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Bobby Brown’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ Turns 30 | An Anniversary Retrospective

June 18, 2018 Andy Healy

Happy 30th Anniversary to Bobby Brown’s second studio album Don’t Be Cruel, originally released June 20, 1988.



The rise of an artist can be a funny thing. When you discover them greatly informs your perception of their career. Take Bobby Brown for example. As a kid growing up in Australia, I was aware of him as part of New Edition, but his 1986 debut solo album King of Stage didn’t really hit it big down under (or anywhere, for that matter). So when Brown unveiled his follow-up Don’t Be Cruel in 1988 (on the same day that his former group New Edition released their fifth studio album Heart Break), I was under the (misguided) impression that this was his debut effort.


It wasn’t until Brown toured Australia in support of Don’t Be Cruel that I was introduced to King album tracks like “Girlfriend” and “You Ain’t Been Loved Right.” For me, and I’d assume many others, Don’t Be Cruel was the debut album Brown deserved rather than the forgettable King of Stage. (Side note: it was a dismal concert with Brown shouting his way through songs rather than singing, and if memory serves me correctly, extended periods of dry humping the floor. But I was obviously a glutton for punishment as I returned several years later for the Humpin’ Around Tour too, which was equally spectacularly disappointing.)


What Don’t Be Cruel has going for it are the songs, the production team helmed by the dynamic duo L.A Reid and Babyface and then up-and-coming producer and New Jack Swing pioneer Teddy Riley (though his work is uncredited), and of course, Bobby Brown, swinging the right mix of braggadocio, bravado and seduction throughout the album.




Whilst the recording process was plagued by Brown’s absence due to an increasing drug dependence, most of the behind-the-scenes drama didn’t make its way into the grooves of the tracks (at least, not noticeably at the time). What remains is a solid R&B album that straddles the modern blueprint set by the likes of Michael Jackson and Prince coupled with the emerging influence of New Jack Swing.


The idea to bookend the album with the “Cruel” prelude and reprise came from a dearth in material and something needed to pad out the album’s track list, but at the time it felt like the opening and closing credits of a film.


So with the album proper starting with “Don’t Be Cruel,” Brown uses the sweetness and range in his voice to great effect in the verses, and the addition of the rap (an ever increasing signature on this album) feels like a natural fit with the track rather than an of-the-moment gimmicky tack-on. The instant the groove hits, with its slight shuffle and reverb-heavy sonic claps, you knew this would be a song that would drag many to the dance floor. With an almost seven-minute run time, the track does tend to overstay its welcome post the five minute mark, offering little variation. But it stills holds a definite tinge of nostalgia to it.


“My Prerogative” produced by an uncredited Teddy Riley, is the standout track on the album. With its early New Jack Swing influence, “My Prerogative” hits you from beat one. With a fuller arrangement than the sparse “Don’t Be Cruel,” the track has a swagger to it that is as much about the groove as it is about Brown’s vocal delivery. Giving a bit of attitude to the track, Brown owns the lyrics and gives each word more gravitas. This was a landmark track not just for Brown, but also for the burgeoning New Jack Swing movement that would dominate the charts for years to come. As for Teddy Riley not getting credit for the track, his influence is undeniable especially considering Brown’s shout-out during the ad libs.


Borrowing a phrase from Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.,” Babyface created a smooth as silk seductive slow jam in “Roni” that allowed Brown to put his charm and bag of seduction to good use. The stacked harmonies in the pre-chorus pull you in and deliver on the chorus. Brown’s spoken word/rap section is a little cringe-worthy and comes off as a poor man’s LL Cool J, and fails on the “come on” meter. Strangely enough, during the second pass, when the words are sung more than rapped, the infraction doesn’t seem as sever.


The candle light seduction continues with “Rock Wit’cha,” but the song only really comes together in the chorus and has somewhat tepid verses. However, with that melodic hook in the chorus it was enough to have the song worthy of a single release.


And who can forget “Every Little Step” with that new jack swagger and skipping beat. The joyous, feel-good track of the album, the song is all bright and bouncy with Brown’s vocals filling out the sparse arrangement. Whilst rumors have surfaced that perhaps Brown didn’t fulfil all lead vocal duties, with Ralph Tresvant reportedly brought in to finish off the lead due to Brown being off on a bender (and the second verse does have a slight difference in tone which could be Tresvant). Regardless, “Every Little Step” was the breakout hit of the album and it still possesses the ability to get your head bobbing and feet yearning to bust out the running man.


