Originally published in 2003 on NE20.com (inactive)
Don’t judge an album by its cover.
From all appearances, the artwork on All For Love was designed to appeal to teenage girls, NE’s primary fan base in 1985. Songs like “Tonight’s the Night” and “Whispers in Bed” reveal soft teenage sexual fantasies. The “New Edition sound” (funky, up-tempo, keyboard-driven songs) featured on the 1984 self-titled album is prominent, complemented by a message rap (“School”) and a great ballad (“With You All The Way”).
Ralph carries this album and he sounds a bit older and more mature, which is the reason I prefer All For Love over New Edition. I listened to it a lot when I first bought the cassette in 1986, and it is the NE album I’ve listened to the most. I will never get tired of hearing “A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes)”. “A Little Bit of Love” and “Friends” are two of my top ten favorite songs by NE.
From a historical standpoint, this album is important because it was the last time Bobby Brown would sing with the fellas for a decade (other than the Christmas album and BBD’s “Word to the Mutha”). With Bobby’s departure, NE’s fate was sealed. The most important reason why New Edition never became the greatest R&B group of all time is because their most ambitious, charismatic and soulful performer left the group. But who could have known this in 1985?
In songs like “Who Do You Trust” and his other cameos, Bobby demonstrated a strong voice with depth and character. History has confirmed that he was correct to leave the group for a solo career. It only took three years after the release of All For Love for Brown to become a household name.
With the release of like All For Love, NE was on the slow and steady track to greatness. They didn’t stray too far from the formula but you can hear the group’s maturity and growth. If the producers had found a way for Ralph to share the wealth with Bobby and if NE had released more albums as a collective, they may have been ranked as one of the all-time greats. Oddly enough, NE is noteworthy in large part because of their solo success, not because of their success as a group. It’s unfortunate that New Edition didn’t create three more albums like All For Love, because this is the stuff that builds great legacies.
Will Leon 