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[RokofAges75]

I like having my own site mostly just because I like having control over where my stuff is posted (so that I don't risk losing everything like people did with fanfic.net, although I also have it all saved as Word docs too), but collaborative sites like AC definitely make things easier and more interactive.  As a reader, it's so much easier to just leave a review on the site than sending feedback the old-school way, when you had to actually email the author.  I don't even remember the last time I emailed someone with feedback or got feedback that way myself.

[mare]

I hated when fanfic.net closed to real person fics but at the same time, I'm pretty sure that if they didn't I would never have gone on to write as much as I did or would have never met any of you. Them closing kind of forced me to branch out and search for places to post. Finding people like Izzy, Chaos, Eboni and Julie. I most likely would have stayed in my own little bubble and eventually lost interest.

I really do miss getting reviews via email though. They used to be so long and detailed. They were a pain to write but again, that's how I ended up making some of my best BSB friends, through sending and receiving feedback via email. Those were the days.

[RokofAges75]

Very true - I never made any friends through fanfic.net.  I probably only posted stuff there for a few months before they took everything down, though.  I don't remember really reading many BSB fics there.  Before AC, I found fanfics to read by searching or clicking links on other sites, and I made friends the same way you did - by emailing each other with feedback.  Most of the fanfic writers I'm still friends with I met through AC though.  This forum has been great for that.

I agree that those emailed reviews were often a lot longer and more detailed.  I do miss that, although I like how AC keeps everything in the same place.  I've saved every feedback email I've gotten for as long as I've kept the same email address (going back to 2001), but it's not like it's easy to sort through those and read them.  It was definitely easier to have a conversation and get to know people, though.

[RokofAges75]

OMG, so I'm going through my old feedback emails after writing that response, and I just found the confirmation email from when I registered for AC way back in 2003!  I guess I saved it so I'd have my password, which is completely different now.

[Sakabelle]

That is so true, you guys. Before, with FF.net I didn't really make friends with anyone. You couldn't even respond to reviews on there, so there was no dialog whatsoever. This forum has really made it easier to make friends and relationships. I think it's awesome we still have this forum and it's still active.

Julie, that's crazy you joined AC in 2003! I wish I'd known about it earlier. I think I signed up around when Unbreakable came out. Speaking of that - how crazy is it that Unbreakable is almost ten years old?! What a ride that album cycle was. I remember loving that album so much and just being so thankful that they decided to continue on without Kevin instead of packing it in. It's sort of crazy thinking back to those days now that they're all over the place again.

[RokofAges75]

I know!  I didn't post anything on AC until 2005, though... or if I did post anything earlier, the site changed and I had to repost in 2005.  I don't remember.  I wish I had posted Broken as I was writing it in 2003 though and not after the fact cause it would have had so many more reviews  LOL.  That was the peak of my "getting feedback through email" days.

I think this forum started in 2006, and that's when I started really getting into AC and making friends here.  If you joined in 2007, you didn't miss too much.  I can't believe Unbreakable is gonna be ten years old either... or that Backstreet's Back/the US debut album are almost twenty!

[RokofAges75]

Thinking back on old BSB albums...

Which albums do you think have held up best over the years, and which ones haven't - meaning you may have really liked them when they first came out, but not so much now?  On the flip side, are there any albums that have grown on you to the point where you like them better now than when they first came out?  You can include solo albums too if you want.

[Sakabelle]

Never Gone still holds up really well for me. I liked that album a lot when it first came out, and I still really like it. I have a hard time choosing between it and Unbreakable as my favourite BSB album, which is weird since they're both so different. But Never Gone sort of exists in this void on its own I think, since BSB never did anything else like that.

I will actually go out on a limb and say that I'm Taking Off doesn't hold up. I listened to that album non-stop when it came out and I really liked it. I think part of that was because it had been so long since we'd got anything solo from Nick. Now, I don't think I could listen to that album the whole way through. Burning Up, Falling Down and I'm Taking Off are still really good, though.

[RokofAges75]

Never Gone is probably the most unique of all their albums, in a good way.  I will stand by the "organic" pop/rock, always!

I agree with you about I'm Taking Off.  Like you, I still adore some of the songs on it, mainly I'm Taking Off and Burning Up, but a lot of the other tracks are just "meh" to me.  It's always had skip songs for me, but I used to enjoy listening to more of the album than I do now.  I feel the same way about Now or Never, although, again, some of the songs I will always love.

On the flip side, All American is definitely one that I enjoy better now than I did when it first came out.  It grew on me quickly (like, within a few days), but I was actually kind of disappointed with it when I first heard it because I felt like it wasn't as personal as I'm Taking Off and the songs, while more upbeat and fun, lacked substance.  After listening to it more and learning the lyrics, though, I think it has a lot more substance than I initially thought, and some of the songs are very personal and Nick-ish.  Now I think it's his best solo album, and there's not a single skip song on it for me.

