Pop music's a fickle old world. Average boy bands come and go with alarming regularity while every so often a group dig their heels in and win the hearts of teenage girls on a staggering global scale. The Backstreet Boys fall into the latter category.
Yet, no matter how many screaming fans, platinum records or hits they acquire, every band suffers the same fate - they grow up. It's the seven year rule - Take That lasted six years, Boyzone just over seven and now the BB are into their seventh year - when the collective are no longer the fresh faced teenagers from those early photos, eager for the challenge ahead. The endless schedules have taken their toll; the gang mentality has started to crack and the lack of privacy is intolerable.
Minds wander to solo careers and, more significantly, to the young pretenders ready to snatch their crown with the likes of *NSync and O-Town omnipresent. And then, of course, there's fame and the almost inevitable rehab. And, how long can grown men approaching their thirties be attractive to pre-pubescent teenage girls and how long can they go on playing the part of all-singing, all dancing pop idols 24 hours a day?
So what have they achieved during chapter one? For starters the 16-track collection justifies why the BB became one of America's biggest bands ever and why they totally dominated the 90s pop market. Don't expect to discover a hidden side to the band. It's smash after smash of predominantly Swedish manufactured hits worthy of filling any stocking this Christmas thanks largely to the Cherion production house and in particular the pop genius of Britney writer/producer Max Martin who had a hand in 10 of the album's 16 tracks.
Unlike some pop acts, this collection also demonstrates that the BB were far from one-trick ponies. Their sweeping mid-tempo ballads were obviously their trademark and there's plenty of those - 'I Want It That Way', 'As Long As You Love Me', 'Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely', 'Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)' - but 'Larger Than Life', 'Everybody (Backstreet's Back)', and 'The Call' show the BB were equally as happy (and successful) off their stools and strutting their stuff.
So, if the BB don't make it on to chapter two, this collection will stand as an example of 90s pop and an essential purchase for BB fans everywhere. *NSync and O-Town have a long way to go before they equal this.
