Solange Knowles and New Kids on the Block CD Reviews

Solange Knowles releases her second album, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams on Geffen Records

Courtesy of Geffen Records

Solange Knowles has got soul, while the New Kids prepare us for The Block with some greatest hits. Kidzworld takes a listen.

Solange Knowles :: Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams

On her 2003 debut, Solo Star, Solange Knowles leaned heavily towards R&B and hip hop sounds similar to that of her sister, Beyonce and her group Destiny's Child. This time around, Solange goes old school and dabbles in '50s doo-wop, '60s-style soul and '70s disco--everything that Beyonce is not, basically! While there are some interesting tracks, like I Decided, which also has a cool, time-traveling video, and album closer This Bird, for the most part Sol-Angel sounds the same from track to track, and fails to really capture the spirit of all the different decades it's trying to fit into.

New Kids on the Block release their 2008 Greatest Hits collection on Sony Legacy Recordings.

Courtesy of Sony Legacy

Fun Facts

Solange got married when she was 17, to football player Daniel Smith. They got divorced last year.

The first single from Sol-Angel, I Decided, was produced by the Neptunes, who have also produced Britney Spears (I'm a Slave 4 U) and Justin Timberlake (Justified).

Solange has a blog, HadleyStreetJournal.com, where she writes about her music and her life.

Both Solange and her sister Beyonce model for their mother's clothing line, House of Dereon.

Hot Tracks

I Decided, Sandcastle Disco, This Bird
Rating:

New Kids on the Block :: Greatest Hits

They've released a greatest hits album before, so maybe this one is to make sure people remember their past--before they release The Block in September 2008. This one is pretty similar to the one released in 1999, but steps it up a notch with a remix of Games and a few duets, as well as a Mega Mix of all their best stuff in one track, which is sure to get fans excited out on the dance floor. Things get a little slow in the middle with two many ballads in a row, but all in all, it's a great reminder of how NKOTB were the boy band of the moment before N*SYNC and the Jonas Brothers were even thinking about stardom. Let's hope that they can keep up the magic on The Block!

Fun Facts

When NKOTB officially reunited in May 2008 on the Today Show, they set an audience record with 4000 people out on the streets of New York trying to sneak a peek at them!

Donnie Wahlberg is an actor, like his brother Mark. Donnie has been in movies like The Sixth Sense and Saw, and in the TV show Band of Brothers.

At one point, the New Kids on the Block fan club received 30,000 letters a day from fans!

In 1990, NKOTB made more money than both Michael Jackson and Madonna.