Date: May 18, 1991
Weeks: 1
If nothing else, researching the background of this song taught me about the term "new jack swing," which describes the genre of music that this song falls squarely into the middle of. Wikipedia cites some acts that I like and respect, but when this genre goes bad, the result is this odd dichotomy of heartfelt, sincere lead vocals over the most mechanical, calculated, and overproduced music you've ever heard.
There are a lot of problems with the music in this song. The ultra-fake drum-machine backing track creates almost no interest. The bass line is boring and barely present. The synthesized sax solo is quiet and bland. The whole thing sounds like the default background music that comes with a programmable keyboard.
And the bland backing track might not be so bad if the vocals were better. But the lead singer, Tony Thompson, just isn't interesting. He's whiny and high-pitched. He sounds like he's a 14-year-old whose voice is still changing. In fact, he was 16 at the time this charted. I can't help but wonder if he was a talented kid singer, but before anyone could capture that raw talent his voice started to change and they caught him at some awkward in-between age. Too young to have the vocal skill that comes with maturity, too old to have that exciting raw talent quality that defines other child singers.
The lyrics are generic and bland. Inoffensive but boring. He's in love, it makes him feel good, he knows the love is going to last forever, blah blah blah. There's neither much to complain about nor much to praise. I do object to the chorus, though. "I like the way you kiss me when we're playing the kissing game." Why "the kissing game"? If you're in love, why can't you just kiss? Does there have to be a game? Are you in Junior High and need the excuse of a game to kiss? Oh, I think I just realized why this song was chosen for someone who has the voice of a middle-schooler. This is really poorly written. It's like someone was mandated to write a song with the name "The Kissing Game," worked it in as well as they could, and then after recording someone at the record label realized it was wiser to go with "I Like The Way," because it was a better hook.
My verdict: Don't like it. I was surprised to discover that I didn't remember this song at all, but I do vaguely recall another song by this band, "She's Playing Hard To Get." That song is marginally better, largely because Thompson had gained some of the maturity he lacks here.
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