Best Of Billie, The - Billie Piper

...Love it! This song is best accompanied by the fun, highly choreographed video which features Billie dancing with a crowd of teenagers in combats, but even on its own this track is a real gem! It’s fun, it’s cheeky, it even features a bit of REAL SINGING (gasp!) and a glimpse of Billie’s strong vocals, but do I really need to go on? Come on, you all know this track… and secretly you know you all love it, even if only for the comedy value! 10/10
...on the phone to my best girls, hear us ringing it, we’re really swinging it” and “having a party on the phone, oh yeah yeah, never any need to be alone, oh yeah yeah, you can dial the number any time, day or night, everybody swinging on the party line, so get ringing it”. However, once you get past that (it takes a few listens), this is actually a great track. Contrary to what the lyrics would suggest, this is actually a more ‘serious’ track than ... more

There are some songs that will always be remembered by certain generations, for reasons good or bad. These are the songs that made you exchange “Did you hear that?”s with your schoolmates/colleagues/random passers-by on first hearing, accompanied by expressions of awe/wonder/bewilderment; the songs that filled school discos, chart shows and brains nationwide; and the songs that were played on the radio for so long that you contemplated leaving the country. Some of these songs, for my generation, included ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls, ‘Back For Good’ by Take That and ‘Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears ; all songs guaranteed to have caused a bit of a stir at the time due to their groundbreaking wonderousness, utter addictiveness or total craziness. Another such song, the song that I am really leading up to here, is ‘Because We Want To’ by the then teen sensation, Billie Piper. Or simply Billie, as she was known back then.

When Billie first bounced on to the music scene in her baggy combats, boiler suits and little tops she was all smiles and teeth and cheesy lyrics. I remember discussing this new girl on the music scene with much excitement with the girls at school. With her mousy brown hair and girl next door looks she could have been one of us; with her cheeky, rapped vocals she could have been a karaoke singer; and with her over the top dance routines and immature choruses this could have been a complete disaster. However, none of these facts were true. Billie’s career took off with a bang and nobody was more surprised than us fellow teen girls who sat and looked on in awe.

Billie’s music will always be remembered as a bit of a cheese-fest; all those choreographed dance routines and anthemic choruses, accompanied by Billie’s inane, ever-present grin oozed cheese from every pore. Yet, back in the 90s (ah, don’t you miss them!), nobody was so concerned with being “cool” as they are today. Girls didn’t concern themselves with wearing black and caked on eyeliner, boys didn’t dream of growing long greasy hair and forming a band, instead, back when pop was cool, before the rise of the ubiquitous sweaty boy band, people were free to embrace their inner pop prince or princess, and embrace it they did. Billie quickly became, in 1998, the youngest ever artist to debut at number one, with her smash hit single ‘Because We Want To’. All was well in the world of Pop Princesses and fifteen year old Billie went on to score a further number one with ‘Girlfriend’ and two number three hits with ‘She Wants You’ and ‘Honey to the Bee’.

Billie, however, had begun to suffer in her personal life, and fame, along with the backlash from her boyfriend (Rich from Five’s) fans, had become to suffocate her. To read more about this please refer to Billie’s fabulous autobiography or my review of it for a condensed insight, but all that needs to be said here is that Billie, in the midst of a truly difficult time, decided to take a year off from music and many thought that she would never emerge on the scene again.

However, May 2000 rolled around and, out of the blue and to the surprise of many, Billie was suddenly back on the scene. But this was not the Billie of old. No, our combated, mousy, girl-next-door pop princess had been replaced with a skinny, sexy, leathered up blonde, and what’s more her cheesy, teenage pop had been replaced with a sexier, grown up, Britneyesque sound. Billie’s new sound was initially a roaring success as ‘Day and Night’ shot to the number one spot and ‘Something Deep Inside’ went in at number four, yet ‘Walk of Life’ only managed to scrape in at number 25 and, soon after that, Billie bowed out gracefully from the music scene, for personal reasons rather than from any implications of this lower chart placing. Billie had other dreams and other ambitions, yet she left behind a truly momentous pop career that shaped teenage lives everywhere and that will always be remembered by girls my age, if by no one else. Billie, for a while, shared a little bit of magic with the world, and was an inspiration to normal girls everywhere, and now all that is left to remember this faded popstar by is this little gem of hits she left behind (sniff sniff).

