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All-4-One had a big hit in the mid-1990s with the song "I Swear," but since then they haven't made a lot of noise on the music scene. Well, after not releasing an album for seven years, the group is back with their comeback release, No Regrets, which was released Sept. 15, 2009 in the U.S. via Peak Records/Concord Music. If you're a fan of the group, the good news is that their sound hasn't changed much since their mid-'90s heyday.


However, the bad news is also that their sound hasn't changed much since their mid-'90s heyday. No Regrets is chock full of good material, but precious little of it is really fresh or new.

Syrupy Sweet

The 1990s was the heyday for a lot of male vocal groups: in addition to All-4-One, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, Shai, H-Town and others all came on the scene during that time. Some, like Boyz II Men, are still around to this day. But the vast majority came and went in the span of a few years. To their credit, All-4-One has managed to keep on keepin' on, but unfortunately their sound is too stuck in the '90s for them to be considered relevant artists on today's music scene. That's not to say that their material's bad: "My Child" is a heartfelt song about how a man suffers when his lady won't let him see their son after the couple breaks up; and "Key to Your Heart" is a tender tale about to surviving the pain of a broken heart. Also, the acoustic harmony of "You Don't Know Nothin' " and the up-tempo "If Sorry Never Comes" are great showcases of the group's vast singing talent.

But unfortunately, more often than not, the album's material comes across as overblown, cliche and/or corny. The only stab at modernism is the Auto-Tuned dance club jam "Go," which isn't horrible, but sticks out like a sore thumb here. "Ol' Fashion Lovin' " is a perfect example of the album's positives as well as it's negatives: for the first two-and-a-half minutes, the song is a tour de force of compelling, dramatic singing. But then the song goes wrong at the 2:25 mark, when an eye-rollingly-corny old-school voiceover kicks in, ruining the song's momentum. But despite it's flaws, if you love or appreciate doo-wop music, heavenly harmonizing and/or syrupy-sweet love songs, this is definitely the album for you.