Never Gone by Backstreet Boys

I've been a huge Backstreet Boys fan for 7 years now, but I'll try to make this is unbiased as possible. In the beginning, the Backstreet Boys were releasing albums true to the pre-packaged bubble gum pop music that was popular at the time. With Black & Blue they dared to step it up a notch, but that album lacked in some crucial areas. Never Gone, on the other hand, shows just how much these guys (or should I say men?) have matured over the years, both vocally and musically. They've always been decent singers, but it seems to me they took some serious voice lessons over the few years they were off the music scene. Never Gone is full of power ballads, and fans may be disappointed if they expected to hear the same old stuff on this album. But those more mature fans will embrace Never Gone and play it til their CD player melts it. And, on a side note, I believe that Never Gone was not meant to suggest that their music is immortal. If you listen to the lyrics of the song "Never Gone" it is clear that the boys are saying goodbye to each other and to the band (which I don't understand since they're releasing another album soon, but whatever). "Even though for now we've got to say goodbye, I know you will be forever in my life, never gone."