Seriously, many of you may turn your nose up at the mere suggestion of this album, and clearly it’s not for everyone, but don’t be put off by Billie’s early cheesy sound. She may not be the most credible artist and it may not be the “coolest” CD on your shelf, but this album is actually much, much more than you may expect and is actually an impressive collection of classy pop, mellow R&B and sweetly sung ballads, nestled alongside the cheesy stuff. So if you fancy some cheery, well sung pop; an album to sing along to; or simply a nostalgic look back at 90s music at its best, then you need look no further.

BECAUSE WE WANT TO is the first track on the album and Billie’s first ever single, one which gets this album off to a fabulously fun and upbeat start. The track begins with computerised beats and the whispered affirmation that “we can do anything” before one of the most memorable pop choruses ever kicks in with Billie’s cheeky rapped vocals and the very funny, teenagerish (I know that’s not a word!) lyrics; “Why you got to play that song so loud? Because we want to, because we want to! Why d’you always run around in crowds? Because we want to, because we want to! Why do you always have to dance all night? Because we want to, because we want to! Why d’you always say what’s on your mind? Because we want to, because we want to!” Love it! This song is best accompanied by the fun, highly choreographed video which features Billie dancing with a crowd of teenagers in combats, but even on its own this track is a real gem! It’s fun, it’s cheeky, it even features a bit of REAL SINGING (gasp!) and a glimpse of Billie’s strong vocals, but do I really need to go on? Come on, you all know this track… and secretly you know you all love it, even if only for the comedy value! 10/10

GIRLFRIEND was Billie’s second single and carries on where ‘Because We Want To’ left off with more teenage based lyrics - “Do you have a girlfriend? You’re looking real cool. Can I have your number? You don’t have a thing to lose? Do you have a minute? What is on your mind? I was just thinking, we can spend some time” - and catchy choruses. However, although it did well in the charts, this just doesn’t quite match up to the previous track. It is leaning slightly towards R&B and is more chilled out than the first single, which is slightly incongruous with the less than serious lyrics. However, this is a good track and is another fine glimpse of Billie’s successful pop career. One thing I do love about this song is the lyrics; “I saw you jump up, you and your friends baby, and I heard you say they’re playing your jam, so waving your hands side to side sugar, here you’re claiming you’re a certified man”. Ah, the things that will impress a fifteen year old girl! I’m not so sure I would find a man waving his hands side to side quite so attractive! Also, do people actually use the phrase ‘jam’, like “Oh, great, they’re playing my jam!”? And while I’m at it, was the writer of this song really having serious trouble finding a word to rhyme with the aforementioned “jam”, or does Billie actually class waving ones hands from side to side as a sign that they are a certified man? If so, all you men get waving, now you know the key to every woman’s heart and to unleashing your true masculinity all at once! 6/10

SHE WANTS YOU was Billie’s third single and has a bit of a retro (even for the 90s) vibe about it, with a disco-ish feel, which is mirrored in the video which features Billie dancing in a catsuit in front of a multi-coloured background. This is another very catchy track with more basic, fun lyrics, “I know that she wants you, she wants you, she wants you, I know it instinctively, I know that she wants you, she wants you, she wants you, you say you’re in love with me”; and an upbeat chorus that will stick in your head for days. It is a real hairbrush karaoke track for singing around your bedroom and is, in my opinion, a great pop track; better than ‘Girlfriend’, with more cheese but also a better melody and vocals. A great feel-good track. 7/10

