POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Boyz Keep Pouring On Their II Sweet Stuff

Much attention is paid to the potential detrimental social effects of misogyny and lewdness in pop and R&B;, but there may be an even more seditious force at work under the cloak of innocence, a wolf in sheep’s formal wear.

We refer to the relatively wholesome-seeming Boyz II Men, along with the even more genteel writer-producer of their biggest smashes, artist-in-his-own-right Babyface.

As a double-bill Saturday night at the Forum, these two acts provided impressionable young males with a crash course in Sweet Stuff 101: Everything a Woman Always Wanted to Hear, Whether You Mean It or Not.

The ripple effect could be staggering: Expect the parent blotters to be filled for weeks with reports of such moral misdemeanors as premature promises of eternal commitment, doth-atone-too-much protestations of penitence and hasty vows of undying romantic subservience.

There’s a reason why Boyz II Men was the sales phenom of ‘94, and it’s not just the expertness of the vocal-group harmonies, though that’s undoubtedly the deal-clincher. Theirs is music in which doubt plays no part, and if any shade of wrong enters the picture, it’s addressed from a uniform of sackcloth and ashes. If women sang some of these lyrics, they’d be accused of setting the gender back two generations.

The Boyz’ record-breaking single of last year, the Babyface-penned “I’ll Make Love to You,” states such dependence on the woman to approve every single move, it sounds like a love song to a dominatrix. The follow-up, “On Bended Knee,” treads the fine line between graciousness and groveling.

Still, as a corrective--or balance, at least--to the orgiastic sexism of R. Kelly and his ilk, some erring on the side of mannered good manners is probably excusable: Even a theatricalized form of respect beats heartfelt chauvinism.

And the foursome’s performance Saturday had enough high spirit to ensure the passivity stayed in the lyrics and not on the stage. The group got the requisite hip thrusts out of the way in the first couple of up-tempo numbers, and soon graduated to a solid string of trademark earnest balladry, transmuting Women II Girlz at every turn.

These weepers were as effective as they wanna be, especially breakup/funeral anthems “End of the Road” and “Hard to Say Goodbye,” the latter performed a cappella in long, black coats, the four bunched up as if to huddle against the cold.

Still, there’s a lack of inner emotional reality there--the kind associated with the great soul singers--that makes all the grand statements much prettier than heart-rending. These four are tear-jerkers, but not yet soul-stirrers.

Babyface’s preceding set made it clear where much of Boyz’ “respect” comes from. He invited a woman up and offered that--in lieu of cooking for her or taking her shopping, as he’d like--he was going to pay her rent. “Every one of these 100s stands for any time any man has hurt you, darling,” he said as he unpacked a small roll of bills. (Geez, just $500 to atone for all the sins of mankind?)

Babyface is a capable singer, with a low-key, sweet persona that lacks the charisma that would elevate him to the superstar level of his proteges, yet benefits from not appearing to try too hard. Unfortunately, he tends to parcel out much of his better material to other artists, leaving his own set with a fair amount of filler.