Nothing can stop these boys

Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys

In the recent glut of boy bands-N'Sync, 5ive, 911-one of them clearly stands ahead of the others, both in talent and eeriet seems as if nothing can stop the Backstreet juggernaut, except of course for the inevitable fickleness of teenage tastes.

On the success of The Backstreet Boys, currently no. 8 in its 58th week on the chart, they've had four hit singles, three home videos, an MTV Video Music Award and a song on the upcoming "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" soundtrack. The self-titled album by the Orlando-based quintet is actually an amalgamation of two albums previously released in Canada and Europe, where boy bands never really went away.

Their first single, "We've Got it Goin' On," peaked at No. 69 in 1995, but three years later America was ready for the harmonies of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian "B-Rok" Littrell, A.J. McLean and Kevin Richardson. If you haven't heard the ubiquitous "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" or seen the pseudo-"Thriller" video of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" then you must not own a radio or television.

What sets the Backstreet Boys apart from their competition is both that they are not a prefabricated group-they started singing together in high school, and Richardson brought in his cousin Littrell from Kentucky-and that they are, in fact, fine singers. They are capable of sweet, airy harmonies, and Carter and Littrell's similar nasal tenors handle the majority of the lead vocals confidently.

Whereas the live performances of the Spice Girls or All Saints can be hit-and-miss, the Backstreets can competently reproduce the sound of their records on stage. Being a boy band, they do fall into the usual traps-the matching outfits, the cheesy dance moves-but it's clear their focus is not merely on fame but on singing.

Naturally none of the songs were written by the Boys themselves. Instead, they and their management have assembled a crack team of pop songwriters and producers including the Swedish hit makers Denniz PoP and Max Martin, Full Force and "Mr. Shania Twain" Robert John "Mutt" Lange. The songs are pleasant, and not without catchy hooks, but formulaic.

"Quit Playing Games" and "As Long as You Love Me" are not only indistinguishable from one another, but from Take That's megahit "Back for Good" and Boyzone's recent UK No. 1, "All That I Need." Their current single, "I'll Never Break Your Heart" and the European hit "Anywhere For You" are lovely R&B lite.

"Get Down (You're the One for Me)" and "If You Want It to Be Good Girl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy)" are silly NKOTB-style dance numbers. But "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" boasts a super-catchy bassline nicked by N'Sync for their hit "I Want You Back," and a cover of PM Dawn's "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is splendid. Naturally, the lyrics to all of these songs are essentially meaningless; all that matters is that they're sentimental enough to melt 12-year-old hearts.

Unfortunately, the arrangements never really get off the ground. The Spice Girls were able to transcend the girl-group genre by making use of Britain's finest pop producers. The Backstreet Boys' collaborators, on the other hand, are little more than hacks-they create music of the color-by-numbers variety.

Every song is bound by the same oppressive programmed drumbeat and one-finger synthesizer lines, with maybe a bit of acoustic guitar added for decoration. I've read that the Boys are learning instruments for their next album. Hopefully that will compel them to take more interest in the instrumental arrangements as well as the vocal ones.

On the Enhanced CD-ROM portion of this album, Littrell said of "Quit Playing Games," "It's very simple, it has a guitar, there's not a lot of complicated things about it." He's right, of course, but he says it with pride. What matters most to the Backstreets is having an inoffensive, catchy song to work with and to please their fans. And while they're able singers, we all know they're just a pop phenomenon that will be over in a year or two.

Ultimately, what is true of the song is true of the Backstreet Boys: they're delightful to listen to, and quickly forgotten when the CD is over.