PARTY ON THE PHONE is essentially very cheesy with telephone rings in the background; repetitive ‘na na na’s throughout and lyrics such as, “sitting at home in my own world, on the phone to my best girls, hear us ringing it, we’re really swinging it” and “having a party on the phone, oh yeah yeah, never any need to be alone, oh yeah yeah, you can dial the number any time, day or night, everybody swinging on the party line, so get ringing it”. However, once you get past that (it takes a few listens), this is actually a great track. Contrary to what the lyrics would suggest, this is actually a more ‘serious’ track than the previous ones; ie. there is more of a melody, less cheese and a more laid back, almost R&B sound, despite the little rap Billie unfathomably decides to do near the end of the track. This is another catchy, fun track and a definite grower. 7/10

Blondie’s THE TIDE IS HIGH was, on Billie own suggestion, covered by Billie for her album and due to be her next single following ‘Walk of Life’. After her departure from the music scene, however, the track was given to Atomic Kitten for release. Atomic Kitten did a good job with it and stuck close to the original tune. Billie’s version, however, is not quite what you may expect. Billie has tried to American up the track (yes, I know Blondie were an American band but you‘ll know what I mean if you give this a listen!), with strange breathy vocals, much digression from the backing track and original format and a strange little rap interlude. I don’t know whether this was just to show that she could do it and how creative she was, but on first listen I was convinced that this was a very bad mistake. If you are a fan of Blondie or this particular song and are a bit of a purist then you will probably feel the same, I warn you! However, after a few listens this track has really grown on me. Yes, even the rap! It is a bit strange but it also a definite grower and Billie’s voice sounds really, really good. She can definitely sing and this track finally demonstrates that. 8/10

HONEY TO THE BEE is one of my favourite tracks, which actually made my top three shortlist for the category of best track, alongside ‘Day and Night’ and ‘Because We Want To’. At the time of Billie’s first album I was never sure whether I was actually a fan (it was all teenage jealousy!), it’s only in retrospect that I appreciate those first few singles. However, even at the time, I remember that I really loved this song. Is this song cheesy? Well yes! Does it have silly lyrics? ‘Honey to The Bee, that’s you for me’… well, that would be a yes too! But despite that, and maybe even because of that, this is a truly fantabulous song. I love Billie’s vocals, I love the laid back yet upbeat backing track and, well, I just love it all. Full stop. It is very Billie, very unique, and WELL worth a listen. It is actually this track that inspired my purchase of the CD after I heard it on some strange 90s compilation CD playing in work some months ago and fell in love with the track all over again. 10/10

I DREAM is, in my opinion, Billie’s only ballad on the album. There are some slower songs but they are a bit more R&B and a bit more stilted. But this is pretty and heartfelt and pretty again, and that, in my opinion, is what defines a ballad. This is a really gentle, lovely track with a beautiful backing track; emotive, heartfelt vocals; and simple but romantic lyrics; “I dream I’m dancing with you and I can really move, I dream you’re kissing me and I can really feel it, I dream I’m dancing with you until we lose control, I dream you’re loving me with all your heart and soul”. Aah. 9/10

DAY AND NIGHT is, in my opinion, Billie’s best ever track. It was the first single off her come-back album and brought her back in to the charts with a bang. The track has lost all elements of cheese and is just a fantastic strong pop track with an extremely catchy chorus, powerful, aggressive vocals and a very sexy pop sound. It is upbeat and fun but with a darker, sexier sound and is extremely reminiscent of Britney, as I have mentioned before. When I tell you that the video for the single features Billie dancing in dark buildings and alleyways dressed in head to toe, skin tight leather, you will get a good idea of the style and of just how much Billie’s music had changed from the days of ‘Because We Want To’. Billie, unfortunately, will always be remembered as the Queen of Cheese and framed by her ‘Because We Want To’ fame, but this is such a shame. Although I love Billie’s past cheese and would never knock her prior singles, I know many people have an objection to cheese and can’t see past those singles, so the quality pop that she later produced, such as this track, often gets overlooked, which is very sad. If you like your pop or are a fan of early Britney, look this track up on myspace or youtube and see for yourself how fab it is! 10/10

