A lot of people think they're gay, burnt out. I actually dig "Candy Girl". Although I do agree they are burnt out.

They are all talented-Ralph and Johnny especially. My fave songs by them are "Cool It Now", "If It Isn't Love", "Mr. Telephone Man" and "Can U Stand The Rain" .
[Edited 9/26/07 16:32pm]

I prefered Music Youth

I heard "If It Isn't Love" the other day and I've been wondering where to start with them. I've been hesitating to get either "Heart Break" or "Home Again."

2Jay said:

you talkin smack about New Edition?!

ABeautifulOne said:

"Heartbreak" was New Edition's best album. It was the perfect blend of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis' production with the elements that made New Edition a popular group. I would get "Heartbreak."

Najee said:

I would get Home Again, Heartbreak sounds good cuz One Production team produce the whole LP, but it doesnt have too many strong songs with the exception of IIIL and CYSTR. While Home Again has the great Home Again , One Day, the best NE song ever(Puffy remix"Dont have to worry", Hit Me Off, Feels So Good, Still in love just a stronger Lp than Heartbreak

qvgangsta18 said:

You have GOT to be kidding. "Home Again" was all over the place, and partly because all the producers didn't know how to use all the singers as one cohesive unit. Outside of "Hit Me Off," most of the songs like the producers picked only a few people to sing on certain songs. The better ideas also sound like retreads of what happened from "Heartbreak."

In addition to "If It Isn't Love" and "Can You Stand the Rain," other standout songs were "You're Not My Kind of Girl," "Crucial," "N.E. Heartbreak," "I'm Comin' Home" and "Boys to Men."

Najee said:

the remixes were so much better and NE struggled with this LP, you gotta remember that My Kind Of Girl flopped that NE took it out of it's NE Heartbreak tour, and that single kinda slowed there whole momentum because Crucial(original) sounded dated as hell even by 88, and NE Heartbreak(original) wasn't that strong of a single

qvgangsta18 said:

How in the world did "You're Not My Kind of Girl" flop as a single? It went to No. 3 on the Billboard R&B Singles charts in 1988. Not only that, "Crucial" peaked at No. 4 and "N.E. Heartbreak" was another top 20 R&B single.

And it's interesting you're praising a remix of "You Don't Have to Worry." Remixes were par for the course for singles released in the 1980s; more often than not, they were geared for a fresher sound (particularly if the original version was played continuously before its release as a single).

"Heartbreak" was not only New Edition's biggest selling album, it was the one that received the most critical acclaim. "Home Again" was a mild disappointment partly because what few good ideas came from the song came from rehashed styles from "Heartbreak."

New Edition gay? That's a new one. I've never heard that. I'm not surprised though. These days, if a black artist doesn't dress like a thug, people want to say they are gay.

My favorites are:

Candy Girl (12 Inch)
Popcorn Love
My Secret
Cool It Now
Is This The End
Jealous Girl
Lost In Love
Mr. Telephone Man

I hated their third album though. It may have been a Jam and Lewis production but all the songs were too mellow. Bobby Brown's solo stuff like "My Prerogative" was much harder and more my speed.

Najee said:

Yes it was!

vainandy said:

Exactly, I would like to know what constitutes calling New Edition gay. There wasn't anything sexually confusing about the music and style Bobby Brown and Bell Biv DeVoe had.

vainandy said:

"All For You" is the only album that I don't like. It's way too pop

Probably because they wore shiny suits. You know folks don't like that these days. If it ain't "plain jane", they don't like it.

bboy87 said:

You mean the "All for Love" album, which featured "Count Me Out," "A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes)" and "With You All the Way."

I don't think I remember that one. And when I said I didn't like their third album, I had forgotten about "Blue Moon". I hated that one too though.

vainandy said:

Yeah, if you're not dressed like you came out of Abercrombie & Fitch people wonder what's the matter with you. I never thought I would see the day where soul acts' wardrobes came from the JCPenney catalog.
[Edited 9/27/07 5:40am]

I forgot about "Count Me Out" also. I like that one too. I didn't like it enough to buy it, but I still liked it.

Heart Break is the best N.E. CD by a large margin, but even that has some filler. The best options for someone getting into New Edition are Gold and Hits. Gold is a 2-disc set (the second disc contains solo hits from the group members) while Hits is a single disc. I'd like to recommend Hits, but Gold is the only one that has "My Secret (Didja Gitit Yet?)," a great song that was featured in Krush Groove.

Both albums have the better single remixes of songs like "Crucial" and "N.E. Heartbreak." The main problems are the inclusion of the album version of "You Don't Have to Worry" instead of the remix, the single edit of "If It Isn't Love" instead of the album track, and lack of the oft-missing Warlock hits, "Candy Girl" and "Popcorn Love." Still, I'd start with one of those.

vainandy said:

New Edition's third album was the "All for Love" album. I really don't count the "Under the Blue Moon" album as being more than a novelty/fun album.

Hell, I've seen the shit these artists today wear at Walmart. Maybe without the fancy name and high price tag, but still the stuff looks just like their's.

Everything that I ever heard played on the radio from "Under The Blue Moon" was a remake of an old 1950s song such as "Blue Moon" and "Earth Angel". I'm assuming the entire album was remakes.

AlexdeParis said:

The reason I never recommend "New Edition: Hits" and "New Edition: Gold" is because they don't have any songs from the Streetwise debut album. I don't see how in the world you can call it a New Edition greatest hits set and NOT have "Candy Girl" and "Is This the End."

AlexdeParis said:

well MCA or Universal doesnt own the Candy Girl LP, Maurice Starr does

vainandy said:

Exactly, it was an album of standards. I always wondered if "Under the Blue Moon" was one of those projects New Edition did under the financial constraints of its deal with MCA, solely to get the record label off its back.

Najee said:

Yes, you need those songs. "Popcorn Love" is easily one of my favorites. Ideally, you'd have to track down either the Candy Girl album or New Edition's Greatest Hits, Volume 1 next. If you go with the latter, you'd get the remix to "Boys to Men" as a bonus.

AlexdeParis said:

That's the thing that bothers me about the newer greatest-hits sets. "New Edition's Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" was also an MCA release and it had the Streetwise songs on them, so it's not like the music company could not have done it with "Hits" and "Gold."

Actually, the "Candy Girl" album is available on CD. I bought it a few months ago.

I've been looking all over for their second album with no luck. I have three 45s from that album but I don't have "My Secret" which I want but I don't want to buy their greatest hits CD. I saw their second album on CD a few years ago but I guess they have made it out of print now.

I've noticed more and more albums going out of print as more greatest hits compilations are made. I can't find one damn Ohio Players album on CD in the record stores these days.