Spice Girls : Releases >>
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Greatest Hits (Deluxe Edition with DVD) >>
The London Double Bass Sound >>
Greatest Hits >>
Greatest Hits >>
Spice World >>
"Spice up your life", the Spice Girls advise on the first single from Spiceworld, their second album, which was made quickly to capitalise on the movie of the same name. If that sounds more like an advertising slogan than a call for variety, solidarity, and fun, it's not the only time the disc echoes the language of a carefully planned campaign: The chorus of "Move Over" is built around the phrase "Generation Next", the rallying cry of the their Pepsi advert. And if, in turn, you come to the conclusion that this record isn't nearly as much fun as its predecessor, you're right. Any question about the creative input of Scary, Posh, Baby, Ginger, and Sporty into their own music is moot; like "Candle in the Wind 1997", Spiceworld was made to be bought, not listened to. Sure, they trade vocals this time, leaning less on the Bananarama-style gang approach of their debut, and yeah, the Motown-lite confection "Stop" doesn't exactly hurt the ear, but this disc is ultimately a bigger insult than anything a bunch of diehard anarchists such as Chumbawamba could imagine--without the kick of "Tubthumping". It also ends on a note so jarring as to settle the group firmly in the avant-garde with the fake-lounge "Lady Is a Vamp", which unfortunately praises Jackie O and Marilyn Monroe in the same verse, then ups the ante with a shout-out to Sandy Denny(!) as a Spicy role model. All together now: Uh huh. --Rickey Wright
Spice Girls >>
Putting aside the Girl Power phenomenon--really, what were the chances five scantily-clad birds flashing their knickers with kung-fu kicks wouldn't make it in the music industry?--the Spice Girls really do mean something: great singles. There's not a dog in their whole back-catalogue. They kicked off their career with "Wannabe", "Say You'll Be There" and "2 Become 1"--that's the pop equivalent of an Olympic gold in the triathlon. They're all here on Spice, along with the live favourite "If You Can't Dance"--one that Geri always looked particularly picked-upon whilst singing--and that irresistible champagne effervescence of pop history in the making. The only mistake they made at this point in their career was not releasing the slinky R&B track "Naked" as a single; and if that's because the video plot automatically suggests itself as too obvious, it's not as if that curtailed any other facet of their career. --Caitlin Moran
Forever >>
Since we last heard from them, the Spice Girls have hired new producers and writers, hoping to adopt an R&B edge with harder beats and a grittier sound. Gone are the cuddly wannabes of yesteryear, replaced by thinner, tougher glamazons of the new millennium Spice World. But Forever's strategy is a serious misstep--one that will disappoint their old fans and alienate new ones. "Holler," the first single, is standard-issue urban pop, with a beat you've heard before and terribly generic lyrics, promising to make you "do things you thought you would never do." As a matter of fact, you've heard all of this before: for "Tell Me Why," the Girls bite the computer-generated voice from TLC's Fan Mail, and borrow the vocoder from Cher's "Believe" sessions. "Right Back at Ya," their official comeback anthem, is trite and predictable: "Our friendship is forever," Baby Spice testifies. "You thought we wouldn't make it this far," Sporty sneers, and she's right. But they haven't made it yet--and with this material they don't deserve to. --Courtney Kemp
Interview Absolute: Spice Girls >>
Mama, Pt. 2 >>
Wannabe >>