As far as BSB albums go, I think Millennium has held up very well.  That's always been one of my favorite albums, and it's still one I can listen to all the way through without skipping any track.  The tracks that were my favorites when it came out are still my favorites, and I think if I were to make a list of all-time favorite BSB songs, there would be multiple songs from Millennium in the top 20.

In a World Like This has also held up for me, although it's hard to know for sure while it's still the newest album.  It took the place of Never Gone as my other favorite album, which I guess means Never Gone hasn't held up quite as well for me.

I think Unbreakable is probably the album that has held up the least well for me.  It still has its standout tracks that I will always love, like Unsuspecting Sunday Afternoon and Unmistakable, but some of the songs that I really loved when it came out I don't love so much anymore, and I think it has too many throw-away tracks that are not necessarily bad, just boring (You Can Let Go, Trouble Is, Love Will Keep You Up All Night).

[Carter-Orange]

Thinking back on old BSB albums...

Which albums do you think have held up best over the years, and which ones haven't - meaning you may have really liked them when they first came out, but not so much now?  On the flip side, are there any albums that have grown on you to the point where you like them better now than when they first came out?  You can include solo albums too if you want.

Never Gone is still my favourite, I can still listen to the whole album without skipping anything.

For me, This Is Us is probably the least favourite, but I suppose I didn't really like most of that album when it came out lol.  I still love Undone though, that's probably the only song on there I'll play.

[Carter-Orange]

And also, sorry for not being around much.  Real life gets in the way   I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place

[Sakabelle]

On the flip side, All American is definitely one that I enjoy better now than I did when it first came out.  It grew on me quickly (like, within a few days), but I was actually kind of disappointed with it when I first heard it because I felt like it wasn't as personal as I'm Taking Off and the songs, while more upbeat and fun, lacked substance.  After listening to it more and learning the lyrics, though, I think it has a lot more substance than I initially thought, and some of the songs are very personal and Nick-ish.  Now I think it's his best solo album, and there's not a single skip song on it for me.

I agree wholeheartedly with this. The only song on there that I find "meh" is I Will Wait, lol. But the rest of them are so much fun! It is a very Nick album for sure, and it speaks to where he is with his life now. He's happy and content, and he's not trying too hard to force out a serious introspective album. I sort of feel like it's what he wanted to do with Now or Never, only now he's older and more mature and able to more effectively walk the line between songs that aren't overly serious, and songs that are just plain stupid. Not having a label breathing down his neck and making bad decisions is working in his favour as well.

As far as BSB albums go, I think Millennium has held up very well.  That's always been one of my favorite albums, and it's still one I can listen to all the way through without skipping any track.  The tracks that were my favorites when it came out are still my favorites, and I think if I were to make a list of all-time favorite BSB songs, there would be multiple songs from Millennium in the top 20.

Also agree with this. I love Millennium a lot more now than I did back in the day, actually. I remember when I was younger listening to mostly the first three tracks, and occasionally listening to It's Gotta Be You. I never listened to any of the slower ones, but now that I'm older I appreciate them a lot more. Like Don't Wanna Lose You Now - I often skipped it when I was 13. I never skip it now. Spanish Eyes too.

I think I feel the same about IAWLT now as I did when it came out. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. I found their effort in doing more acoutic-y songs sort of bland, like Breathe and Try. But their more classic BSB sounding songs like Soldier and Love Somebody I found to be really good.

My opinion on This Is Us is the same now as it was when it came out - it's a hot pile of garbage with one good song. Nick's incredible vocals are completely wasted on the material here.

Here's a question - knowing what we know now about the group and the issues they were having, what's everyone's opinions on Black and Blue? Maybe we've talked about this before. I know the boys say that it was rushed out, which is totally true. It came out a year and a half after Millennium! That is just crazy to think about. There are some gems on that album for sure - The Call, Get Another Boyfriend, Everyone and Time come to mind. Do you think if they'd had more time that the album would have been better, or were they so burnt out that it wouldn't have mattered? Would it have sounded more like Millennium or would it have gone further back into their R&B roots?

[Sakabelle]

And also, sorry for not being around much.  Real life gets in the way   I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place

Glad to see you pop in here still, Steph. Sorry to hear things have been rough with your houses!

[mare]

I don't really pull out their stuff and listen to it, but making playlists for my long drive I gave to say that Milennium and Never Gone are the only albums that I include every song. If it weren't for Try and One Phone Call, IAWLT would make the cut as well. I think I might just have two or three from This Is Us. I wasn't a fan of the albums minus Kevin.

As far as Black and Blue, it's always been my least favorite album. (I don't even count the non Kevin ones lol) I enjoy the Call, The One and Shape of my Heart, Everyone and HDIFILWY but all the others were just eh, to me.

[mare]

And also, sorry for not being around much.  Real life gets in the way   I've ended up moving house again and we've had to renovate Tim's house as the people he rented it out to completely trashed the place

That sucks! That happened to a good friend of mine as well. Then trashed the place and also were behind three months rent. She ended taking them to court but in the process she lost the house because she couldn't name the payments on her place and the old one. People are so inconsiderate!