Boyz II Men cash in on nostalgia

It does seem impressive that Boyz II Men, or at least three of its singers, stuck together since they were in high school 21 years ago. But eight minutes into their show, it’s no mystery why.

These guys kind of need each other.

The first few minutes of their new Mirage residency finds the veteran harmony group continuing its eternal struggle to find up-tempo music to perform beyond “Motownphilly.”

A few tracks from the 2000s are mashed into a hot-footing medley. And although there’s nothing wrong with the newer songs — “Beautiful Woman” sounds like a knockoff of Santana’s “Maria Maria,” but not bad — they don’t really do much beyond getting the show off to an energetic start.

But then it comes. The three voices that had more or less traded off lead vocals all land together, and suddenly the sound is as recognizable as the lyric: “Can we go back to the days our love is strong?”

As they sing “On Bended Knee,” you recognize two things really. The first is that Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris are all strong singers individually, but become greater as the sum of their parts when they harmonize.

The second thing is how the Boyz are lucky to have been so big in the ’90s, that last great decade for the record industry, when albums such as “II” could sell 12 million copies before people started digital copying.

So a few of the Boyz songs are part of people’s lives. The gents even allude to their role as a soundtrack for the reproductive process and call the end result “Boyz II Men babies.” “That makes us their uncles,” Wanya Morris says.

And they are lucky that’s the case, because otherwise they’re in the same boat as all these TV talent show contestants: amazing singers all around, but doing the same old songs.

The Boyz have just enough of their hits to make them a continuing marquee draw and pull in the old fans. But they also do “It’s the Same Old Song.” A Motown medley is a fool-proof way to pad a show.

It’s also part of an attempted balance between childhood nostalgia and present-tense entertainment value for ticket-buyers who might feel left out if they did not grow up clutching a copy of “II” to their chest.

For now, the nostalgia wins out. The Boyz as grown-ups are the sincere guys speaking between songs. “We’ve had our ups and downs, our highs and lows, just like you guys,” Stockman says. “But right now, this is good.”

But when they start looking back, behavior reverts to adolescence on both sides of the stage. Two of the group’s biggest hits are more or less done as throwaways to bond with fans. “End of the Road” has all three singers out in the aisles. “I’ll Make Love to You,” is throwaway as giveaway, the song where they hand out roses to women who crowd down front.

But the women who do the crowding weren’t complaining, and others would be forced to agree their carryings on are more fun to watch than a focused rendition of the song.

The Boyz plan 78 shows this year on weekends in Terry Fator’s theater (the ventriloquist cut this year’s schedule to four shows per week), so they perform on his set, with no custom production frills beyond some video.

But it’s a solid, no-nonsense presentation, with a lively band sporting a three-piece horn section. And they do try to vary the pace, most memorably when they bring out a park bench and a fourth singer to conjure some street-corner a capella.

Up to that point, Marc Nelson hides amid the musicians, supplying background harmonies. But he is called to the spotlight to put on a preppie sweater, as the crowd is told he is a Philadelphia classmate who for a time held the fourth slot in the group that eventually went to Michael McCary (“Don’t make us remember why we kicked you out the first time,” the others joke).

A capella renditions of “In the Still of the Night” and the Beatles’ “Yesterday” make lesser fans feel like they made the right choice to show up, even if they didn’t grow up dancing in to “Motownphilly” in their bedrooms.

Another good reason why these guys are still around. And, if they can get a few more such transcendental moments into their show, a reason why they may be around on the Strip for a few more years still.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@
reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.