It may have been Millennium that broke records, but the Backstreet Boys eponymous debut will always hold first place in my heart. While the production values may not compare to later works, this album is, frankly, the most appreciable of their work. The old tracks, inherited from the European debut, give it endearing rough edges, just as the sleekly produced new tracks give the album polish.
What rates this album five stars is the fact that so much growth is laid out in front of our very eyes. From the rather juvenile We've Got It Goin' On to sophisticated Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, the Boys development as musical artists is nearly exponential. And if this was merely their American debut, imagine what was yet to come!
In the end, I think, the reason this album has always returned to my stereo (and honestly, over the course of nine years, it ALWAYS has) is because of the promise it held. There is so much potential in the voices here, and a beautifully artless humanity in the still developing voice of Nick, in AJ's lisp, in the amorphous quality of their musical style, in the ripening prowess of Max Martin, that is nothing less than mesmerizing to listen to.
This album is very deeply entrenched in my heart, and I think it always will be.
Where it all began
It may have been Millennium that broke records, but the Backstreet Boys eponymous debut will always hold first place in my heart. While the production values may not compare to later works, this album is, frankly, the most appreciable of their work. The old tracks, inherited from the European debut, give it endearing rough edges, just as the sleekly produced new tracks give the album polish.
What rates this album five stars is the fact that so much growth is laid out in front of our very eyes. From the rather juvenile We've Got It Goin' On to sophisticated Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, the Boys development as musical artists is nearly exponential. And if this was merely their American debut, imagine what was yet to come!
In the end, I think, the reason this album has always returned to my stereo (and honestly, over the course of nine years, it ALWAYS has) is because of the promise it held. There is so much potential in the voices here, and a beautifully artless humanity in the still developing voice of Nick, in AJ's lisp, in the amorphous quality of their musical style, in the ripening prowess of Max Martin, that is nothing less than mesmerizing to listen to.
This album is very deeply entrenched in my heart, and I think it always will be.