Song #772: "End Of The Road" by Boyz II Men

Date: Aug 15, 1992
Weeks: 13

Boyz II Men set a standard for emotional slow songs in the early 90s, and spawned plenty of imitators and parodies. Any time a joke song stops and somebody speaks in a really deep voice? They're parodying this song. Boyz II Men are genuinely talented, but their talent is not always well-used.

This song has two major problems. The first is a simple matter of oversinging. Yes, these guys are talented vocalists. The chorus is excellent. Their vocal harmony is great and when the song showcases that harmony, it shines. But their singing in the verses is overwrought, overdramatic, and overdone. It's not necessary and it feels like they're showing off instead of creating a good performance of the song. The spoken bass part is particularly cheesy.

The second problem is the backing music. It's cheesy and really delicate. The bass is fine, but the drums are too slight, and the synth chords and plucked guitar sounds feel out of place. They don't mesh with the vocals. When the vocals are so harmonious, making the instruments compete with them doesn't really work out in the song's favor.

Near the end of the song, the instruments fall away, and it becomes an a capella song. And that is when we see that the song should have been an a capella song all along. The instruments were only masking what Boyz II Men could really do. That small section of the song shows what might have been, but it also shows why the rest of the song fails.

The lyrics are very doormat-y. The song is about a girl who cheated, and it's from the point of view of the guy she cheated on. He's lamenting the end of their relationship, and how painful it is for him. And that's a perfectly fine and interesting topic for a song, but all he wants to do is forgive her, get back together, and forget the cheating. Because, I guess, he just can't get used to not being with her? I suppose this song could be interpreted as his inner thoughts and weaknesses, rather than what he's actually saying to the girl in question, but it's hard to take it that way when you consider this song is intended to be played as a love song on the radio or at a dance or whatever.

My verdict: Don't like it. It could be a decent enough song with a few tweaks, and Boyz II Men are talented performers, but this performance of it is not good.