Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
Boyz II Men
label: Decca format: CD UPC: 00602517401808 release date: 11/13/2007
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Tracks
1. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) | ||
2. It's The Same Old Song/Reach Out I'll Be There | ||
3. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) | ||
4. The Tracks Of My Tears | ||
5. Money (That's What I Want) | ||
6. Easy | ||
7. I Was Made To Love Her | ||
8. All This Love | ||
9. Ribbon In The Sky [A Capella] | ||
10. Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing | ||
11. Got To Be There | ||
12. War | ||
13. End Of The Road [A Capella] | ||
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
“I had the time of my life. This is some of the best music we’ve ever recorded.”– Shawn Stockman
“Everything on this record was recorded with live instrumentation. Working with Randy Jackson, we were able to capture the feel, the vibe, and the energy of these classic songs.”
– Wanya Morris
“This album was pure fun.” – Nate Morris
On November 13, 2007, Boyz II Men – hailed by the RIAA as the most commercially successful R&B group of all time – return to center stage with a stunning new album, Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA. The Decca label debut is the first major-label release in five years for Boyz II Men, who have sold an estimated 60 million recordings in a spectacular career that will enter its seventeenth year in 2008.
Down through the decades, the stars and songs of Motown Records have been the subject of countless tributes and cover versions recordings. But few have been displayed the level of vocal artistry or the faith¬fulness to the sound and spirit of the originals that Boyz II Men capture on Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA.
Working with producer Randy Jackson, Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris, and Nathan Morris bring their special brand of musical magic to twelve all-time Motown hits including Marvin Gaye’s “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” Smokey Robinson & the Miracles’ “The Tracks of My Tears,” the Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” Edwin Starr’s “War,” and the Stevie Wonder favorites “I Was Made to Love Her” and “Ribbon In the Sky.” The album closes with a beautiful new recording of the record-breaking Boyz II Men hit, “End Of The Road,” produced by super¬star Brian McKnight, who also sings on the track.
“Our approach was not to taint or take away from the integrity of the original records,” explains Shawn Stockman, “but to add a little thing, here or there, and put our Boyz II Men flavor on it...We wanted to pay tribute to an era that had such a major influence on our sound.”
Wanya Morris adds: “The fact that we were able to do these songs live, the way they made the original records, gives a whole ‘nother twist to what this album is really about.”
“We took everything from before and brought it up to now,” says Nate Morris, “just to let everyone know that we haven’t forgotten it.”
It’s no surprise that the concept should be such a perfect fit for Boyz II Men. The four-time Grammy Award-winning group was originally signed to Motown Records in 1991 and the very first Boyz II Men single, the million-selling “Motownphilly” (No. 4 R&B/No. 3 Pop), was a tip of the musical hat to the soul music production centers of Detroit and Philadelphia. For the follow-up, Boyz II Men sang another Motown classic, G.C. Cameron’s “It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” a gold-certified single that shot to No. 1 R&B/No. 2 Pop.
The creation of the original Motown Sound was due in large part to the musicians of the label’s house band—later known as the Funk Brothers—who played on a vast number of Motown recordings, espe¬cially in the period 1960-1967. Producer Randy Jackson emulated this approach in the making of Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA—with stellar results. The career résumé of the Grammy Award-winning musician and producer, who recently completed his sixth season on American Idol, includes touring, recording, and/or producing with Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Madonna, Elton John, and Destiny’s Child, just to name a few.
Rather than updating the original arrangements with samples, synthesizers, and drum programming, Jackson assembled a “house band” of his own comprised of some of the top players in Los Angeles including drummers Vinnie Colaiuta and James Gamble, bassist Cornelius Mims, guitarists Michael Thompson and Tim Pierce, and keyboard aces Matt Rollings and Kenneth Crouch. On top of their superbly executed rhythm tracks ride the Dap-King Horns: Neal Sugarman (tenor sax), Dave Guy (trumpet), Ian Hendrickson Smith (baritone sax), and Aaron Johnson (trombone), internationally known for their work with Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, and Sharon Jones. The warmth, excitement, and in-the-pocket feel created by these musicians on Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA could never—will never—be duplicated by technology.
In praise of Boyz II Men, Randy Jackson says: “All of the greats have a natural talent that continually bubbles up no matter what’s going on. Boyz II Men are like that—just naturally gifted, and the most talented vocal group of our era.”
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