested in the band further, Deja s Poem and Taja s Lude where Teddy s daughters get the chance to shine and Motherlude where the mothers of each of the members talk of their sons and their upbringing. Closer is called The Lord Is Real and is a great way of ending a wonderful album. With 70 minutes it perhaps a little too long, but there are enough good songs here to make the listener content and for once we have an album with interludes that make sense. This is obviously their best album and the album you should start with if you re interested in their music. 4 5 stars.
R&B At It s Finest - I don t know what it is with Teddy Riley & groups as every group he s with he surpasses the first disc with their sophmore disc. This was the case with Guy s The Future and the same idea rings true in Another Level. With addition of Eric Williams and Mark Middelton the group reaches new heights of R&B. Of course the disc featured the hit singles No Diggity,Don t Leave Me and Fix, but some of the finest songs on the CD were album tracks. The ballads I Wanna Be Your Man, Let s Stay In Love and I Can t Get You Out Of Mind all serve as a true testament to what R&B should be.
A level above others - From one track to another Blackstreet brings the goods and once again. I find myself disagreeing with the short amazon review on Another Level. From No Diggity w/Dr. Dre & Queen Pen one of the obvious smash hits from this great CD. To Fix which has a pretty cool video attached to the song. (Money Can t) Buy Me Love is redone rather well by the guys in Blackstreet much to my surprise. Let s Stay In Love another solid ballad which what i clearly enjoy from Blackstreet and its done well. The cd has a uniformity to it first coming with the uptempo songs like No Diggity, Fix and Good Lovin. Then switching gears nicely to slower jams like the hit Don t Leave Me, Never Gonna Let You Go and I Wanna Be Your Man along with the previously mentioned Money. While the latter half of Another Level is made up more of slow jams. The songs are on point and don t drag down the CD overall in my opinion. With I Can t Get You (Out of my Mind) and The Lord is Real (Time Will Reveal) among them. A couple uptempo songs come between these I ll Give It To You and Happy Song (Tonite) another one of my many favorite tracks on a CD that s done well and brings Blackstreet into a new arena. Yes even 10 years later this CD is still right up there with the really good ones.
10 years later this album still bangs - This is one of the best albums of all time, nobody makes albums like this anymore, Teddy Riley shows how much of a music genious he is on this one, I basically know all the tracks on here like the back of my hand I played it so much over the last 10 years, I originally got this on cassette when it came out but I got it on CD recently I actually got it around the same time as I got New Edition s Home Again, which another fan mentioned here, it s another classic album that s a must for r&b/hip-hop fans btw, I really wish that I could get that feeling again of rushing out to get great albums, the 90s was such a great time for music but I can t really stand much of what s out there now, they re just few and in between to find now, anyway back to the review my favorite tracks on here are Good Lovin , The Lord Is Real, Don t Leave Me, Fix, and of course the most popular track No Diggity with Dr. Dre and Queen Pen, this album got the perfect blend of hip-hop grooves and soulful melodies, if you re a fan of r&b and hip-hop music and never heard this album I suggest that you pick up this timeless classic, and btw if Teddy Riley reads this we need another Blackstreet album dawg ASAP, there ain t too many real artists out there these days