Joey McIntyre

With less than two weeks until the release of New Kids On The Block's first new album in almost 15 years, I thought I'd take this opportunity to revisit an album by the "New Kid" who's enjoyed the most productive solo music career -- and who also just happens to have been my favorite member of the group.

JOEY McINTYRE
"MEET JOE MAC"
(Atlantic, 2001)


"Easier"


Although the title might imply that it was his solo debut, "Meet Joe Mac" is actually Joey McIntyre's second album. It may be an unremarkable release in terms of its music and lyrics, but it plays an important part in his discography. It was on this album that Joey first collaborated with producer/songwriter/singer Emanuel Kiriakou, forging an ongoing working relationship that would help Joey to further define himself as an artist.

If there's one major fault in this recording as a whole, it's inconsistency. A few of the songs are handicapped with unimaginative lyrics, despite having decent melodies. You'll hear a great track one minute, and then a bad one the next (the worst being Joey's misguided attempt at hip-hop, "NYC Girls"). Furthermore, If you're the kind of listener who enjoys a cohesive set of songs that flow naturally from one to the next, you'll probably be disappointed ... but then I'm not an "album" kind of person, so that doesn't matter to me.

Having said all that, though, this album definitely has its enjoyable moments. Joey knows his way around a great ballad (the single "Rain", and the gorgeous "Easier" which would sound wonderful covered by David Archuleta, whose voice I now realize reminds me a lot of Joey's); his charm works for him in the quirky "National Anthem Of Love" (given a slightly heavier sprinkling of cheese thanks to a guest appearance by the B-52s' Fred Schneider) and the flippant kiss-off song "If I Run Into You"; and there's not much to dislike about the energetic pop songs like "Walk Away" and "With a Girl Like You".

Looking back from what he's done since this album, it's more apparent now that he was trying to introduce his playful sense of humor into his music; perhaps he was being just a little too subtle about it here (although the tongue-in-cheek front and back cover photos hint at it) and that may partly account for its less-than-warm reception. But I think his natural likability makes up for any of the shortcomings the album may have. Suffice to say that this may not necessarily be his best album, but it's my favorite, and it's a fine way to "Meet Joe Mac".