New Edition

They began as a fresh-faced group of Jackson 5 sound-alikes — check the sweet, retro shine of their 1983 debut “Candy Girl” — but New Edition’s name would soon turn out to be right on the money as, together and on their own, the group helped define the direction of R&B in the ’80s and beyond. As the teen-dream sparkle of songs like “Mr. Telephone Man” gave way to the grown-up sounds of “Can You Stand the Rain,” the boys set the stage for standout solo successes, in Bobby Brown’s new-jack-swing landmark “My Prerogative,” and the tipping-to-hip-hop flavor of Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison.”

Our New Edition story is only just beginning — hear the next chapter in Next Steps.

They couldn’t stay boys forever, but if the dance-pop sugar of New Edition’s “Kinda Girls We Like” and the puppy-love valentine “Kickback” only hint at the heat to come, solo steam machines like Johnny Gill’s “Wrap My Body Tight” and Bobby Brown’s slow-jam smoothie “Roni” reveal two guys all grown up and set to stun. Bell Biv DeVoe took their own sonic step forward with the rap attack of the super-freak salute “B.B.D. (I Thought It Was Me),” but they also made time to honor the old days, reuniting with Bobby, Johnny, and Ralph for the righteous “Word to the Mutha!”

New Edition are “With You All the Way” on their boyhood ballad, and we’re with them all the way to Deep Cuts.

There’s no denying that New Edition’s bright-eyed and bouncy “Popcorn Love” is a too-cute treat, but as the group grew and evolved, the boys proved they had something a little more adult to offer, including the intimate encounter of Bobby Brown’s night-of-love invite “Rock Wit’cha,” and Ralph Tresvant’s starving-for-you pleader “Last Night.” After breakout solo success, Johnny Gill joined forces with fellow hit-makers Gerald Levert and Keith Sweat for LSG’s soul-soaked dance pusher “You Got Me (feat. the Lox),” while Ralph and Bobby met up to seize the new-jack scene as “Stone Cold Gentleman (Rizz’s Interlude).”

It all started with Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Bobby Brown, elementary-school Boston boys singing and dreaming big. They picked up Ralph Tresvant and Ronnie DeVoe, and before long, they broke out big-time as ’80s boy-band sensations New Edition. After a name-making string of teen-pop charters like the dance-floor daydream “Cool It Now,” Bobby went solo, opening a spot for newcomer Johnny Gill and finding his signature sound with the new jack swing of “Don’t Be Cruel.” Soon, all the guys found their way to next-step success. Ricky, Michael, and Ronnie (a.k.a. Bell Biv DeVoe) made their fame in the adult world with sex-u-up shakers like “Do Me!,” while Johnny shook it down with soul-soaked smashes like the night-of-love serenade “My, My, My.” It’s a lot of great music, spanning many years, and with our New Edition Essentials, the very best of it is right here.