Start taking notes class, cause I’m about to break down ten years of music in one paragraph. In the 90’s, black male R&B groups like Jagged Edge, 112 and Boyz II Men not only sold millions of albums, they allowed guys everywhere to cop a feel during slow dances (I’m still amazed teachers let the DJ play I’ll Make Love to You at school dances). Then, like the Cloverfield monster with blond highlights, the Boy Band Era arrived and wiped the Black Male R&B Group Era off the mainstream radio map. Backstreet, N’Sync and their urban brethren B2K were all the rage, but thankfully they died a quick death. Then solo black male artists rushed in to fill the R&B gap (Usher, Omarion, etc.), resulting in the current reign of Prince Chris Brown.
Which is why, ladies and gentlemen, we need to recognize August 26th, 2007 as a truly historic occasion. See, the joining of Brian, Michael, Q, Robert and Willie into Day 26 (check the date above) is ultimately a sign that the Age of the Black Male R&B Group could be beginning again. I mean let’s be real for a moment; why isn’t Donnie in the group? Because he’s white and looks like he belongs in a boy band. If Diddy is truly trying to bring the 112 style to a new generation, as I believe he is, he couldn’t possibly include Donnie. But two crucial questions still remain: why can’t Bad Boy come up with a decent f**king name for their groups, and can Day 26’s self-titled debut album deliver musically?
The first thing any black male r&b group needs is a sexy slow jam, and Day 26 (the album and the group) may not set the bedroom on fire, but at the very least they’re setting off the fire alarms. The legendary Bryan Michael Cox, whose primarily responsible for the album’s smoothed-out sound, delivers a pulsing and pounding beat for Day 26 to get down on What It Feels Like. Thankfully the Bad Boy team leaves the boy’s vocals largely effects-free, the truest sign they can actually sing, and they respond with an impressive performance. When it comes to sexual slow jams Day 26 is still on the teenage side, they’re a ways off from delivering something on the level of Peaches and Cream, but it’s a solid start.
Eventually even the best lovin’ isn’t enough to maintain a relationship, a fact I know only too well, and the inevitable drama sets in. That’s when you truly need a r&b group the most, and Day 26 gives their take on the classic “I’m sorry baby” on the hypnotic Come In. Lead by Q, easily the most likely candidate to go solo, the boys start the apology festivities off with some aceppela harmonizing, followed by a quietly strong Runners beat and some well-intentioned, semi-believable tearful vocal breakdowns. Listen, if you need to tell your wife you impregnated another girl your only hope of survival is throwing on Usher’s Confessions. But if you got caught with your ex-girlfiriend’s name in your cell phone, Day 26 might just be able to heal the wounds. For the record, that’s exactly the difference between good and great.
Bad Boy knows that all the soulful love-makin and apologizing in the world is nothing without a solid hit, and Day 26 offers two primary contenders. First up is the club-ready Got Me Going, featuring some Ne-Yo-esque clap-heavy production, decent but forgettable vocals and of course, some random Diddy vocals (you knew it was coming). Cynics who will point to Got Me Going as proof that Day 26 isn’t not quite ready for primetime, but the true measure of a debut artist is how good their average songs are, and if Got Me Going is Day 26 at their most mediocre they’re in pretty good shape. Now if it were up to me, and lord knows it’s not, I’d pick Exclusive as the lead single. Clean, catchy and danceable, Exclusive has just enough pop appeal to attract the crucial hyperventilating-teenage-girl demographic, but isn’t so sweet it veers into boy band territory. In the end then, Exclusive may be the perfect analogy for Day 26. They’re no longer boys but yet men, not quite a boy band but not quite Boyz II Men. Is this album truly the second coming of the Age of the Black Male Super Group? Not really, but it’s close enough to make me hopeful, and that’s going to have to be enough – for now.
I Luv da smash hit song got me going!!! it is hitting up radio stands and i hope u guys be on top of the music charts! meaning #1. cause you'll work you'll ass of da show & da album so i'm looking forward for da next single
i love the whole album i dont have one song that i jus have to skip cuz im not feeli it like (DK) but l im relly loving the mood that they have the album in its hot and people are goin to be talkin about this for a while
I felt dissapointted when i hurd this album, i guess i had set my hopes to high mainly because of the show clips....their are a few ok tracks like " If it wasn't for u", "together" "since u been gone" but they have lots n lots of growing to do. DK's debut n sophomore efforts are both stronger than this im sorry to say....DIddy needs to make up his mind bout day26 either their an r&b soul group or a hip-pop, they really cant be both. they try to much different sounds on this album n frankly it jus bores me. oh n my fav song "Over Now" leaked a while ago and i luv'd it n it didnt even make it on the album which also pissed me off...this album would spin for week listening to it then just lie somewhere picking up dust b/c its so forgettable...big fan of the voices (ROB, BRIAN, MIKE) but not of this album .....DK will certainly kill them in album sales.
First I heard Day26 on my speakers, didn’t like it, and thought it was a
weak attempt at a platinum album
First I heard Day26 on my speakers,
didn’t like it, and thought it was a weak attempt at a platinum album. Then
again, being a masochist yet optimistic critic as I am (I always believe a song
may grow on me, except if we’re talking about Soulja Boy’s case…), I put it on
my Mp3 and gave it a second listen... then a third, a fourth… I’m glad I did.
