If
Greatest Hits
doesn't seem as fun as it should be, that's because the
New Kids on the Block
's material has dated, even though it, in many ways, set the template for the
teen pop
of the late '90s/early 2000s.
Max Martin
used
Maurice Starr
's formula, but he writes better songs -- only
"I'll Be Loving You (Forever)"
and
"You Got It (The Right Stuff)"
stand the test of time as good
pop
singles, but the rest are pretty much triumphs of recording and the form. Also, the sequencing doesn't play to their strengths, failing to gain much momentum as it plays. This still is recommended as the first pick, since it does have all of
NKOTB
's hits on one disc, but it's still sort of a shock that this doesn't play as trashy fun, the way it does in memory -- or the way
Milli Vanilli
's music now does. [A bonus tracks version was released in 2008.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine