All-4-One “NO REGRETS” album review

By: Jabari Oliver

Bring back that ol’ fashion lovin’! All-4-One is back with “NO REGRETS!” Loaded with monumental success from past hits, recognition through a slew of prestigious awards, and lucrative oversea touring, All-4-One returns to our lives with love ballads for the ages! The “Dukes of R&B” return to set the pace for the Pop/Soul R&B genre.

All-4-One is made up of members Tony Borowiak, Delious Kennedy, Jamie Jones and Alfred Nevarez all from the Antelope Valley and Mojave California regions but based their selves out of the Los Angeles area. In 1995 they won a Grammy award for “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal” with their hit song “I Swear” which made a home at the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 for 11 consecutive weeks and spent 7 weeks on the charts at #2 in the United Kingdom. Their self-titled debut album “All-4-One” was home to a number of hits such as “So Much in Love” which had reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 prior to the success of “I Swear.” Other notable hits from the Dukes of R&B included “Beautiful as U”, “She’s Got Skillz”, “These Arms”, “I Will Be Right Here”, and “Someday” which was the title single for the Disney animated movie “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Their second album “And the Music Speaks” came in 1995. In 1999, after All-4-One released their album “On and On”, their independent label, Blitzz Records had differences with their major label Atlantic Records, which caused them to leave Atlantic. Their next album “A41″ came in 2002 and was released by AMC Records. Their 2004 album, “Split Personality”, was only released in Asia for where they spent much of their time touring in the 2000s in cities such as Bangkok, Tokyo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, and Shanghai.

All-4-One has always been a group that challenges the norm of popular music. They return to the mainstream at a time where the popularity of proprietary audio processors such as Auto-tune are prevalent in the genres of Pop and R&B. With “NO REGRETS” All-4-One brings back the style of classic R&B that progressed music as a whole.

“NO REGRETS” is the best album All-4-One has ever made! It may be true that the accolades they achieved from their first album would be difficult to top, but at the time of their debut, they were far ahead of their time. Presently, this album offers a taste of old school R&B that will hold to be timeless taking the love song craft back to its basics. The album opens with “Key To Your Heart” which is a tragic love ballad about a woman who left a man in the cold with no warning. The song offers a glimpse of a new reality in love-relationships today which shows the signs of the times where communication, respect, loyalty, trust, commitment, and a sense of rich standards are absent from today’s society. “Key To Your Heart” exposes the emotions from the point of view of the one that still loves, while showing just how frigid a situation can be when a code of ethics is lost. Assisted with solemn piano keys, All-4-One uses a metaphoric setting where a man comes home amidst a cold wind to his love only to find her gone and the locks to the house changed as they sing “Where can I mail off and send this pent up emotion cause you don’t live here anymore/ How could you leave me all alone in the cold at the door without a key to your heart.” “Key To Your Heart” segways to “Ol’ Fashion Lovin’” where the smooth crooners sing about chivalry being dead. The start of the song asks the question, “when did chivalry become such a crime?” “Ol’ Fashion Lovin’” reminds you of the old Motown group hits with the likes of the Temptations and The Four Tops. The harmony they use in the song takes one back and remind you of the original ways of love that included underlying morals and respect. All-4-One reach deep into the soul of the love song craft with songs such as “Regret”, “If Your Heart’s Not in It”, “If Sorry Never Comes”, and “When I Needed an Angel.”  On “Perfect” which sounds similar to a Boyz II Men song from the mid 90’s, All-4-One uses the notion ‘for better or for worse’ with them singing “I am not perfect, but baby I am perfect for you.” “I Luv That Girl” is an ultimate timeless love song that cordially breaks down the reasons why All-4-One loves that girl. They pay tribute to 90’s R&B great D’Angelo by lacing the sweet tune with deep rhythmic soul. All-4-One resurrects Gerald Levert with their hit song “My Child”, telling the story of a woman scorned who uses her child as an object to hurt their ex-lover by denying him the right see his child. All-4-One croons “I know you think that it’s me you hurting/ By denying me the right, to take part in his life/ that ain’t fair to him, and it just ain’t right.” “The Day Life Began” is one of the most beautiful songs ever composed. It truly shows that All-4-One has perfected the crooning style. On “You Don’t Know Nothin’” the Dukes of R&B pay tribute to the legendary harmonizers Take 6 showing their own vocal ranges.

All-4-One is meld into an American music pot filled with smooth lyrical highs, rhythmic dynamics with a harmonic style that moves. With “NO REGRETS” they prove that they are the essence of R&B in their style by paying tribute to the Rhythm and Blues giants from the 80’s and 90’s and doing it in a fresh voice. Their rich harmonies and fine textures prove that All-4-One’s music is truly American through and through making it appealing across all racial lines.

Watch All-4-One’s “My Child” video: