I didn't hear this album until the mid-90s. I had been more onto Don't Be Cruel and the albums after it. But this album was a good first effort for Bobby Brown. I still like Girlfriend. But the rest of the album had some funky numbers. The Larry Blackmon songs for Bobby are heavy on the funk, a little of a Cameo sound added to Bobby's post New Edition style. There were some hints of the heavy funk that Bobby would give to Cruel two years later. Brown sounds more free form here than the limited appeal that he had in his former group.

I've been ordering all cd's I can't no longer find in stores from Amazon for over 2 years. The quality of the product as well as the delivery has always been exceptional. Amazon is usually the first and only website I go to when looking for cds. I highly recommend anyone to use Amazon.

Bobby Brown's departure from New Edition downgraded the quintet to a quartet. This 1986 solo debut of his spawned the Top 10 smooth smash GIRLFRIEND and later the Top 20 hit THE GIRL NEXT DOOR. New Edition continued as a quintet though,with Johnny Gill succeeding Brown. I always thought GIRLFRIEND was a beautiful slow love jam. Also,in '86,NE released their fourth album,UNDER THE BLUE MOON,filled with "oldies-but-goodies" covers. Brown rose to superstardom two years later with his second album DON'T BE CRUEL,a Grammy-winner. He also made headlines in publications like Star,National Enquirer,The Globe and National Examiner when he took the Grammy-winning diva Whitney Houston to be his lawfully wedded wife in 1992. The other songs are excellent.

B.Brown's first CD wasn't anything special. It was rushed and only had two singles Girlfriend and Girl Next Door. If this album had more ballads maybe it would have been better.