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98 Degrees has really grown up both as individuals and as a group. Their voices are really strong and amazing on this album. REVELATION was totally beyond my expectations! Nick is my favorite from 98 Degrees (but he's going out with Jessica Simpson so...?) Anyway, here's what I think of all the songs on this CD:

1.) "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)" -- Probably my favorite song on this entire album. It's a great Latin/pop song with a good beat and a danceable tune. They're voices are awesome on this song.

2.) "The Way You Want Me To" -- I like the lyrics to this song. It's also another good upbeat and danceable song.

3.) "Stay The Night" -- A wonderful song. This song kinda reminds me of their song, "Because of You", (from their 98 DEGREES AND RISING album), especially the music and even the lyrics and the way they sing them, but still a very sweet song. Kinda romantic. Another one of my favorites.

4.) "Yesterday's Letter" -- A nice ballad. Not one of my favorites, though.

5.) "He'll Never Be...(What I Used To Be To You)" -- This is a really cool song. I love the beat and lyrics to it. It's a great party song and a song you can really dance to.

6.) "I'll Give It All" [Interlude] -- A very good song for an interlude. Not much to say here.

7.) "My Everything" -- One of my favorites. It's a really great song.

8.) "You Should Be Mine" -- I love this song, too. But it sounds kinda like the Backstreet Boys's song, "The One" (from their 1999 MILLENNIUM album). It even has the same kind of beat, lyrics, and the song is even sort of about that.

9.) "You don't Know" -- A really good song. Not much else to say here.

10.) "Dizzy" -- This song makes me dizzy. Just kidding! It's a really nice song...just don't be fooled by the title!

11.) "The Way You Do" -- Another great song...but not one of my favorites.

12.) "Always You And I" -- A very sweet song.

13.) "Never Giving Up" -- A pretty good song.

Over all, a very excellent album by an amazing singing group. A lot of people also underrate 98 Degrees because they think 98 Degrees is "just another boy band". But that's not true! 98 Degrees deserves credit, too! Just like every other band in the music industry, they've worked really hard to get to where they are today. REVELATION shows the true images of the guys, and shows their true selves. And they prove with this album that they are more than "just another boy band"! Check it out!

P.S.: If you like this album by 98 Degrees, then also check out the Backstreet Boys...you're sure to love them, too!!

I hope this review helps!


98 Degrees Are Definitely Rising   October 1, 2000
 18 out of 18 found this review helpful

Finally they're back again, and this time they are better then ever. 98 Degrees have returned with an excellent album, one that I hope will top the charts because it deserves it. The sound on this album fluctuates between some R&B, Rock, Pop, and some really pretty ballads for your listening pleasure. An extra bonus is that the band WROTE most of the songs and PRODUCED them. I find it odd that this is the album which they had the most clout on, and it just happens to be their best to date. Universal Records needs to wake up, these guys have talent. Tracks like "You Should Be Mine", "Dizzy", and "Stay The Night" are definitely single-worthy, the latter being a song with a genuinely good melody that will suck you in on the first listen. Songs like "The Way You Want Me To", "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", and "He'll Never Be (What I Used To Be To You)" are great dance songs, and surely will all be singles also in the near future. A standout track is "The Way You Do". It was written by Drew Lachey, and it is reminiscent of "Because Of You", but this one is better. I think the only not great part of this album is "My Everything". Don't get me wrong, it's a great song. It's just a little sickening after a while, that's all. But as a whole, this is one of the best albums I have heard in a while. It's got something for everybody, and will break 98 Degrees out of the "boy band" mold. GO BUY IT! IT'S WORTH IT!


Quite a Revelation   September 26, 2000
 17 out of 19 found this review helpful

Since I can't give 4 and a half stars, I rounded up to 5 :) This CD is certainly a polishing of the already smooth 98 style. The ballads, in comparison with their old albums are even better, while the pop songs on the album are entering N Sync territory, but they have that special rounded 98 sound. Besides what's wrong with N Sync's style? 2 Million record buyers can't be wrong. But on this album, the beautiful love songs, should get the most attention. The haunting "Yesterday's Letter" with it's soulful piano, the romantic "The Way You Do", the melancholy "You Don't Know," are all key examples of the songs that deserve a close listen. But why the half off? While I respect 98 for writing part of almost every song on this album, it definitely shows they've done their homework...in cheesy cliqued pop songwriter school. I was hoping they could rise above the 'you's and do's', and put meaning above an easy rhyme. Not always the case on this album. Also, I was disappointed with the lack of accapella on this album. The interlude "Give it All" is lovely, but only 40 seconds? Come on guys, treat us fans to an entire unaccompanied ditty! Still, those are minor imperfections, just listen to the gorgeous melodies and you'll be taken away to a land of pop perfection.


