Evolution (Boyz II Men album)

Evolution
Studio album by Boyz II Men
Released	September 23, 1997
Recorded	1997
Genre	R&B
Length	61:48
Label	Motown
Producer	Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Boyz II Men chronology
The Remix Collection (1995) Evolution (1997) The Ballad Collection (2000)
Evolución
Alternate Spanish cover

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Evolution is an album by R&B group Boyz II Men, their final studio album for Motown Records, released in September 1997. A Spanish language version, “Evolución,” was also issued.

Reception

On August 20, 1997, Boyz II Men held a press conference to talk about their first album since 1994's II. They were under tons of pressure with their last two albums selling almost 30 million copies worldwide together. With Evolution, they worked with their regular collaborators, including Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and Babyface. They appeared on many talk shows including The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Vibe Show, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show, MTV Live, and others. The album was released on September 23. That night, Boyz II Men signed copies of the album at the Virgin Megastore in New York City. Evolution debuted straight at #1 in the Billboard 200 with 215,000 copies sold in its first week of release. The album debuted at #1 also on the R&B Album Charts. However, the album spent only one week at the top and fell down the charts very quickly. Evolution only ended up selling two million copies in the United States and over four million copies worldwide, a real disappointment compared with the huge success of Motownphilly and II. This was due because, in part, Motown Records did very little promotion. More bad treatment came from the critics. The most part of the critics criticized the title of the album, because the group never really "evolves". The first single released off the album was released in August 1997. The song was "4 Seasons of Loneliness", which was Boyz II Men's highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles ever. It debuted at #2, behind Mariah Carey's "Honey". The following week, it went to #1, but for only one week, knocked-off the top spot the following week by Elton John's tribute to Princess Diana, Candle in the Wind 1997, which became a massive instant success. 4 Seasons of Loneliness was certified platinum (Boyz II Men's sixth platinum single). Later that year, it was released the second single, "A Song for Mama", a track which already appeared on the Soul Food Soundtrack. The single reached #7 in the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B Singles Chart, making of Boyz II Men the only group in history to have seven platinum singles in the United States. In October 1998, Boyz II Men went to Japan and Europe to promote the album, and during that year they went embarked on the Evolution Tour.

Track listing

1. "Doin' Just Fine" (Produced by Shawn Stockman)
2. "Never" (Produced by Babyface)
3. "4 Seasons of Loneliness" (Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis)
4. "Girl in the Life Magazine" (Produced By Babyface)
5. "A Song for Mama" (Produced by Babyface)
6. "Can You Stand the Rain" (Produced by Boyz II Men)
7. "Can't Let Her Go (Produced by Sean Combs)
8. "Baby C'mon" (Produced by Keith Crouch)
9. "Come On" (Produced by Sean Combs)
10. "All Night Long" (Produced by Keith Crouch)
11. "Human II (Don't Turn Your Back on Me)" (Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis)
12. "To the Limit" (Produced by Sean Combs)
13. "Dear God" (Produced by Boyz II Men)
14. "Just Hold On" (Japanese Edition) (Produced by Babyface)
15. "Can't Let Her Go" (Original Mix feat. Driver)(French Bonus Track) (Produced by Sean Combs)