With the previous songs holding down the lion’s share of the album, it’s at this juncture that the album loses steam. “I’ll Be Good To You” is a cool enough song that smacks of being another (uncredited) Teddy Riley track, and perhaps feels more aligned to Guy’s eponymous debut album that came out a week prior to Don’t Be Cruel.


“Take It Slow” and “All Day All Night” are standard by-the-numbers R&B fare that was being offered by the dozen at the time. And album closer “I Really Love You” remains unfocused and unfinished, suffering from a terrible mix.


But by then, it didn’t matter. The hook and appeal of the first five songs are what carried the album. With five Top Ten Singles and over seven million in sales, Don’t Be Cruel set Bobby Brown up as the new star for an emerging sound, and for a period of time he was the most exciting male artist on the planet.


While the 1992 follow-up Bobby was more consistent and musically stronger, Don’t Be Cruel was Brown’s shining moment. 30 years on, it’s a fun nostalgic trip with some solid tracks, but perhaps your memories are better served spinning the singles rather than the album in its entirety.

 

[JabarR]

New Edition’s ‘Heart Break’ Turns 30 | An Anniversary Retrospective

June 18, 2018 Quentin Harrison

Happy 30th Anniversary to New Edition’s fifth studio album Heart Break, originally released June 20, 1988.




In late November 1986, the teen R&B vocal sensations New Edition released their fourth album, Under the Blue Moon. This collection was seminal for Ricky Bell, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe and Michael Bivins for several reasons. It was their first album without their firebrand fifth member Bobby Brown ousted the previous December, which made Under the Blue Moon the sole New Edition recording issued by them as a quartet. Further, excluding “Bring Back the Memories,” their fourth effort was an ambitious covers record paying homage to the male vocal rhythm and blues tradition of the 1950s and 1960s. In selecting material from the coveted canons of The Penguins (“Earth Angel”), Gene Chandler (“Duke of Earl”), Eddie Holman (“Hey There Lonely Girl”) and Little Anthony and The Imperials (“Tears On My Pillows”) New Edition made a bold bid for credibility.


Envisioned as the inaugural step toward the process of shedding the youthfulness of their first three long players, Under the Blue Moon worked better in theory than in practice. Woefully underproduced by Freddie Perren and Ric Wyatt Jr., the classic song pieces were clumsily retrofitted to the black pop and R&B of the period. In hindsight, had New Edition's management—an entity separate from their label MCA Records who handled their distribution—actually paired the young men with producers that understood the lush complexities of those classics, the possibilities could have been endless. Instead, the album was barely held aloft by the minor charting success of its single “Earth Angel.”


The silver lining in the failure of Under the Blue Moon was that it freed New Edition from their management deal with Jump & Shoot Productions. New Edition and MCA Records were now free to move forward together to much more promising endeavors. Still, there was friction between Bell, Tresvant, DeVoe and Bivins threatening to tank any opportunities afforded to them post-Jump & Shoot Productions. Tresvant, ready to strike out alone, left Bivins, Bell and DeVoe in a considerable lurch. They had no choice but to consider a replacement.




The dynamic Johnny Gill had gotten his start at 16 on the Cotillion Records subsidiary associated with the larger Atlantic Records family. Between 1983 and 1985, Gill recorded and released three albums for Cotillion, one of which—Perfect Combination (1984)—was a duets album with Stacy Lattisaw. Gill had the technical chops and a friendship with Bivins, Bell and DeVoe, which made him the ideal candidate. As negotiations were underway to bring Gill into the New Edition fold, the group had to quickly brainstorm how to resurface their sound. Enter James “Jam” Harris III and Terry Lewis.




Hailing from Minneapolis, Jam and Lewis had come a long way from towing the line for the Twin Cities favorite son, Prince, in his side project The Time. Beginning in 1982, Jam and Lewis began to write, arrange and produce singles—and albums—for the likes of Klymaxx, the S.O.S. Band, Change, Alexander O'Neal and Cherelle. Their union with Janet Jackson in 1986 on her third studio affair Controlgave them not only a muse, but an enduring working relationship and friendship with the vocalist and songwriter. Additionally, that same year, Jam and Lewis stepped out into the wider pop world by taking on production duties for the British electronic outfit The Human League's fifth LP Crash.


New Edition were enthusiastic about Jam and Lewis' work history and the producers were equally as keen to oversee the planning and execution of New Edition's fifth album, Heart Break. The group would also contribute their own writing and co-production on select tracks too. As preparations for Heart Break got underway, Tresvant had come around to not only remaining with his longtime friends, but embracing Gill as well, returning the New Edition roster back to a quintet again.


