The Greatest Hits and a Little Bit More

No one encapsulated the fickle shelf-life of a boy band more than diminutive trio 911, who burst onto the scene with their youthful brand of bubblegum pop in 1996, gradually becoming one of the biggest teen bands in the U.K. before splitting up to a wave of indifference just three years later. This 1999 collection, whose paltry number 39 chart position was the final nail in the coffin for the band's brief career, shows that although they were never as street as Five, as smooth as Another Level, or as housewife friendly as Boyzone, they were perhaps the most unpretentious of the stream of mid- to late-'90s boy bands. The likes of signature tune "Bodyshakin'," an energetic slice of New Jack Swing-inspired pop complete with a prerequisite boy band rap and slightly saucy dance routine, the squelchy disco-funk of the Kool and the Gang-influenced "Party People...Friday Night," and the infectious Italo house-pop of "Love Sensation" may all be unashamedly corny teenybopper tunes, but at the time, they were a refreshing alternative to the MOR ballads and faux-macho posturing of their counterparts. Unfortunately, the three-piece who came together from the naff post-midnight TV club-based show The Hitman and Her, often abandoned their dance roots on a series of overearnest love songs, most of which were far too schmaltzy to listen to outside the confines of a school disco slow dance. "The Day We Find Love," and "All I Want Is You" are the kind of slushy synth pop that hadn't been heard since the days of forgotten '80s duo Climie Fisher, "How Do You Want Me to Love You?" is an anodyne attempt at Backstreet Boys-style balladry, and only the gospel-fused "The Journey," an emotive account of frontman Lee's childhood battle with cancer, offered any indication that the band was capable of pulling off a "Back for Good" or "Stay Another Day." Despite their early promise, the band resorted to the lazy method of scoring their first and only number one single with a covers album, There It Is, spawning lifeless versions of the Bee Gees' "More Than a Woman," Judy Clay and William Bell's "Private Number," and a chart-topping rendition of Dr. Hook's "A Little Bit More," while swan song "Wonderland," which sounds like the kind of pre-school singalong you'd expect to hear on a Disneyland parade, suggests the bandmembers were wise to quit before they sullied their reputation even further. 911's sound may have dated far more than their contemporaries' output, but if you ignore their dull attempts to take themselves seriously, The Greatest Hits and a Little Bit More should satisfy those who miss the more innocent days when a cheeky smile, "Smash Hits' cover, and sugary pop chorus was all it took to become a bona fide pop heartthrob. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi