The Fix

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Jordan Knight's struggle for that elusive comeback continues with 2005's The Fix, his first album since re-recording the New Kids on the Block hits in 2004 and his first collection of new material since his 1999 solo album Jordan Knight. That album found Knight trying to fit into the resurgent dance-pop of the turn of the millennium, and while it had some marginal success -- "Give It You" hit number ten -- it wasn't a hit, and he was dropped soon afterward. The next few years he was out of the spotlight, but he started to re-emerge toward the middle of the decade thanks to endless touring and, especially, an appearance on VH1's never-ending celeb-porn show The Surreal Life, which helped open the door for a new recording career for Knight. The Fix isn't a splashy comeback -- it's being released on a subsidiary of the independent Madacy -- and at eight songs it's somewhere between a full-length album and an EP, which means it makes even fewer waves than a full album might have. But this isn't really intended to be a big comeback -- it's a way to connect to the fans who have never left him and, to that end, Knight gives them more of what they crave: namely, music that sounds like it could have been released in 1990. Whether it's the mellow adult contemporary of "Where Is Your Heart Tonight" or the dance-pop of "Keep It on the Sly," this is music that conforms to the sounds and aesthetics of pre-alternative, pre-gangsta turn-of-the-decade mainstream pop; even the title track features cameos from such '80s rap titans as Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick, making this a real throwback. While this means that The Fix sounds a bit as if it's a time capsule preserved in amber, it's also a sound that Knight is comfortable with and he gives a good, comfortable performance here. He never embarrasses himself by stretching farther than he can reach and the songs are good enough for this to be a pleasant listen. It's not enough to give Knight that comeback he so clearly wants, but it's enough to keep his hardcore fans happy -- and since they've waited six years for new songs, that should be enough for them.