4 1/2 stars -- quite a revelation!   October 25, 2000
 10 out of 12 found this review helpful

98 Degrees, best known for its mushy ballads and heartfelt harmonies, prove that they too can bring catchy uptempos to your stereos with their much-anticipated fourth album, REVELATION, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. Having written/co-written 10 of the 12 songs on the album with talented songwriters like Swedish pair Anders Bagge and Arnthor Birgisson, Rhett Lawrence, Sam Watters (of now disbanded Color Me Badd) and Louis Biancaniello, etc., brothers Nick and Drew Lachey, Jeff Timmons and Justin Jeffre give us a taste of the revelations they've learned the past 5 years.

The first single off Revelation, "Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche)", a Latin-tinged dance song, peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song also set an all-time record of having 170 radio stations add the single to their playlists, beating the record previously owned by Britney Spears by 15 "adds" with "Oops! I Did It Again".

But that's not all that Revelation has to offer. With 6 uptempos, 6 other ballads (including a midtempo) and a beautiful a capella interlude, 98 Degrees shows that being adventurous doesn't mean having to stray away from the 98 Degrees that their fans have grown to know and love.

Uptempos like "The Way You Want Me To" (co-written by Nick and Drew), which the guys performed at the 2000 Miss Teen USA pageant last August, can have you shake your bootay to its catchy beats, perhaps reminiscent of the now popular "dirty pop" brand of uptempos. The guys say they try not to take themselves too seriously either, with "Dizzy" (co-written by Nick and Drew), an uptempo where Nick raps a few rhymes.

Other uptempos like "He'll Never Be (What I Used To Be To You)" (co-written by Jeff) and "You Should Be Mine" (co-written by Nick) could get you to the dance floor in an instant with their catchy beats and pronounced lyrics like "You'll never find / a heart that is half as true / I guess you really never knew / But soon you'll see / That he'll never be / what I used to be to you" and "I wanna be the one in your life / I wanna be the one by your side / I wanna be the one to show you / Oh baby you should be mine".

"Stay The Night", on the other hand, with its soft midtempo beats and carefully strung harmonies, reminds us of the guys' previous hits, "Because Of You", "Still" and "Christmas Wish" from This Christmas.

"Yesterday's Letter" (co-written by Drew and Jeff), which in my opinion is the best song on the album, takes you to a moody scenario of a break up. Perhaps as melancholy as the group's previous hit "The Hardest Thing", "Yesterday's Letter" tugs at one's emotions with its soft piano keys and painfully sung lyrics, "My heart still beats for you / breathes for you / sings for you / and those feelings will never fade / I can hide my pain / But I can never hide the way I feel for you".

A treat for harmony fans is reserved in "I'll Give It All", an a capella interlude. Though lasting only 39 seconds, the interlude boasts of the group's strong yet gentle, heavenly harmonies.

"My Everything" (co-written by Nick and Justin), this time reminiscent of the group's hit, "I Do (Cherish You)", is a ballad that can double as a love song, as well as an inspirational/spiritual song.

"You Don't Know" (co-written by Nick), another soft-tinged, emotional ballad, takes us to the familiar/unfamiliar strings of unrequited love. "The Way You Do", also a ballad (co-written by Drew), is an affirmation of love. "Always You And I", yet another ballad, (co-written by Nick) takes us to a man's affirmation of love that has yet to be found.

The album ends with "Never Giving Up" (co-written by Jeff and Justin), an Earth Wind and Fire-sounding uptempo. "Never Giving Up" starts with soft piano keys and gradually infuses with dance beats.

Sure, the uptempos remind you of those tracks from *NSYNC's "No Strings Attached", and these guys wince at the words "boy band". But listen to the fusion of the uptempos -- which personally I'm not really a fan of -- and the ballads, and it's a new 98 Degrees, yet a familiar one at that. They formed themselves, have a wide variety for a fan base, have wonderful voices, have a hands-on approach to music, but have sought a wider audience with Revelation. And it looks good for them.

The album as a whole is a delightful mix of "dirty pop" and beautiful ballads. The group has strayed a little bit away from their Motown roots but has manages to introduce a new audience to its music with their pop tunes. The guys' debut album, self-titled 98 Degrees, is purely R&B. The second album "98 Degrees And Rising" is a "half-pop" album, showing the transition from R&B to pop. Now REVELATION completes the cycle by giving us "pop/R&B 98 Degrees" at its best. These guys are evolving as musicians and performers -- and with regards to longetivity, we will definitely be seeing more of them in the future.


Wow.   September 28, 2000
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

This is one HECK of a "Revelation" for the Boy-Band steriotyped group. The Group co-wrote most of the songs which is a huge step for them; some words-a little cheesy and elementary, but those little odd parts are balanced out with smooth harmonies, groove-able dance tracks, and soulful ballads.

Dance tracks include; the hip hop beat "Dizzy", The regrettfull "He'll never be", and the latin-laced "Give me just on night(una noche)"

Lovey-Dovey songs include the lovable "the way you do", the sorrow-filled songs "You Don't Know" and "Yesterday's letter", and the Jessica Simpson dedicated "My everything"

I'd say this album proved that 98 outdone themselves. I suggest you give it a listen.