This review covers the pop track New Kids on the Block – Never Let You Go.
This track was released in 1994 on the album Face the Music.
The track starts with a chime and a synth along with some backup vocals. After that, there is some very high octave vocals. From there, additional vocals come in.
After that, the vocals hit the main chorus. The chorus consists of a lot more high octave vocals.
The next verse comes in with a couple of different synths playing off and on throughout. The verse ends with some higher octave vocals. This leads into the next main chorus.
After this, the vocals hit the next verse, then repeats after a while. The main chorus comes back in while the verse repeats. After this, the next verse is much more rap like.
Towards the end of the track, the track features repeating vocals as the track fades out.
When I heard this track for the first time, my first thought was, “That… was strange.” There are a number of elements that contributed to this reaction.
The biggest reason this track is strange are the vocals during the main chorus. Those vocals sound like they are hitting unnaturally high pitches. Given that this is supposed to be some kind of love song, the last thing I think of is high pitched vocals to show off the masculinity side of things. Given that this main chorus repeats a number of times, it makes the track sound odd.
The main melody isn’t even much of a main melody. It’s a pan-flute like synth that is put on a permanent loop throughout the track. At first, I was OK with this, but as the track progressed, it just becomes repetitive.
In fairness, the track isn’t all bad. There are brief moments in a verse or two that actually sounds decent. It’s when the guitar element comes in and it actually sounds like decent chill out music. Unfortunately, these moments are rather brief. They are interrupted by the strangeness of the main chorus.
Overall, this is a rather strange track. The vocals is what does the trick in making an otherwise OK track a rather strange one. Some of the synths are repetitive. The guitar work is decent, but anything that is decent is quickly wiped away. One weird track.
Score
4.5/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
