Spice Girls : Releases >>
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Spice >>
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
Spiceworld >>
Japanese edition of their second album with 'Step To Me' added as an unmarked bonus track. 11 tracks total, also featuring the hits 'Spice Up Your Life' & 'Too Much'. A Virgin Records release.
Chicken Little >>
This soundtrack offers a pretty standard mix of new songs, old chestnuts, and excerpts from the score (here by John Debney). On the new tip, Joss Stone and Patti LaBelle engage in an overheated battle of the divas on CD opener "Stir It Up," a bouncy piece of fluff that sounds more like Aretha Franklin circa "Freeway of Love" than classic soul. Other originals include Barenaked Ladies' "One Little Slip" (this movie's answer to Counting Crows' "Accidentally in Love" from Shrek 2) and the Cheetah Girls' peppy-but-bland cover of "Shake Your Tail Feather." But the real highlights are the songs performed by the movie's vocal cast, which includes Joan Cusack, Garry Marshall, Zach Braff, Steve Zahn, and Amy Sedaris. Their group cover of Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don¹t Go Breaking My Heart," for instance, sounds as if half of them were drunk in the recording studio (and this is meant as a compliment.) Braff's a cappella version of "We Are the Champions" is smashing and Cusack and Zahn's take on the Spice Girls' "Wannabe" is completely demented. The kids will laugh; their parents will laugh even harder for completely different reasons. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Greatest Hits >>
After much speculation and rumour the Spice Girls announced their reunion tour and Greatest Hits album to the world's media this summer. Fifty five million records sold, an astonishing 9 UK no. 1 singles, three back-to-back Christmas no. 1 singles and with 'Wannabe' the biggest selling single ever by an all female group, the Spice Girls have very little to prove. The band are never out of the media spotlight, the British tabloids and women's magazines adore them and the British public can't get enough. 3.5 million people worldwide have registered for tour tickets, 1 million of those were from the UK.
Greatest Hits >>
Extremely limited four disc (threeCDs + PAL/Region 0 DVD) Gift Set edition of the 2007 compilation features a bonus DVD, a bonus Karaoke CD, a bonus remix CD, postcards, a friendship bracelet and more. The 15 track album features two new songs ('Voodoo' and 'Headlines (Friendship Never Ends)') while the DVD contains 12 of their music videos. The karaoke CD includes 13 sing-a-long tracks and the remix disc closes out the set with 11 remixed classics. EMI.
Forever >>
The Pop Success Story of the 90s Return after Taking a Few Years off for Babies and Recovery from the Loss of One Member. Their Sound is More Contemporary R&B as Well as their New Look. Includes the Single 'goodbye' that was their First Recording after the Departure of Gerri Halliwell.
Pavarotti & Friends - For The Children Of Liberia >>
Jon Bon Jovi: Let it rain Wilson: Stop Diane Warren: How do I live without you Manuel de Falla (1876 - 1946): I hate you then I love you Stevie Wonder (1950 - ): Higher Ground Enrico Cannio (19th Century): O surdato 'nnammurato Eros Ramazzotti: Se bastasse una canzone Kenneth Edmonds: Betcha never Giuseppe Verdi (1813 - 1901): Nabucco: Va, pensiero Pino Daniele: Napule è Erick Benzi: Un place pour moi Ernesto De Curtis (1875 - 1937): Non ti scordar di me Leonard Bernstein (1918 - 1990): West Side Story: Tonight Stevie Nicks: Dreams John Francis Wade (?1711 - 1786): Adeste fideles Stevie Wonder (1950 - ): Peace wanted just to be free Richard Stannard: Viva forever
Elton John And Tim Rice's Aida (1999 Concept Album) >>
Following hot on the heels of their enormously successful collaboration for The Lion King, Elton John and Tim Rice have once again culled their talents to create another Disney contemporary musical, based this time on Verdi's opera Aida. The album, recorded by some of the biggest talents of pop, country, and R&B, features songs from the stage show, which recounts the well-known tale of a love triangle further complicated by slavery, royalty, and the armed forces. John duets to great effect with country crooner LeAnn Rimes, the enchanting Janet Jackson, and the lovely Lulu of To Sir with Love fame. Lush and lively, the soundtrack hits a hoot of a (decidedly not highbrow) high point with the infectious pop of the Spice Girls warbling the merits of undergarments on "My Strongest Suit" ("Always wear underwear/Anytime, anywhere"). Lenny Kravitz funks things up with "Like Father Like Son." Shania Twain's husky emoting makes a fine pop ballad of the brief "Amneris' Letter." "Not Me" chronicles the goodness of love as Boyz II Men coo dreamily, their harmonies nestling into John's sumptuous score. --Paige La Grone
sounds of the season '98 >>
collection of 11 holiday songs
Radio Disney Holiday Jams >>
For those munchkins with their ears permanently tuned to Radio Disney, Holiday Jams should not disappoint, though it may not send any sugarplums through their heads. Aimed, it seems, at both kids under 10 as well as their boomer parents, the disc features time-worn classics such as Bobby Helms's "Jingle Bell Rock," the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick," Alvin & the Chipmunks' "The Chipmunk Son (Christmas Don't Be Late)," Burl Ives's "Holly Jolly Christmas," and others. More contemporary pieces include the Spice Girls' "Sleigh Ride" and Shedaisy's "Deck the Halls," along with chart rulers 'N Sync in a throwaway number called "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays." The Spice Girls remain fairly faithful to "Sleigh Ride," and throughout the album songs are introduced with greetings from Disney's cloying and occasionally annoying DJs. Like the radio programming itself, Holiday Jams is ultimately a slick, well-packaged collection. --Martin Keller