With the recent discussions about New Edition’s HOF potential and/or their “greatness” in general, I figured I’d turn my attention to the group’s front man, Ralph Tresvant.
The group was molded after the J5 obviously, and with that comes comparisons to the groups that inspired them as well: The Tempations, Four Tops, The Miracles, Sly and the Family Stone, etc. But N.E. was an early-mid 80s group on the scene with (the pop version of) Kool and The Gang, The Time, Cameo, Gap Band, DeBarge, etc.

So the question is where would you rank Ralph among the front men among these groups and even later acts like NKOTB (Donny), Guy (Aaron Hall), Jodeci (K-ci), N’Sync (J.Timberlake) to name a few?

Vocally, Ralph is and always was weak. He lacked tone, character, and emotion. After N.E.’s first album he wasn’t even the best singer is his own group. That was Ricky, then Bobby, then later Johnny of course. Even when the group parted ways and did their solo/BBD stuff Ralph was the least successful of the lot.
As a performer he always seemed animated, uncomfortable. His personality never came through any of the 1960s and 70s old heads, and he was nowhere near as entertaining as his 80s peers like J.T., Morris, Larry B.

My conclusion is that if N.E. isn’t getting the props from the industry that many think they deserve you can place the blame on Ralph…because he’s lame. I rank him at or near the bottom of front men.

Thank you. That is all.

Some where near ZERO.

LOL I was prepared to disagree (I thought you were going to say he was great), but no, I totally agree.

He's very weak as a singer, and he doesn't have any style. I think he's inoffensive but doesn't stand out at all. Maybe he was better as a little kid doing Candy Girl.

NDRU said:

Yep. I believe that any group is only as good as it's leader. For that reason I believe the lack of attention given N.E. by the industry has been justified.

Adisa said:

Ralph may not have been the most powerful vocalists but he was always on time...think about N.E. best album "1988's Heartbreak", he vastly improved from the little boy we heard on Candy Girl to then, much like Michael Jackson improved from "ABC" to "Off The Wall". If anything Ralph was somethin like the rhythm guitar to Johnny's lead especially on songs like "Can You Stand The Rain" and "Boys To Men"...

diamondpearl1 said:

The vocal processing on that album was very Janet-ish. Yeah, Jam and Lewis know how to do their job well.

i would give him about a 7 out 10! i love me some ralph t and N.E.!

dancerella said:

Then who do you rank as a 10? And who do you rank as a 6?

Johnny Gill was the best singer they had. And whatever songs of theirs I liked ("Candy Girl," "If It Isn't Love," "Hit Me Off"), none I would consider classics, just songs I tend to like. Tresvant was the face of the group; but great frontmen of any type are usually the soul of the group.

So, not high. But he didn't need to be a great one for me to like some NE songs. For some groups, that's all they need.

on a scale of 1 to 10, -34

Other than vocals and dance steps he shouldn't rank too high. The only reason why they kept Ralph as lead singer after Johnny entered the picture was I think because of image. Ralph had good looks, and at that time they were still catering to the teenage market. If Johnny sung lead then they would have probably had an adult contempory market. Its all about numbers. We all know Johnny can blow Ralph out the water with his voice anyday.

this is bull shit NE success had to do with the fact that MTV didn't play there videos in the 80's they were basically a black group THATS ONE OF THE REASONS THEY RANK LOW ON THIS SITE.

Yall killin me with JG as a lead singer, JG released two LPs before joining NE never heard of them right. JG released an LP with Laface\J&l doing all the productions, only sold 2mil.

Ralph was more charismatic, and had better moves, and is the lead singer for a reason ever see NE without Ralph on stage, there is a HUGE DIFFERENCE

I would rank him between Debby Gibson and Tiffany,

Adisa said:

i don't know if howard hewett is right for this subject but he would be 10 for me. as for number 6....i'll say....damnm i have o get back to you on that one.

marzellus said:

LMAO!

Ralph had great songs for sure, but he couldn't hold notes like bobby and johnny gil.

DOES he rank??

marzellus said:

i love debbie gibson!

dancerella said:

i don't but i agree with you on howard hewett =)

diamondpearl1 said:

Yes, I'll give you that Ralph improved vocally by "N.E heartbreak". Bobby sounded alot better then Ralph on those early N.E records.

He ranks near the bottom IMO, If we were talking Johnny Gill as the front man. then it would be a different story.

Raphael (Tony Toni Tone)
Wanya (Boyz II Men)
Kevon Edmonds (After 7)
Stokley (Mint Condition)
K-Ci (Jodeci)
Lil' G (Silk)
Aaron Hall (Guy)
Sisqo Dru Hill
Kenny Greene (Intro)

,,,and a few others (that i cant think of right now), rank higher than Ralph.

qvgangsta18 said:

MTV never played cameo videos before word up because they were a black band so what does that have to do with ralph ranking high as an R&b front man.
You can take that same question and ask people where does larry blackmon
rank as a frontman and the response would be a hell of a lot higher than
ralph. Ralph just had a weak voice that only suited the group when they were
teens. As the group matured and were going for a mature audience, it is clear
that johnny gill played a major role in securing that audience.


Please do tell us about the multiplatinum solo cd's that ralph released.

Graycap23 said:

...Couldn't resist the obvious joke.


Seriously though, he wasn't horrible, he just wasn't very distinctive.
He didn't have one of those voices where if you heard a tune you weren't familiar with you'd say "That's Ralph Tresvant doing on lead vocal."

That being said, and as others have said, that doesn't stop me from enjoying certain New Edition songs he sang lead on.

Or even a solo track like Sensitivity.
(Even though that could've been any low-key, non-descript singer)



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

I consider Ralph Tresvant up there with the greats but we all know that he does'nt have the strongest voice but he brought something to the table and for that i would be a forever FAN of N.E.....Congrats to all of them om their success!

I see your point. But I wouldn't completely blame Ralph for the downfall of the group. All boy bands do come to an end. But compared to other boy bands and their lead singers...others have done better. For example, Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake to name a couple.

CalhounSq said:

This thread is pretty rank.

marzellus said:

right on and he is soooo underrated.

he was cool singing candy girl...
still couldn't really sing live but hey...how many Michael Jacksons come around...
(kids that are AMAZING)
he was cool singing Cool it Now/My Secret ect..
But, as soon as the whole 90's/hip hop thing came around him and the group were lame ! Things haven't changed !
Basically ..he was a cute little michael jacksonesque kid that grew up to be
nothing to get too excited about.

he was a cool performer. people thought highly of him at the time and thought he would be huge. but to me he seemed a bit insecure with himself. it showed onstage, which came across very endearing, but it wasn't enough to make him stand out in the end.

but people were pushing him to go solo, i just dont think he had it in him, or wanted to without his brothers ( NE ) after all he was the last to release a solo project

just mho

I wouldn't put Raplh Tresvant as one of the best frontmen in the world... but I will say that he is heavily underrated in general - Dave Hollister or Wanya Morris he could never be!

'dre