When I was younger I pretty much bought every Backstreet Boys imaginable. But as I got older, I just bought the important things – the hard copies of full albums and downloading them digitally from Amazon or iTunes. Plus, they don’t release the single CDs like they used to.
But when BOTB member Julia sent me the link to “The Box Set Series“ from the Backstreet Boys that was listed on Amazon, it peaked my interest and to be honest, I’m not disappointed.
First off, I love the design of the cover. It’s simple, but yet not just a regular picture from 1998. It’s from the “Black & Blue” era, but it’s manipulated to where it almost looks as if it was drown. Someone had fun in Photoshop one day. The logo is also pretty awesome.
The packaging is simple, not bulky, which I like, and also have some pretty awesome photos inside. Sure, they are photos that we have all seen, but not photos that have widely been used.
The booklet for the box set includes a Billboard journalist Chuck Taylor that starts out with:
It’s not supposed to turn out this way. Historically, “boy bands” ignite, burn brightly for a pop culture minute and then, just as quickly, fade into a rapidly cooling ember. When BSB’s career-defining self-titled album was released in 1997, who would have imagined that the Boys would remain front and center in the here and now… two decades later?
The booklet lists the credits for each song on the problem, who wrote them and produced them.
One small tidbit that I learned? Lou Pearlman wrote “Tell Me That I’m Dreaming.” How did I never know this? BOTB member Hannah somehow knew this information, but I didn’t. And while I already knew it, it was nice to be reminded of the connection of a music legend and the boys. Linda Thompson, the former girlfriend of Elvis Presley (and former wife of Bruce Jenner – mother to Brandon and Brody Jenner) co-wrote “Drowning.”
If you’re a very hardcore fan, you probably have the majority of the songs in the box set. I personally didn’t have a few of the songs, or didn’t have a high quality version of the song, which is why I bought it in the first place.
Two things stuck out to me on the album though. In the midst of the remixes, non-English versions, radio versions and a capella versions of songs, there are two songs that are in the box set that seem out of place.
“The Box Set Series” was put out by Jive/Legacy Recordings, which is a part of RCA Records. The boys have distribution rights with BMG Rights Management and their own label, K-BAHN LLC.
But the box set incldues “Soldier” and “It’s Christmas Time Again,” two songs that were recorded and released way after their Jive Records days.
Does that make anybody else curious? Do the boys know about this? Why out of the songs they’ve put on since leaving Jive, are those two on there?
And why is “What Makes You Different (Make You Beautiful)” listed as a rarity?
Regardless, I recommend buying this box set to everybody. I love remixes and didn’t versions of songs. And if you’re not into those, just having it for the “All I Have To Give” a capella version is worth the money.
Grade? 5 out of 5 stars.
