Boyz Ii Men - Evolution CDs • Vinyl Records • LPs • Music Albums

sound-alike ballads and lyrics that read like a printout from some computer program that's stuck on banal – "Girl, please ..." (1) "go away"; (2) "come back"; or (3) "stay." Babyface (who should really consider working in a different tempo or at least learning some new chord progressions) contributes the forced wistfulness of "Girl in the Life Magazine," an acoustic soul track, as well as the syrupy, almost unlistenable "A Song for Mama" ("You will always be the girl in my life"). Sean "Puffy" Combs sparks a semblance of libido on the midtempo grooves "Can't Let Her Go" and "Come On," but the clichés being sung ("The way you move your body looks so fine/Fine, you got me hypnotized/The way you look into my eyes") douse that flame quickly.

Yes, the Boyz can sing, and they are icons of '90s R&B, but so what? No matter how much they twist, torture and torment their notes (it doesn't matter which member is singing lead; the vocals have precisely two tones: clenched and tremulous), they can't hide the fact that there's no soul in their soul music. (RS 770)

ERNEST HARDY

Released in 1997, Evolution finds Boyz II Men struggling slightly to stay relevant in the increasingly crowded hip-hop flavored R&B marketplace. Their vocal prowess is still strong, and their hardcore fans will be satisfied, but this album is not as commercially successful as their earlier work.