Backstreet's Back

AMG Review of Backstreet's Back

Stephen Thomas Erlewine
All Music Guide

The Backstreet Boys finally achieved American success with their second album, Backstreet's Back. The reason for the sudden success had more to do with good marketing than the music itself, since Backstreet's Back is nearly identical to Backstreet Boys. Loaded with dance-pop and allads, the album is as glossy as mainstream pop can possibly be. That slick production adds luster to the singles "Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long as You Love Me," making them as irresistible as een pop can be. There isn't anything else that really matches those twin peaks, but there's enough craft, hooks, and fun on the rest of the album to make it quite entertaining.