All Saints : Releases >>

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All Hits >>

In light of the un-harmonious five years Melanie, Shaznay, Nicole and Natalie spent together as All Saints, perhaps this anthology should have been titled "All Fights" instead of the more agreeable All Hits. Despite having two massive hit singles in 2000 (with "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee"), and the release of their second album (Saints and Sinners), the girls' rows were viewed more newsworthy than their continued chart success. From early tunes such as "I Know Where It's At", right through to their appropriately titled final release "All Hooked Up" the quartet produced some of the catchiest hooks in pop. For both their studio albums, they recruited the hippest producers of the time, including Nellee Hooper, Cameron McVey and William Orbit. These "top bods" merged the girls' soulful vocals with the trendiest beats, producing classics such as "War of Nerves" and "Bootie Call". The best of these albums and more are included on All Hits. Also included is Mel's solo collaboration with Artful Dodger ("Twentyfourseven") and two powerful new tracks penned and performed by Shaznay, which are sneakily hidden at the end of a bonus remix of "Pure Shores". "I Feel You" is an epic five minuter, sounding similar to Saints's classic "Never Ever" but with the other three's harmonies being replaced by a gospel choir. The second Shaz track "Dreams" is an Orbit style pop-trip composition that strangely (or perhaps predictably) echoes "Pure Shores". The group may have split but their sound lives on--in more ways than one. --John Galilee

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf/Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals >>

All Saints >>

All girl, all singing and all dancing quartet Shaz, Mel, Nic and Nat's debut album could easily be repackaged today as a Greatest Hits collection. This is no bad thing. It features six of the sassy ladeez hit singles "Never Ever", "Bootie Call", "I Know Where It's At", "Under the Bridge", "Lady Marmalade" and "War of Nerves". The girls fuse all the best bits from swing, soul and disco, flex their vocal chords and chorus flawless harmonies to deliver perfect pop songs, with production from Nellee Hooper (Bjork/ Madonna/ Soul II Soul), Cameron McVey (Neneh Cherry/ Massive Attack) and UK R&B stalwart Karl 'KG' Gordon. From the band's finest hour (the Shangri-Las-esque talking at the beginning of "Never Ever") to the sheer dirtiness of Shaznay's laugh on "Beg", All Saints is a bag of finger clickin' pop hits. --Ronita Dutta

Britten: Ceremony of Carols >>

Saints and Sinners: Limited Edition >>

All Saints' second album, Saints and Sinners finds them on the run from the melancholic soul-pop of their eponymous debut. Defiantly more direct and sophisticated than its predecessor, this is a resolutely upbeat affair. Fortunately rather than re-invent themselves as men-bashing R&B divas, they have chosen to stick to their usual formula: song-writer, Shaznay's helium-high voice takes centre stage, Melanie Blatt and the Appleton sisters provide fluffy and light harmonies and a string of producers including William Orbit (Madonna) deliver euphoric, technicolour grooves. The UK version includes two rather pleasant bonus tracks, "I Don't Wanna Be Alone" and "One More Tequila", but the best material appears on the first half of the album. There's nothing quite as sublime as the undeniably feel-good opener, "Pure Shores" (also featured on The Beach soundtrack), but "Distance" a bewitching combination of flamenco guitar, piano and dance-floor friendly beats comes close. Saints and Sinners doesn't exert its power in subtle ways and there are occasions when they don't quite pull off their attempts to be quirky ("Whoopin' Over You"). However there is plenty of weight and breath here, a mood and groove for every occasion, just as long as that occasion is life-affirming. In fact, Saints and Sinners sounds like someone turned the "dark" off!--Maxine Kabuubi

Studio 1 >>

Fire on Corridor X >>

All Hits [CD + Bonus DVD] >>

In light of the un-harmonious five years Melanie, Shaznay, Nicole and Natalie spent together as All Saints, perhaps this anthology should have been titled "All Fights" instead of the more agreeable All Hits. Despite having two massive hit singles in 2000 (with "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee"), and the release of their second album (Saints and Sinners), the girls' rows were viewed more newsworthy than their continued chart success. From early tunes such as "I Know Where It's At", right through to their appropriately titled final release "All Hooked Up" the quartet produced some of the catchiest hooks in pop. For both their studio albums, they recruited the hippest producers of the time, including Nellee Hooper, Cameron McVey and William Orbit. These "top bods" merged the girls' soulful vocals with the trendiest beats, producing classics such as "War of Nerves" and "Bootie Call". The best of these albums and more are included on All Hits. Also included is Mel's solo collaboration with Artful Dodger ("Twentyfourseven") and two powerful new tracks penned and performed by Shaznay, which are sneakily hidden at the end of a bonus remix of "Pure Shores". "I Feel You" is an epic five-minuter, sounding similar to Saints's classic "Never Ever" but with the other three's harmonies being replaced by a gospel choir. The second Shaz track "Dreams" is an Orbit style pop-trip composition that strangely (or perhaps predictably) echoes "Pure Shores". The group may have split but their sound lives on--in more ways than one. --John Galilee