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No mere breakthrough, 1991's Cooleyhighharmony was one of the decade's biggest debuts, setting Boyz II Men well on their path to becoming what the RIAA certified the most successful R&B group of all time. Their sound, dubbed "hip-hop doo-wop" and aided in large part by the productions and arrangements of Dallas Austin, was a shrewd and flexible mix of contemporary and throwback elements. Fully exploiting the members' stunning vocal chops on ballads as a close harmony group, while hardly washed out when matched with densely layered upbeat material (new jack swing was still in full flight), the group put a mature collegiate spin on what were, at the time, the last two New Edition albums, updating the techniques reminiscent of the doo wop covered on Under the Blue Moon within a set that was as modern-sounding as the singles off Heart Break. It contains that rare mix of hot singles with several album cuts that could have just as easily been hits, the ultimate measure of a release that is both commercially and creatively successful. While the album was carried by four Top Ten R&B singles, two of which -- the swinging, anthemic "Motownphilly" and an a cappella version of the Cooley High soundtrack's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," the tear duct activator of 1991/1992 -- went Top Five on the pop chart, there is substantial depth. The non-single highlights include the sweet slow jam "This Is My Heart," sonically somewhere between Gwen Guthrie's "Outside in the Rain" and an organic Babyface ballad, and the frantic new jack swinger "Under Pressure," perhaps too much like "Motownphilly" or Dallas Austin's most chaotic Bomb Squad-inspired productions. In its original ten-song form, in fact, Cooleyhighharmony is a brisk 40-minute set built for front-to-back listening, though the sequencing is more natural with the "adagio" and "allegro" halves switched up. For many of those responsible for its multi-platinum status, it is the album of the early '90s, "Uhh Ahh"'s amusing libidinal melisma notwithstanding.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
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Daryl Simmons, Producer, Co-Producer - Antonio "L.A." Reid, Producer - K.C. Porter, Producer, Additional Producer - Tony Peluso, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Boyz II Men, Remixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel - Rex Salas, Remixer, StudioPersonnel - Babyface, Producer
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Biv, Producer, Executive Producer - Vida Sparks, Producer, Executive Producer
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Shawn Stockman, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Wanya Morris, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, Remixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel - Wanya Morris, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bivins, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Christine Yarian, ComposerLyricist - Rick Sheppard, Sampler, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Freddie Perren, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, Recording Arranger, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Boyz II Men, Producer, MainArtist - Fredericke L. Parris, ComposerLyricist - Suzanne De Passe, Producer, Executive Producer - Steve McKeever, Producer, Executive Producer
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Shawn Stockman, ComposerLyricist - Paul Jervier, Producer, Additional Producer - Steve Jervier, Producer, Additional Producer - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Michael Bivins, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Camelle Glenn Hinds, Producer, Additional Producer - Biv, Producer
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Rico Anderson, Mixer, Remixer, StudioPersonnel - Shawn Stockman, ComposerLyricist - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Wanya Morris, Author - Michael Bivins, Author - Biv, Producer
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Kennerley, ComposerLyricist - MARTY STUART, ComposerLyricist - Rick Sheppard, Drum Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Troy C. Taylor, Producer, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Piano, Vocal Arranger, Rhythm Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Charles R. Farrar, Producer
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Troy C. Taylor, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Charles R. Farrar, Producer - The Characters: Troy Taylor & Charles Farrar, Producer
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Shawn Stockman, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Nathan Morris, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rick Sheppard, Sampler, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Michael Bivins, Recording Arranger, Rap Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Shawn Stockman, ComposerLyricist - Nathan Morris, ComposerLyricist - Monty Norman, Composer - Boyz II Men, MainArtist
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Wayna Morris, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer - Nathan Morris, Recording Arranger, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Rick Sheppard, Sampler, Programming, AssociatedPerformer - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Wanya Morris, ComposerLyricist - Michael Bivins, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Dallas Austin, Producer - Christine Yarian, ComposerLyricist - Freddie Perren, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, Remixer, MainArtist, StudioPersonnel - Rex Salas, Remixer, StudioPersonnel
℗ 1991 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Daryl Simmons, Producer, Co-Producer, ComposerLyricist - Antonio "L.A." Reid, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Boyz II Men, MainArtist - Babyface, Producer - Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1991 UMG Recordings, Inc.
Album review
No mere breakthrough, 1991's Cooleyhighharmony was one of the decade's biggest debuts, setting Boyz II Men well on their path to becoming what the RIAA certified the most successful R&B group of all time. Their sound, dubbed "hip-hop doo-wop" and aided in large part by the productions and arrangements of Dallas Austin, was a shrewd and flexible mix of contemporary and throwback elements. Fully exploiting the members' stunning vocal chops on ballads as a close harmony group, while hardly washed out when matched with densely layered upbeat material (new jack swing was still in full flight), the group put a mature collegiate spin on what were, at the time, the last two New Edition albums, updating the techniques reminiscent of the doo wop covered on Under the Blue Moon within a set that was as modern-sounding as the singles off Heart Break. It contains that rare mix of hot singles with several album cuts that could have just as easily been hits, the ultimate measure of a release that is both commercially and creatively successful. While the album was carried by four Top Ten R&B singles, two of which -- the swinging, anthemic "Motownphilly" and an a cappella version of the Cooley High soundtrack's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," the tear duct activator of 1991/1992 -- went Top Five on the pop chart, there is substantial depth. The non-single highlights include the sweet slow jam "This Is My Heart," sonically somewhere between Gwen Guthrie's "Outside in the Rain" and an organic Babyface ballad, and the frantic new jack swinger "Under Pressure," perhaps too much like "Motownphilly" or Dallas Austin's most chaotic Bomb Squad-inspired productions. In its original ten-song form, in fact, Cooleyhighharmony is a brisk 40-minute set built for front-to-back listening, though the sequencing is more natural with the "adagio" and "allegro" halves switched up. For many of those responsible for its multi-platinum status, it is the album of the early '90s, "Uhh Ahh"'s amusing libidinal melisma notwithstanding.
© Andy Kellman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 01:10:08
- Main artists: Boyz II Men
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: UNI - MOTOWN
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
© 2011 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. This Compilation ℗ 2011 Motown Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
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