See, the thing about Day26’s songs is that they aren’t instantly catchy, merely for commercial purposes tracks,
but instead serious efforts at making music at its purest form. They have
an epic feel to it, so you have to keep up to fully appreciate them. In order
to do that, nothing’s better than using earphones, and this is what I think
about the album now:
One thing you’ll notice right away is
that, although there’s a top notch production team behind the album, the
majority of the beats are extremely simple (yet classy ones), more focused on
providing the tempo rather than overpowering the song, thus making the band’s
work. This allows the singers to shine. So you mix the adequate percussion, a fine
piano to give the tone, 5 amazing voices and you got yourself a Day26’s song.
Take Come
in for example. It’s almost like the beat itself is made out of the
background vocals! It’s 80% vocals!!! Then what
about that “too much goin on the background” complaint almost all users pointed
when they featured this song on djbooth?! Well, I’m glad to tell you that they
heard us and the version on the album is very different! ;)
The only track I didn’t feel was,
ironically, “This is what it feels like”! I found it monotone, uninspired. All the
others were well crafted tunes, with
emotive, inspiring and solid performances by Robert (my fav), Q, Big Mike,
Brian and Willie. They are all good singers and although it doesn’t seem to be the
case these days, that’s what matters the most!
My Top5:
Exclusive (absolutely agree with you Nathan), Together, Come in, Got me goin
and Free… well this last one actually
is not on the album. I just had to mention how disappointed I was when I
realized it didn’t make the final cut despite being a 5* song. Another
honorable mention goes to “If it wasn’t for you”. The moment it started, all I
could hear was “Show me what you got…” (Jay-Z). It has the same feel in the
beginning/chorus with that drumming, only a little slower, so I’m hoping Jigga
joins them for a remix. Maybe after
they’ve gone platinum? ;)
Great album to me...I think they are a great group I just hope they can shine and not be muted by the "MTV" thing that everyone like to blame on Puffy....I havent heard any of the songs on the radio until last night and it was a remix of "Got me Going" and even that was HOTTTT... but none of the groups from any of the "Making the Band" series have i heard on the main stream radio....and that sucks....as much as Black America embarases their own on anything else i think its terrible to not support their own musician give people a chance to vote for it or something.
Honestly, what do people like about this group? Half the group flat out sucks and can't sing, except for Q they're weak vocally, and none of their shit is catchy. I can't find one thing I like about this group because right when a song is catching on for me one of the 3 members of the group who suck ruin it. I guess Exclusive is alright, albeit ridiculously pop, but that's about it. Just another R&B album with no actual style.
dis song is tha best and i've watched all ur guyz shows from season 1 through the 2-hour finale and it was funny when diddy said he was gonna keep being hard on u guyz nd u guyz took it seriously well i love u guyz and when ive been watchin u guyz i feel like ur all my brothers specially donnie, que, robert, mike, willi, and brian well write u guyz later
Who would of thought that Diddy could exert the the same amount of stature that he did with Danity Kane with a boy group? Danity Kane scored their second consecutive number one album and I wouldn't be surprised to see Day26's name on the top of the charts next week. After witnessing all the drama going down on the show (you actually think all that stuff is real?), the fellows put together a well organized project. It is no where near the quality of the previous legendary male R&B groups before them, but they will improve as they mature. Besides, they really have no competition to stop them.
this album is fire but all 5 of em are such good singers i doubt the group will last long they can all be good solo artist one day but there was still some good songs that weren't on the album
Great Writeup once again NATE! This album is a very very solid album! I have to agree with you Fred Rico...Robert is my favorite one in the group. I think he has such a unique voice and always sings with great emotion almost effortlessly. The most talented person in the group has to be Mike because he has about 10 different ways/styles he can sing! The others are all very strong in their own right as well. I really enjoyed the album almost track after track. This will be in my MP3 for some time to come! Great album...Definitely a CERTIFIED DJ BLAZE BANGER!
I'm so in love with Day26's new cd. P. Diddy really did the damn thing. I love the song titled " What it feels like" its a hit! One bad thing about the group is "ROBERT's VOICE, I HATE IT"! it shakes to much........... damn damn damn........... Other than that its a great cd. I hope there number ! next week.....
i think that day26 as a group is hot. they have a blazin' album. my favorite is q. the top 5 songs on the album for me is (1)are we in this together (2)don't fight the feeling (3)come with me (4) co-star and (5)if it wasn't for you. another track that is hot is since you've been gone. they are new at this but i feel that they can be as great as my favorite r&b group boyz to men in due time.
Very nice review, and I'm glad, because I didn't want to have to go off on anybody. HA! Just kidding. On the serious tip - I LOVE THIS CD! I think it's been a LONG time since we've had a group where all members are vocally present on most songs, and can actually SING, so we've been overdue for some Day 26 in our lives. I hope that these young men have a strong enough following and that folks actually BUY their CD, and not just download it illegally or pass the cd around. We need to show them that we appreciate good music, and we're willing to pay for it!
My faves - Don't Fight the Feeling, Co-Star, Come In (on the slow tip), and I'm The Reason, In My Bed, and Got Me Going (on the uptempo side). I honestly love the whole thing - just some more than others. I too had found some songs on the net that didn't make the CD - Over Now and Any Day - love those too. And for the person (FredRico, I think?) that wanted Free to make the cd, it never would have - that's actually Robert (aka Magnum) singing solo, not the entire group. He has a few other songs floating around out there, as does Willie (aka Lucky) and Q.
Happy listening folks!
I just want to say that I purchase this album and the whole album is off the hook! these men in general are all gifted with there beautiful voice.They worked so hard to get where they are now and if you go out there believe me it's worth it,I am a r7b fan from jodeci,to boys2men,jagged edge and many more,this group is the best!
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