BRING IT ON is OK. And that’s about as far as it will ever move me. It’s not a bad track, it would never make me jump up in order to skip it, but then it would never make me jump up in order to put it on either. It was never going to change my life or even my day or even my hour, it was never going to redefine my expectations of all music thereafter, what it does do is it fills three and a half minutes of my time with a nice enough, listenable tune, and I think that’s all this minimal effort, R&B inspired track was ever intended to do. It doesn’t stick in your head but it’s nice listening while it’s on. The lyrics are quite good though, very assertive; “It’s not enough to say you think of me, it’s not enough to want to be here in my arms, it’s not enough to call me every night, I need to see you, need to feel you in my arms. If you’re serious, more than curious, you’ve got to go for it, you’ve got to pick a place to start… Bring it on, ’cause if you want to be with me, I’m not about to wait around.” You tell him Billie! 6/10

PROMISES was one of those tracks that, on looking at the track list after a couple of listens of the album, I couldn’t even remember. However, after making a conscious effort to listen to it (the things I do in the name of pop!) I realised it was actually a really good track (and to be fair I probably just couldn’t remember it coz I only heard it about half the number of times as the other tracks as I had somehow forgotten to put it on my mp3 player). This is quite a summery, upbeat song, with a nice, feel-good backing track and quite a pretty sound. Billie’s voice is in good form and this is just a nice feel-good track about taking things slowly in a relationship and just seeing how things go without making promises; “some things are best left unspoken until the time is right… don’t want to run before we walk”. 8/10

SOMETHING DEEP INSIDE was Billie’s second single off her second, more grown up album and is another fabulous track. Again, Britney’s influence is strong in this tune and the computerised “come on, come on”s at the start of this track actually sound EXACTLY like Britney in one of her tracks (although I have been striving to remember what track it is she does them on!) This is another moodier, sexier, yet upbeat, pop track with computerised effects, strong vocals, an excellent backing track and a very catch chorus. Oh, and the video once again apparently provided another excuse for Billie to wear leather trousers! Wonder what she did with those combats? 10/10

FIRST LOVE is the first in a trio of songs which I really don’t like and see no point for. It is a shame that all three are clumped together and that they come at the end of the album as it puts a bit of a dampener on an otherwise fabulous album, but never mind, every album has its fillers I guess! Anyway, ‘First Love’ is basically a bit of a bland ballad with unimaginative lyrics - “You’re the first to ever really kiss me, you‘re the first to ever break my heart, now I know in my life there’ll be others but you will always be my first love” - and an unmemorable chorus. It is listenable enough, I guess, and there is a nice sentiment behind the lyrics, but on the whole it is quite forgettable, fairly uninspired and a tad soppy. 4/10

G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T is a cover of a track by Changing Faces (who I admit I had never heard of until today!) and is a chilled out, melancholy R&B track in which Billie sounds slightly like Jennifer Lopez, in my opinion. It sounds very American and very done before and, although a brave attempt by Billie to explore a different genre of music, in my opinion is a bit of a mistake. Billie’s more mature mellow sound showcased on this track may appeal to some but to me it just comes across as a bit dull, very repetitive, slightly whiny and, most of all, as though Billie’s heart is not in it. The spirited, energetic Billie who brought us ‘Because We Want’ is certainly nowhere to be heard in this downbeat album filler. 1/10

CARESS THE GOLD, following the last two insipid tracks, is almost enough to make you fall asleep. This is another bland track with wishy-washy choruses, bland backing music and uninteresting lyrics. I thought for a while it was going to be a grower and I’m still working on that theory in hope, but as yet it’s not proved true. Again, you would never guess that the Billie from the first half of the album is the same girl singing on this half-hearted, lacklustre ballad. How I long for a bit of cheese (the pop variety and not the Cheddar). 1/10

