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Ahead of an upcoming BET miniseries about their lives, R&B/Pop group New Edition just ended another successful reunion tour, stopping in Minneapolis at the Target Center, on the recent last leg.
Kenny Babyface Edmonds got things going with an opening hour-long set that ran the gamut from tender ballads to rhythmic stompers, to a barrage of cover hits that he had a hand in writing and/or producing. In promotion of last year’s Return of the Tender Lover (Def Jam Recordings), his first studio effort in a decade, Babyface mainly kept it retro, much to the fans’ delight and theme of the evening.
Smooth as ever in sunglasses and a blue jacket and with a full band in tow, ‘Face opened with the tender R&B of 1993’s ‘For the Cool in You’ and 1996’s ‘Every Time I Close My Eyes’, taking everyone back twenty-plus years, to seemingly simpler times. The half-arena swayed side-to-side with 1989’s Grammy-winning ‘Whip Appeal’ (from the Tender Lover LP), with many in the nattily-dressed crowd singing along with the chorus.
The new ‘Exceptional’ flowed in seamlessly with the hit maker’s other songs, then ‘Face and band took the last half of his set, like Nile Rodgers did the night before, to remind everyone of all the hits he had a hand in contributing and/or creating. “This is my favorite part of the show” Babyface said, starting chronologically with 1983’s ‘Slow Jam’ from Midnight Star.
Maybe borrowing a little of New Edition’s thunder, ‘Face dropped in a little of Johnny Gill’s hit singles he helped on, then exclaimed “Can I get My Bobby on?!” for a quartet of Bobby Brown covers (as close as the crowd would get to hearing the missing New Edition member this tour), before ending with two of his best known songs written / produced for Michael Bivins’ own protégés, Boys II Men.
In case we needed a reminder, New Edition showed a trailer of the planned three-night TV miniseries due in 2017 before taking to the stage in dark pants, matching red jackets, and oh, those signature moves. “If you’re sitting down, you might want to get up right about now”, they urged, before launching into ‘Hit Me Off’, a 1996 comeback single.
The songs came in rapid-fire for the first fifteen minutes , before the band paused to introduce themselves one-by-one, followed by a Johnny Gill solo of a couple Luther Vandross songs and his own ‘My My My’. Gill looks a little out of fighting shape, but the baritone voice still has its signature ring.
The still high-pitched Ralph Tresvant was next to shine, serenading the audience with a couplet of radio hits, before Gill re-emerged with his high-energy ‘Rub You the Right Way’, followed by Messrs. Bell, Bivins and DeVoe with their own biggest hit, ‘Poison’.
Their newest collaboration, ‘This One’s For Me and You’ is actually on the Johnny Gill 2014 album, Game Changer (J-Skillz/Caroline), but sounds like trademark New Edition, a group continuing to evolve since their 1978 start in Boston.
A wardrobe change ensued (eggshell glittered jackets with black trim and dark hats) and the quintet (Ricky Bell; Michael Bivins; Ronnie DeVoe; Johnny Gill ; Ralph Tresvant) was on their final lap, taking everyone all the way back to the early 1980’s and their earliest radio hits.
1988’s ‘If It Isn’t Love’ (written/produced by former Mpls. residents Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) ended the evening, with the crowd (more than half women) trying to scream like they once did for these songs, three decades earlier.
Thirty-five plus years later, the New in New Edition may not apply like it once did, but the throngs of fans still happy to see them , will always be their candy girls.
Kenny Babyface Edmonds got things going with an opening hour-long set that ran the gamut from tender ballads to rhythmic stompers, to a barrage of cover hits that he had a hand in writing and/or producing. In promotion of last year’s Return of the Tender Lover (Def Jam Recordings), his first studio effort in a decade, Babyface mainly kept it retro, much to the fans’ delight and theme of the evening.
Smooth as ever in sunglasses and a blue jacket and with a full band in tow, ‘Face opened with the tender R&B of 1993’s ‘For the Cool in You’ and 1996’s ‘Every Time I Close My Eyes’, taking everyone back twenty-plus years, to seemingly simpler times. The half-arena swayed side-to-side with 1989’s Grammy-winning ‘Whip Appeal’ (from the Tender Lover LP), with many in the nattily-dressed crowd singing along with the chorus.
The new ‘Exceptional’ flowed in seamlessly with the hit maker’s other songs, then ‘Face and band took the last half of his set, like Nile Rodgers did the night before, to remind everyone of all the hits he had a hand in contributing and/or creating. “This is my favorite part of the show” Babyface said, starting chronologically with 1983’s ‘Slow Jam’ from Midnight Star.
Maybe borrowing a little of New Edition’s thunder, ‘Face dropped in a little of Johnny Gill’s hit singles he helped on, then exclaimed “Can I get My Bobby on?!” for a quartet of Bobby Brown covers (as close as the crowd would get to hearing the missing New Edition member this tour), before ending with two of his best known songs written / produced for Michael Bivins’ own protégés, Boys II Men.
In case we needed a reminder, New Edition showed a trailer of the planned three-night TV miniseries due in 2017 before taking to the stage in dark pants, matching red jackets, and oh, those signature moves. “If you’re sitting down, you might want to get up right about now”, they urged, before launching into ‘Hit Me Off’, a 1996 comeback single.
The songs came in rapid-fire for the first fifteen minutes , before the band paused to introduce themselves one-by-one, followed by a Johnny Gill solo of a couple Luther Vandross songs and his own ‘My My My’. Gill looks a little out of fighting shape, but the baritone voice still has its signature ring.
The still high-pitched Ralph Tresvant was next to shine, serenading the audience with a couplet of radio hits, before Gill re-emerged with his high-energy ‘Rub You the Right Way’, followed by Messrs. Bell, Bivins and DeVoe with their own biggest hit, ‘Poison’.
Their newest collaboration, ‘This One’s For Me and You’ is actually on the Johnny Gill 2014 album, Game Changer (J-Skillz/Caroline), but sounds like trademark New Edition, a group continuing to evolve since their 1978 start in Boston.
A wardrobe change ensued (eggshell glittered jackets with black trim and dark hats) and the quintet (Ricky Bell; Michael Bivins; Ronnie DeVoe; Johnny Gill ; Ralph Tresvant) was on their final lap, taking everyone all the way back to the early 1980’s and their earliest radio hits.
1988’s ‘If It Isn’t Love’ (written/produced by former Mpls. residents Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) ended the evening, with the crowd (more than half women) trying to scream like they once did for these songs, three decades earlier.
Thirty-five plus years later, the New in New Edition may not apply like it once did, but the throngs of fans still happy to see them , will always be their candy girls.
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Poster |
Setlist |
Babyface |
Babyface |
Babyface |
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New Edition: Ralph Tresvant |
New Edition: Johnny Gill |
New Edition |
New Edition |
New Edition |
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New Edition at Target Center, Minneapolis (24 July 2016) |
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