­After 14 years of being on band-hiatus, New Kids on the Block have come back together to give their fans some more of the right stuff.

After releasing their new album and announcing a major worldwide tour, they have left their rat-tails and shoulder pads behind for a fresh start and a tougher audience.

The Block is their first full-length album since the multi-platinum selling Hanging Tough. It features many guest appearances from artists such as Lady Gaga, Akon, Ne-Yo and the Pussycat Dolls. 

They bring in some big name artists to add a new-age flavour and even some extra credibility to a band that has been featured on Top of the Pops reruns. 

Production wise, this album could be a major success. You can tell that NKOTB really used the last of their 80s pop icon money to create an album that would be up to par with any new album out there today. 

Many have seen pop albums come and go, but with a good production back bone and some Hollywood support, this album has had a few singles like ‘Summertime’ and ‘Single’ sneak their way on to top 40 lists.

Lyrically, this album is probably something that Walberg had come up with in the shower. It’s exactly what you would expect: falling in love, falling out of love, hot girls and wild parties.
A lot of bands seem to think they can pull off the comeback tour. Spice Girls were able to pull off a comeback tour even though they passed their prime in the mid 90s. I’m sure they were laughing all the way to the bank. 

Backstreet Boys were able to produce another album, although to be honest, I wasn’t even aware they had broken up. 

With all the coverage about Nick dating Paris and AJ in and out of rehab, I figured they were still churning out pop-tart albums because they were still making the tabloids. 

New Kids on the Block have made the jump from child stars to screwed up adults; turning screaming pre-teen girls into screaming women.

But they would have had much more luck relying on their teen hits and banking on the world tour instead of producing a new album that doesn’t seem to be flying off the shelves anytime soon.