"Don't Be Cruel" (the song) is the JAM!!!

Of course "My Perogative" is the shit. Still getting into the rest but loving what I am hearing. Why don't I remember when this album came out? I was a huge pop/r&b fan as a kid, was all over MJ/JJ's "Bad" and "Control"...this one's up there.

"You can blame that on Bobby Beeeee" - Maya Rudolph as Whitney


My favorite video was "Every Little Step".

http://www.youtube.com/wa...WCP8ayYmNY

Today, my fave cut is "Don't Be Cruel" though.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...lPiKGUYaxc

badujunkie said:

If you lived in the United States in 1988 and 1989 and had any pulse on pop culture, I have no idea how you missed the success of Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel." The album sold 6 million copies by the end of its commercial run and generated quite a few No. 1 R&B and Top Five pop hits -- the title track, "My Prerogative," "Every Little Step," "Roni" and "Rock Wit' Cha." That's not even counting his contribution to the "Ghostbusters II" soundtrack, "On Our Own," which also followed suit.

Najee said:

Could it be cause badujunkie was like four when all that happened?

sosgemini said:

Then if that is the case, he answered his own question ("Why don't I remember when this album came out?"). However, given his statement you would have thought he was older than a pre-kindergarten student when Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel" dropped.

Najee said:

actually, per his profile he was 8 or 9.

sosgemini said:

i turned 7 in 1988

it's just that I had a fuckload of 45s and LPs by Michael, Madonna, Janet, Tina, Prince, Whitney, Sheena, Huey Lewis, Cyndi, Tom Petty, George Michael/Wham!, etc...so I'd say I had a finger on the pulse of pop culture or whatever...and I definitely remember "My Perogative" as a single and "Humpin Around" later on but...I dunno...I guess I was deprived as a child

Anyway this album was Bobby's zenith right? I love that he still calls himself the "King of R&B."

And I've spun the title track 50 times this weekend.

yeah, Don't Be Cruel was dat deal when it came out. i too liked the title track better than My Perogative actually, but the latter is considered a "landmark" hit for the whole "new jack swing" sound. every little step just gave the album like a third wind when that video came out. but what's bugged is that tho i was glad for his success, i can't say i was every really a bobby fan. his follow-up album was solid too. though they didn't get the same crossover success, i think i liked Ralph Tresvant's and Johnny Gill's solos debuts better, not because they were better per se, perhaps because they were a little more humble or something. bobby started smellin' himself real quick after his success.

badujunkie said:

I wanna see Andrew pic from `88.



Can ya dig one up?

this LP success, still is on the industry, BObby was the first rnb star in the MTV generation whose music crossed over instead of making music to crossover to the masses. Bobby success allows Usher, Omarion, Chris Brown and all these other Michael Jackson nuthuggers to look like males instead of acting like lil girls like MIchael Jackson, and that Purple Ferry.

But BObby LP is better,

KingKrazy said:

It's true. All those MJ copycats don't have to look bitch because of Bobby.

CinisterCee said:

I agree with both faves, but I prefer the video versions over the album versions. That's why I haven't bought either of his greatest hits sets; they have the album versions.

RipHer2Shreds said:

No they don't. Greatest Hits has the single versions of both (albeit without the "good to, good to, good to go solo" rap in "Every Little Step," which is amazingly unavailable on album AFAIK). More importantly, how in the world can you prefer the edit of "Don't Be Cruel"? All they did was shorten it! That's a jam that deserves to play the whole 6+ minutes (preferably starting with the Cruel prelude)!

As huge a Teddy Riley fan as I am, "Don't Be Cruel" is the album's best track. I consider it the best song Babyface and L.A. Reid every wrote. Not that "My Prerogative" is a slouch, of course. Outside of the 5 excellent hit singles, "I'll Be Good to You" is hot as well. It should've been a single.

I never liked "Every Little Step", but I love the rest of the singles!

The underrated "Roni" and "Rock Wit'cha" are great!

AlexdeParis said:

Both the 20th Century Masters and his 2000 greatest hits set have the Every Little Step without the rap. That's the one I want (the one with the rap). The last time I listened to the album Don't Be Cruel (and it's been a few years) my recollection is that it has the version without the rap.
[Edited 1/15/07 17:26pm]

RipHer2Shreds said:

Like Alex said, the single version of "Don't Be Cruel" is simply a shorter, edited version of the original track. I agree, I like the remixed version of "Every Little Step" over the original.

Najee said:

Everybody does.

Najee said:

New Jack Swing dominated the clubs and the charts and Bobby Brown was the King of Swing.

You can get the remix of Every Little Step on the "Dance! Ya Know It" remix album, which is pretty fun to listen to, since it runs like continuous mix.
[Edited 1/15/07 18:42pm]

Never understood the hype about him.

VoicesCarry said:

Well you wouldn't remember 1988 either.

CinisterCee said:

I like the music from the period, but.....not this.

VoicesCarry said:

Beyond Don't Be Cruel, I would agree with you but that's a great album. I guess if you don't care for new jack swing at all, it's not going to sway you one way or the other.

RipHer2Shreds said:

While DBC is his masterpiece, he was a great singles artist for a while. In some ways he was the male counterpart to Paula Abdul.

AlexdeParis said:

For me, "for a while" lasted until the last single from DBC. I was bored with him starting with Humpin' Around and by the time Something in Common came out, I turned the channel anytime I saw him.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I love the Bobby singles (especially "Get Away" and "Humpin' Around"). It's actually a pretty good album. Anyway, even if you don't like them, he still had 6 big hits in less than two years (plus the earlier success of "Girlfriend").
[Edited 1/15/07 19:50pm]

AlexdeParis said:

I'm not debating his chart success at all (I'm kind of a fiend for chart data from that era). Just saying I lost interest.

RipHer2Shreds said:

I liked new jack....maybe it's his voice

oh yes... I had the cassette

that was back when we didn't have a car
I wouldn't ride (with whoever was chauffering)
unless we could listen to THAT tape

before that it was this one:

Moonbeam said:

LOL,for me it's the opposite."Every Little Step" is the ONLY Bobby Brown song that I like.I recall Babyface saying that he recorded this song for his own album,but Bobby heard it and said "You gotta give me this song!".I think it's one of the best Babyface productions ever.
[Edited 1/16/07 5:33am]