This was the Spice Girls' last album and though rumours of a Greatest Hits and one off show including Geri are knocking around, I doubt anything will happen.
"Forever" was their 3rd album and it cost me 97p from Asda would you believe?! A sure sign that the group are seen as yesterday's news. The album was very much an R 'n' B effort, moving away from their pop roots.
Here's a track listing.
1. Holler 2. Tell Me Why 3. Let Love Lead The Way 4. Right Back At Ya 5. Get Down With Me 6. Wasting My Time 7. Weekend Love 8. Time Goes By 9. If You Wanna Have Some Fun 10. Oxygen 11. Goodbye
HOLLER
This entered the charts at number one in 2000. It's a rather sexy mid-tempo song and Mel C's vocals really stand out as usual as do Mel B's on the intro. The song starts with strings and as it's a Darkchild/Rodney Jerkins production, there's the trademark "Darkchild"
whisper.
There's an invitation to "play my game". Oo-er. Emma's great on the second verse and Victoria is good on the bridge between the second chorus.
TELL ME WHY
Another Darkchild produced R 'n' B track. This is rather dark and may suit a nightclub atmosphere but it's not good for just listening to. Emma's vocals really stand out here and the chorus is great with the women all singing over each other in perfect harmony.
LET LOVE LEAD THE WAY
One of the more poppy tracks on the album, this was a double A side with "Holler". It's a nice ballad about the state of the world and Mel C's strong voice opens the tune. Victoria is really strong here as well.
RIGHT BACK AT YA
This is another slowish R 'n B tune with big beats behind it. It's quite hummable, especially at the beginning but the harmonies feel a bit lame on this unmemorable tune.
GET DOWN WITH ME
This is yet another Darkchild effort but it's more in line with the faster songs we associate with the Spice Girls. Mel B sounds rather Geri-ish at the start so I have feeling she may have been pencilled in to sing this at some point. I could be wrong. Victoria is very strong on the second verse and the whole song is quite aggressive.
WASTING MY TIME
This reminds me of Chaka Khan for some reason. It could be a 1970s disco track at the start but then it falls into a mediocre R 'n' B track with electronic backing and rather weak vocals until Mel C takes over in the second verse. It's nothing more than a filler.
WEEKEND LOVE
This has a kind of 1980s feel to it and it's very Janet Jackson-ish. Emma starts the song and the finger snaps liven it up. It starts off slow and then gets louder in the chorus. It might benefit from being faster.
TIME GOES BY
This again has an 80s feel and the piano intro reminds me of "Alone" by Heart. Mel C's vocals are excellent and again it reminds me of Janet Jackson. A very sloppy ballad about love - "what if I told you, you're my destiny?" etc etc.
IF YOU WANNA HAVE SOME FUN
This song is probably the closest on here to their earlier material but it's still quite moody and there's nothing fun about it. They don't even sound like they're enjoying themselves on this R 'n' B track. Background music rather than a song to make you want to get up like "Say You'll Be There" for instance.
OXYGEN
This song has a boring intro and Mel C's singing isn't as good as usual. With a title like "Oxygen" I expected some huge floor-filler but it's another Janet-style ballad. "You're the smile on my face".
GOODBYE
This is typical Spice Girls and is probably the best track on here. It was number one in 1998 and it's quite a tearful ballad about the depature of Geri and the success of the group. "There's a better way for you and me to be".
Overall, the album is very average. The singing is good but the material is too much of the same kind of thing. A move into doing mainly R 'n' B wasn't a good thing. I would recommend to fans of this kind of music who may not necessarily like the Spice Girls but hardcore fans may be disappointed.
The album cover has Emma, Mel C, Victoria and Mel B all holding hands and wearing black. The inlay card has all the lyrics and credits and nice individual pictures of the Spice Girls.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
The year 2000 saw the return of the Spice Girls as an entity after a wealth of solo ... more
projects, weddings, babies and tabloid headlines. It was inevitable that a couple of years down the line from their previous outing,Spiceworld, things were going to hav...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The year 2000 saw the return of the Spice Girls as an entity after a wealth of solo ... more
projects, weddings, babies and tabloid headlines. It was inevitable that a couple of years down the line from their previous outing,Spiceworld, things were going to hav...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Might appeal to non-Spice Girl fans, since its a standard R'n'B record Disadvantages: A misguided move away from everything that made them who they were
EnglishPatient 26.01.2001 (26.01.2001)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Forever - Spice Girls
Advantages: The lyrical genius, slick harmonies, smashing productions and catchy melodies. Disadvantages: The lack of pop/disco songs which make the spice girls, the spice girls.
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