Thank You - Jamelia > Reviews > Just when you thought she'd gone forever . . .

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Upbeat and funky
Disadvantages:	Brought it out too soon? (more on that later ! )

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Early last summer, at the time Big Brovaz brought out the single "Favourite Things", I remember thinking "That reminds me so much of another song." And, no, I wasn't thinking the Sound of Music, I was thinking of a song . . . Who was it by? Me and my flatmate racked our brains for hours and finally I remembered. "Money" by Jamelia. God, what had happened to her? She brought out that fab song, a couple more songs that were good, but not QUITE as good. And everyone said she was Britain's big hope for r & b - then she got pregnant and vanished, never to be seen again. I wanted to hear that song somuch again that I searched all over the shops for the album. Nada. FINALLY I found it on amazon and waited with baited breath for it to arrive.

A week after I received it, Jamelia made a guest appearance as herself on Hollyoaks. Yes, she was back. And, although I know this is not the case, I felt as though I had made it happen! But no one really noticed her return until "Superstar" started playing constantly on the radio. And the minute I heard that song I knew I would have to buy the album once it came out.

Now, this is where my problem lies. I have a real issue with singers or groups who bring out their album fairly quickly after one or two singles, and THEN three months later or so, bring out a revamped version with added tracks. Which is what happened in this case. Therefore, I have the not-so-nice-and-brand-new-version - purely because I took a chance and bought her album based on "Superstar" and the bits and pieces of "bout" that I'd heard on the radio. That annoys me. If you have any doubts your album isn't complete, don't release it!!! Obviously it's partly greed on the part of the record companies, but it's ripping off fans and it's just not right as far as I'm concerned.

Anyway, back to the album itself. Now, I know some people have thought that her first album "Drama" was the superior album, but I would definitely go with this as my favourite. Apart from "Money", "Boy Next Door" "Call me" and "Room 101", I found Drama a bit of a bland album. But I like every single track on this album. Every track has something good about it, there's a great energy emanating all the way through, and you could dance to the full thing. There's also cameos from Rah Digga, Asher D from So Solid Crew and, most impressively, Bubba Sparxxx

Here is the track listing on the original album:

1. Bout (featuring Rah Digga)
2. Off Da Endz feat Asher D
3. Taxi
4. Thank You
5. Dirty Dirty
6. B.I.T.C.H.
7. Superstar
8. Life
9. Club Hoppin
10. Antidote
11. Cutie
12. Bounce

As I said, all the songs are great, but I want to highlight the best ones.

BOUT: I believe this came out as a single before Superstar but I have no idea where it got to in the chart. Shame though, cos it's actually a fantastic tune. This starts off like it's a fanfare at the circus or in a carnival and has an instantly catchy chorus you'll be humming for hours. It seems like a song you could make up a really catchy little dance routine to in your bedroom (I really didnt try myself, HONEST!!!)

THANK YOU: Most people know this song I think. A powerful, fairly uptempo ballad (if that's possible!) about being hurt and coming out stronger from it. Despite the contrast between the title of the song and the content, this is not a bitter or sarcastic song, which is how it could be interpreted. It's more of a "I've moved on, look at me now" song than anything else.

DIRTY DIRTY: This is a nice little ditty that combines rapped verses with a smooth chorus. In it Jamelia is saying she may look all sweet but she ain't afraid to be a naughty girl when she feels like it! It also proves she's actually quite good at rapping!

SUPERSTAR: This managed to be in the Top 40 bestselling singles of last year which is pretty incredible as I don't think it even made Top 5. An unbelievably catchy song which I bet most people in Britain (and possibly the rest of Europe) could sing along to without too much problem. This is probably the most "pop" song on the album, but still retains the slick r & b feel that holds the album together so cohesively.

LIFE: I LOVE this song. It has a very dark, slightly obsessive feel about it that is echoed in the lyrics. Jamelia finds a letter written by her lover - but to someone else and, is basically obsessing over this in the song. "Baby, what does she do that I don't? Only one thing I can think of, she's a hoe who'll go where I won't?" She is upset about this other woman and saying if she can't have him herself, then no one can. I don't know if she means she's about to murder him or means it metaphorically in some way but it's a little scary in that sense! As with all the other songs, it has a good beat to it and is fairly catchy, although a bit slower than a lot of the songs. I think this would be a good single release because the content of the song could make a video VERY interesting. and quite possibly terrifying.

CLUB HOPPIN' - This is the song that features Bubba Sparxx and he plays a fairly big part in it, although it still has Jamelia's mark stamped all over it. This is yet another one that I'm sure you could make up a very good little dance routine to! It has a very funky beat and sounds slightly Americanized, probably because of Bubba's presence.

This is truly a fantastic album. Although I would really love to have had "See It In A Boy's Eyes" on mine too. I would say to make sure if you are going to buy it, especially if online, that you try and make sure you buy the newer version. Unless the older version is cheaper and you didn't like that song so much, as I think it is only that song, and one other on the newer version.

If you like r &b in general, particularly people like Destiny's Child, you will like this album. I'm just thinking how great would it be if Jamelia and Destiny's Child did a duet? But highly unlikely since there's allegedly some sort of feud between jamelia and Beyonce (which I believe Jamelia started - she IS a bit TOO opinionated!!!)

Anyway, I've done a quick trawl on the internet for you for price comparisons and here's some options:
www.amazon.co.uk- £6.97+ p & p(new version)
www.cdwow.co.uk - £8.99 (inc. p & p) (new version)
www.whsmith.co.uk - £12.99 + p & p (old)
www.play.com - £8.99 (inc. p & p) (new version)

Obviously there may be offers in high street shops too so you could check them out as well. But I say, go and buy it!

It's a cut above a lot of the american r & b around at the moment. I'm a huge fan of Brandy, Ashanti, Mya and those types of singers, but I think Jamelia's album is even superior to theirs! Considering much is made about how the british r & b scene doesn't even compare to the american one, I think Jamelia is on a one woman quest to prove that point is null and void!