New Edition, Jam and Lewis were all on the same page regarding the utilization of New Jack Swing as the primary musical template for Heart Break. The red hot mix of hip-hop beats, black dance rhythms and the irrepressible grooves and melodies of R&B were at the heart of the movement that exploded into existence a year before Heart Break was unleashed. Excluding the comical studio banter between the guys on a handful of skits, the remaining contents of the record rock with the booming sounds of the New Jack Swing method of the period. In particular, the now-iconic first single “If It Isn't Love,” with its militaristic drumroll and cadenced, clanging synth effects set against the handsome unison approach and Tresvant's standout lead vocal, got the party started with a bang.




The album itself opens proper with the crisp and breezy “That's the Way We're Livin'” where New Edition declares their position as one of the premier R&B powerhouses of their day and beyond. And with the support of sterling entries such as the soulfully coruscating “You're Not My Kind of Girl” and “Can You Stand the Rain”—balancing leads and/or prominent ad-libs from Tresvant, Gill and Bell—as evidence, it's hard to argue against the New Edition standard.


On these pieces, and elsewhere on Heart Break, New Edition darts thematically from romantic proclamations as heard on “Superlady” to swaggering statements of cool on “Where It All Started.” The latter motif gives its flashiest grin and wink on the funky “N.E. Heart Break.” Showcasing the braggadocious charm of Bivins and DeVoe's hip-hop fluency, this jam was the germ of the soon-to-be successful New Edition offshoot Bell Biv DeVoe that rose to prominence just two years later.






Issued to the public on June 20, 1988—the same release date, not coincidentally, as Bobby Brown’s sophomore MCA album Don’t Be Cruel—Heart Break accomplished critically and commercially what Under the Blue Moon had not: the reinvigoration of New Edition. The double platinum platter not only housed five hit singles, it served as the impetus for an expansive tour that cemented them as consummate showmen.


More than any record within their impressive canon, New Edition's Heart Break has served as a well of inspiration for others—musically and visually—with the likes of Boyz II Men (whose stage moniker was directly inspired by Heart Break’s closing track “Boys to Men”), Chris Brown, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars tapping it for their own art. Of more importance is that Heart Break demonstrated the effectiveness of their mature reset, ensuring brand longevity without abandoning the core identity of New Edition as a collective entity, united in their love for the art of singing.

 

[JabarR]

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[JabarR]

(09-09-23) Happy 40th Anniversary to "Big" Ron DeVoe, Ricky "Slick" Bell, Mike "Biv/Sporty Rich" Bivins, Ralph "Rizz" Tresvant, Johnny "Skilliz" Gill and Bobby Brown AKA New Edition

 

[JabarR]

New Edition Announce 2024 Las Vegas Residency: 'Beyond Excited'​

The iconic R&B group will host six performances at the six performances at Wynn Las Vegas' Encore Theater

New Edition is "still in love" with performing.


On Monday, the iconic R&B group — Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill — announced that they would be hitting the road again for a Las Vegas residency.


Kicking off Feb. 28, the residency will run through March 9. During that time, New Edition will perform six dates at the Encore Theater at the Wynn Las Vegas. Tickets for the performances will go on sale starting Friday Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. PT.

“Fulfilling a career-long dream to solidify ourselves with a residency performance in the entertainment capital of the world, we are beyond excited to embark on this fantastical journey at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas,” the group said in a press release statement per Billboard. “On behalf of all of us, including Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph & Johnny, it is our extreme purpose to give our fans a show that they cannot witness anywhere else in the world.”


Bobby Reynolds, senior VP, AEG Presents Las Vegas said they are "honored" to host New Edition’s first-ever Las Vegas residency.


“Encore Theater’s roster is comprised of legendary talents, and it only makes sense to have an iconic music group like New Edition join its ranks. We are thrilled to present a series of sure-to-be unforgettable performances to fans in 2024," he said.


Artists like Diana Ross, Duran Duran, Brad Paisley and Lionel Richie have performed at the venue.

The announcement of New Edition's residency comes just days after the "Boys to Men" outfit performed at the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony where they paid tribute to The Spinners and Soul Train host and creator Don Cornelius with a set of songs including “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” and “The Rubberband Man,” per Pitchfork.


Formed in 1978, New Edition became a pop phenomenon during the '80s. Their success was the blueprint for a future set of boy bands like New Kids on The Block, Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC. Throughout their career, they earned No. 1 hits like "Cool It Now," "Candy Girl," and "Mr. Telephone Man" and even had Madonna as an opener at one of their live shows.