How thankful am I that WALK OF LIFE is the last track on the album? Very, let me tell you! Saving me from the depression brought upon from the last three downbeat snoozefests masquerading as album tracks, Walk of Life brings me back to the Billie that I know and love; the Billie who can produce a very decent track when she puts her mind to it and the Billie who can put her heart and soul in to doing so. This track showcases the passion missing from the previous three tracks and Billie’s vocals are strong and heartfelt. I think this track is particularly poignant as it is not only the last track on the album but the last single of Billie’s entire musical career, which lends a feeling of reverence to the song and a new appreciation of the lyrics, which talk about the walk of life, which for Billie involved, shortly after its release, leaving the pop scene, marrying Chris Evans and finding what she really wants to do in life. The track includes gentle, well sung verses and strong, heartfelt choruses accompanied by a beautiful, powerful backing track. It is a pretty track with meaningful lyrics that talk of finding someone to “set her shadow free”, which is exactly what Chris Evans did for her (read her autobiography for evidence of this). This, for me, makes the track very moving. I also love the build-up throughout the song to the last powerful chorus, which seems to end the track, and subsequently Billie’s musical career, how it all began; with a bang. 10/10

TRACK LIST-
1. Because We Want To
2. Girlfriend
3. She Wants You
4. Party On The Phone
5. The Tide Is High
6. Honey to the Bee
7. I Dream
8. Day and Night
9. Bring It On
10. Promises
11. Something Deep Inside
12. First Love
13. G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T
14. Caress the Gold
15. Walk of Life

UK SINGLES FEATURED ON ALBUM-
Because We Want To
Girlfriend
She Wants You
Honey to the Bee
Day and Night
Something Deep Inside
Walk of Life

BEST TRACK-
Day and Night

WORST TRACK-
Caress the Gold

NUMBER OF GOOD SONGS- 12 out of 15

ALBUM UNIQUE SELLING POINT- In this day and age, such an unashamedly upbeat collection of pop is unique and refreshing in itself but there is also so much more to this album. They say a picture paints a thousand words; well, in my opinion a song can express much, much more. Listening to a certain song can invoke memories of happy times, sad times, a certain holiday, a memorable birthday, a first kiss, a break up… just pressing play on your CD player can take you back to a whole different moment or period of your life. And Billie’s music certainly possesses the power to take many right back to their childhood. If you grew up alongside this twenty something superstar then you will know exactly what I mean. With this album you are not only buying a collection of excellent pop tracks and fantastic singles but a piece of your childhood and a wonderful vehicle for reminiscence. Press play, shut your eyes, and for a moment you could almost be twelve years old again.

ALBUM NEGATIVES - There are a few fillers and, for a ‘Best of’ album, not as many singles as you may expect. However, the album, especially for the cheap price it is selling for on Amazon, is still well worth a buy as there are still seven excellent singles to listen to even if you want to skip the rest!

SOUNDS MOST SIMILAR TO- Being a teen pop princess pioneer, Billie’s early music is all her own and not really reminiscent of any other artist. However, her later singles are very much inspired by her successor, Ms Spears, and there are also some R&B tracks which appear to have been influenced by the more soulful music of female, black American artists, including Changing Faces, whose track, G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T, has been covered on this album.

ALBUM SUMMARISED IN ONE WORD- 90s nostalgia (I know that’s two words but one’s technically a number… technically!)

SCORE OUT OF 10 FOR…
VOCALS- 9
LYRICS- 7
MUSIC/BACKING TRACKS- 9
VARIATION IN TRACKS- 9
OVERALL ALBUM- 8

RECOMMENDED- Yes, but only to those who can handle a bit of cheese (come on, you know you all love a bit of 90s pop really!) 

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