Before hatching New Kids on the Block, pop Svengali Maurice Starr invented New Edition. Since Starr and the group parted company, the various members of the onetime Jackson 5 update have gone on to even greater success as they've attained maturity and independence. Alumnus Bobby Brown is a superstar, original lead singer Ralph Tresvant is readying a solo record, and now Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins...

What happens when you're a raisin in the hot Roxbury, Mass., sun? If you explode like a dream fulfilled, you sing, dance and 'tude your way to multiplatinum success. But explosions subside, even when you're New Edition Cinderellas Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe. And after the boom, there's the fallout: namely, Bell Biv DeVoe's Hootie Mack, an album recorded far from the incendiary...