Spice Girls - Forever
(Virgin)
The Spice Girls forever, eh? Call me cynical but the girls have been doing more than their fair share of hinting that they want to permanently go their separate ways of late. Alas, it seems they are not brave enough to let go of the money-making machine that the band has always been and truly stand on their respective sets of stilettoed feet.
Thus we have Forever, an inappropriately named album that Baby, Sporty, Posh and Scary have done little to promote and, upon having a listen, one can understand why. Yes, the girls have grown up - just one look at the CD sleeve tells you as much with the abundance of dubious haircuts, designer black and diamonds. But the mature sound they have borrowed doesn't fit as well as their low-cut blouses.
Obviously aware of the fact that the taste of their original pre-pubescent fans have changed in the few years of the Spice Girls' existence, the band has adapted a funkier, R&B-influenced sound - even going as far as incorporating some rather scary rapping.
But with the moral welfare of the fans in mind, some of the lyrics are just cringeworthy. The hand-holding, girly elements remain (Right Back At Ya) while the grown-up stuff includes 'the rudest stuff' (If You Wanna Have Some Fun). It's like a Spice storybook and doesn't forget about ex-communicated Spice, Geri Halliwell, who gets a few unsubtle mentions (Goodbye, Tell Me Why).
Hurry up and split, girls.
