Boyz II Men’s I Can’t Make You Love Me is the carrier single off its new album, Love, which drops November 17 in the USA on Decca Records, and believe me when I tell you that this passionate rendering of the Bonnie Raitt hit is so incredibly HOT. Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and the incomparable Shawn Stockman pour their trademark buttah vocals over a simmering slow tempo in an unforgettable way. I can’t begin to tell you how sexy it is.
Far be it from me to recommend a “sexy” song for you on a Christian blog, but I do have a soft spot in my heart for Boyz II Men. Ever since 1991’1 Cooleyhighharmony, I have supported and enjoyed the music of Boyz II Men. In the early to mid-90s, when it appeared that they could do no wrong, Boyz II Men set the landscape and paved the way for vocal groups to this day. Many of my peers will remember the biggest hits – End of the Road, Water Runs Dry, One Sweet Day (with Mariah Carey), Four Seasons of Loneliness, I’ll Make Love to You, On Bended Knee – but I remember the many terrific memories with my college friends. Much of Boyz II Men’s music was the soundtrack of the fondest years of my adolescent life.
On Love, Shawn, Nate, and Wanya tackle songs of love spanning decades. An a capella version of Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time. Reuniting with Michael Buble on a revival of the classic torch ballad When I Fall in Love. Delivering a faithful version of Lonestar’s Amazed. Chicago’s If You Leave Me Now. The Beatles’ In My Life. Journey’s Open Arms. (My old college group Release sang that before Boyz II Men, haha.) Even the Goo Goo Dolls’ Iris and Take That’s Back for Good. (Who would’ve guessed they’d be singing a song by Take That??)
As Boyz II Men nears its 20th anniversary, they may certainly not have the kind of following it had 15 years ago, but I’ll tell you this. They’ll never stop making great music. Give I Can’t Make You Love Me a listen and see for yourself.
[audio:I Can’t Make You Love Me.mp3]