The album kicks off on a note that's immediately not Boyz II Men. Sounding like the rising rap/R&B scene of the time, Boyz II Men kicks off the album with "Beautiful Women" in which they rap about their dream of being surrounded by tons of beautiful women. While the song is catchy and the chorus has a fun sound to it, the song isn't that great. The lyrics are pretty bland and there is no real wow factor. Still, it's an entertaining song, just not Boyz II Men.
"Step On Up" is a jam for the clubs and the number does have a nice beat to get you dancing. The chorus has a similar flow to it and the trumpets that kick in help this. However, when not in a club or looking to dance, the song just isn't that great. It's very repetitive and as such, feels overly long. So as a dance song, it's not bad. As a regular song, it needs work.
Finally scoring a decent up-tempo track, "Good Guy" is a track about how it's unfair that the good guy gets overlooked by a girl for the bad boy. The song seems to work where the others fail, having decent (albeit simplistic) lyrics to go along with it's dance beat. It's a great track to listen to in the car and just works. Not an incredible song but as far as the dance numbers are concerned, it's the best one yet.
Things get really weird with "Bounce, Shake, Move, Swing." The beat is techno-esque and the song is maybe twenty lines long, ten of which are "bounce, move, shake, swing." The song is horrendous as the guys try and get people to dance. Disappointing.
"What The Deal" has a nice latin feel to the beat and is a listenable track. Still, it features some of the stupidest lines in the world that are sure to make Joe jealous. "And when you lick your lips, I swear girl I go medical." Righttt... That's gonna seduce the girls. An average effort throughout.
The group finally gets away from the fast stuff with "I Finally Know." The track is clever in its delivery, confessing love to a friend without ever bluntly stating it. This is seen in the chorus where they say "She's only around me when you are near" and "If you look in the mirror, you'll see what I see." This helps make the song break itself away from being an average love song. Another nice feature of the track is its applicability. Everyone's had the struggle of finding themselves enticed by a female friend and the conflict of going further. The vocals aren't extraordinary but the lyrics help make the song a solid one.
"Pass You By" is a classic example of a track that should have been great but just fell short. The track was clearly built in the frame of the group's past hits but failed to live up to their success. The track starts strong with beautiful lines like "eyes shine like diamonds in a field of snow." Unfortunately, the chorus is very bland and the song hits an even rougher bump by dragging out. The chorus goes on and on and the song is far too long for its own good.
One of the best tracks for the album is the eighth track, "Dreams." The song has a nice almost dream-like sound as the beat is very laidback and the vocals are delivered in a similar fashion. The song's message is presented in an original fashion as the guys overcome separation from their lover over the phone. The lyrics are well written and the song is short and sweet. A great jam.
"I Do" is a nice acapella track in which the guys give their wedding vows. The song has a strong feeling of the Doowop groups on the sides of the street of old and the harmonies work wonders. The song drags on a bit as the group reiterated "I Do" for about two minutes. But otherwise, it's a great jam and a nice soothing listen.
What I believe to be the top track on the album, "Thank You In Advance" rounds out the first ten. The track continues a trend seen a lot in the slower numbers of the album, showing the guys take an original approach to the standard message. In this track, the guys use a clever message of approaching a girl and acting as if they are from the future in which they were lovers. The vocals are delivered nicely and the lyrics are clever, with great lines like "Hi my name is Shawn, tell me your name although I know the last one," and "You look like my first wife, although I've never been married before." A great song with an original delivery, doesn't get much better.
After a slew of creative, original songs, "Never Go Away" settles for the blunt approach. In this song, the guys plead that they love someone so much and that they don't want them to ever leave them. While the song features some pretty lines, it almost feels lifeless as there just isn't enough emotion in the vocals. As such, the song is just average.
Following a similar standard, "Lovely" is pretty standard fare. However, the song's chorus is interesting. The chorus plays off of similar sounding words to get a cool presentation as seen by "Watch you watch me, feel you fill me up with pure delight (fill me up with pure delight)." It's not brilliant and the song isn't incredible but it still works well. The song delivers strongly with some good lines throughout and some nice enthusiasm making an average song pretty good.
"Know What You Want" is a sweet song that has a very personal sound. The vocals sound as if the guys are actually speaking directly to someone and they are very consoling. The song is delivered well and the song is just the right length, being sure to pull out before it's been too long.
After some creative gems, Boyz II Men falls back on a generic topic with the nostalgic song, "Do You Remember." The track has nice vocals and isn't all that long but it's still not a great song. The track feels very generic and doesn't differentiate itself from similar tracks by other artists. Still, a pleasant listen.