No More Games/The Remix Album

By early 1991, the ever-shifting status of musical trends had begun to take its toll on the enormous popularity of the New Kids on the Block. Only two years before, the group had taken the U.S. (and the world) by storm with its seminal second release, Hangin' Tough, and their wholesome and energetic teen-beat image. In June of 1990, the album Step by Step would spawn the group's most successful single, the title track. After the final single from the album, "Tonight", cracked the top ten that fall, a backlash had become evident and singles from the group were not as successful as the ones released the year before.

Sensing this, group member Donnie Wahlberg led the group in coordinating this remix album, which fused the "harder" elements of hip-hop and urban dance into the New Kids' sound, resulting in No More Games/The Remix Album — with a significant portion of the album remixed by Robert Clivilles and David Cole (of C+C Music Factory fame.) Also employed was a marketing tactic to release the album under the 'NKOTB' acronym. Since the youngest group member was now eighteen years old, and the rest were in their early twenties, they had arguably grown out of the New 'Kids' On The Block moniker that they rose to fame with. More significantly, it was an attempt to dissociate from the stigma that was attached to that name.

The album opens up with "Games (The New Kids Get Hard Mix)," a track co-written by Donnie Wahlberg, that originally appeared on the Step by Step album. Employing hip-hop samples, the jazz riffs sung by Jordan Knight, and defensive rhymes by Mr. Wahlberg, "Games" was a dramatic departure from their previously clean cut sound. The song received decent airplay from stations nationwide, but was not a major hit on the charts.

The albums second single, "Call It What You Want" is a house remix track, again produced by Clivilles/Cole, featuring an intro rap from Freedom Williams. The song was another that received decent (though not enthusiastic) airplay in North America during the spring months of 1991, and could be considered the "last hurrah" in terms of singles from the group's initial run.

Although No More Games/The Remix Album was certified Gold in the U.S., the album did not restore the group's former success. Their popularity had waned by the time of this album's release, as the pre-teens who had liked them at their peak were the same audience who would become part of "Generation X", embracing the forthcoming grunge and gangsta rap sounds that ended the dominance of late 80s/early 90s dance/pop.

[edit] Track listing

"Games [The Kids Get Hard Mix]" (Donnie Wahlberg/Maurice Starr)
"Call It What You Want [The C&C Pump-It Mix]" (Starr)
"Please Don't Go Girl" (Starr)
"Cover Girl" (Starr)
"Baby, I Believe In You [The Love Mix]" (Starr)
"Hangin' Tough [In a Funky Way]" (Starr)
"Step by Step [The C&C Vocal Club Mix]" (Starr)
"My Favorite Girl" (Donnie Wahlberg/Jordan Knight/Starr)
"Valentine Girl [The C&C Quiet Storm Mix]" (Starr)
"The Right Stuff [The New Kids in the House Mix]" (Starr)
"Whatcha Gonna Do (About It)" (Starr)
"Never Gonna Fall In Love Again [The C&C Music Factory Mix]" (Danny Wood/Donnie Wahlberg/Michael Jonzun/Taharqa Aleem/Starr)

[edit] Singles

Games
Call It What You Want

Production Crew
New Kids on the Block
Jonathan Knight \| Jordan Knight \| Joey McIntyre \| Donnie Wahlberg \| Danny Wood
Producer: Maurice Starr
Discography
Studio albums: New Kids on the Block \| Hangin' Tough \| Merry, Merry Christmas \| Step by Step \| No More Games/The Remix Album \| Face the Music \| Greatest Hits \| Super Hits
Singles: 1986: Be My Girl, Stop It Girl \| 1988: Please Don't Go Girl, You Got It (The Right Stuff) \| 1989: I'll Be Loving You (Forever), Hangin' Tough, Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time), Cover Girl, This One's for the Children, Funky Funky Xmas \| 1990: My Favorite Girl, Step by Step, Valentine Girl, Tonight, Let's Try It Again, Games \| 1991: Call It What You Want \| 1992: If You Go Away \| 1993: Dirty Dawg \| 1994: Never Let You Go \| 2008: Summertime
Other Pages:
Related articles

Categories: New Kids on the Block Songs
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