Great Songs from My Favorite Year in Music: 1985, Part 48

New Edition - "Count Me Out"



(Single Release: October 1985)
Before the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, and even before the New Kids on the Block, there was New Edition. Who doesn't like New Edition? Before the term "boy band" became ubiquitous and somewhat slimy, New Edition was simply thought of as reviving the young vocal group tradition of the Jackson 5. In fact, the name "New Edition," was suposed to insinuate that they actually were the new edition of the Jackson 5. However, in 1985, the group was in trouble. Gone were the early teen days of "Candy Girl," "Cool It Now," and "Mr. Telephone Man." They were reaching the later teen stage, already rife with angst, and it caused the splintering of one band mate. As you can see from the video above, Bobby Brown, the singer of the "Mr. Telephone Man" chorus, is noticeably absent. This album would be the last with Brown as part of the group. Later, the band would go on to record one of my favorite songs of theirs, "If It Isn't Love," and would splinter off into the solo acts of Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ralph Tresvant, and the trio of Bell Biv Devoe. As if I have to tell all of you that information, right? Anyway, "Count Me Out" is definitely in the tradition of the group's earliest hits, with the doo-wop harmonized backing vocals and a narrative conversation with the fellas. It is in essence a sequel to "Cool It Now," after the guys had ribbed Ralph for his lovesick pining, he gets the girl, and now in this song, he would rather hang out with his girl than with his guy friends. The video posted above even shows that there is a visual link to the video for "Cool It Now." Very meta. Because a lot of my junior high and high school friends were into alternative rock, as was I, my New Edition fandom was somewhat hidden away. Luckily, my freshman year of college found me in a dorm with one guy who liked metal and another who shared my appreciation for Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph, and Johnny. It was a musical smorgasbord. I can tend to poke fun at R&B, slow jams, and New Jack Swing, and even did so for a certain humorous Treblezine article, but in reality, I can't help but like everything New Edition related. Whether it's Ralph's "Sensitivity," Bobby's "Every Little Step," BBD's "Poison," or any smash hit from New Edition, these songs tend to make my world a little brighter.