Boyzone - By Request (1999)

The title By Request was chosen from many entries submitted through a Boyzone fan contest. The songs themselves were chosen from Boyzone's three albums with several new ones added for good measure. By Request reminds one of how quickly the group shot to the top and how many hits they achieved in only four years. Every song here will ring a bell with pop listeners from Europe and Asia, though Americans will only recognize one or two if they are lucky. For much of the world, the album nearly plays as a Top 40 soundtrack to the latter half of the '90s. With each album it is clear that the quality in voice, production, and choice of song has increased. Beginning with "Key to My Life" from the first album to the group's anthem "Different Beat" to the exceptional Andrew Lloyd Webber song "No Matter What," the group has remained focused on good old-fashioned "music." They have stripped down to the essentials, using sincere lyrics, simple melodies and no heavy synthetic distractions. Their decision to sound more like a band and less like a pop fabrication is admirable and probably the reason why their fellow Dublin band U2 used them on backup for the song and video "Sweetest Thing" (which does not appear on this album).