BABY SPICE IS BACK!!!!
oh that's right she is here and set to conquer the charts. if people remember there's more music out there than hip-hop and "rock":
Emma Bunton
Free Me
Originally released (in USA): 2005
Universal Music Group
Having ushered in the girl-power era with the Spice Girls, Emma Bunton launches her American solo career just as girlie-pop abandons its sleazy dance moves for cheesy faux-punk guitars. Undaunted, the once Baby Spice takes the high road on her second album and U.S. debut: Free Me is easy-listening fluff so lusciously lush and lovingly retro that it's nearly radical. Rather than dumbing down tired Courtney Love licks, leggy Emma blows big kisses to Burt Bacharach, Brazil and swinging- Sixties British birds such as Petula Clark via massive orchestrations, bossa nova beats and substantial tunes. Bunton's voice isn't big, but it's sweetly nuanced, and she coos through Marcos Valle's samba classic "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" and spot-on Sixties pop tributes such as "I'll Be There" with a freshness bound to surprise even longtime Spiceheads.
BARRY WALTERS
3 out of 5 stars.
Billboard Reviews Free Me: the album.
EMMA
Album Title: Free Me
Producer(s): various
Genre: POP
Label/Catalog Number: 19 Recordings/Universal 19R012
Release Date: Jan. 25
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: January 29, 2005
Pop-starved fans are about to get a heaping helping of cheesecake topped with a cherry. Emma Bunton, arguably the most talented of the Spice Girls, crosses the seas with her second international solo album-her first released in the United States. "Free Me" is a carefree uptempo romp tailor-made for singing along, sipping Cosmos and sashaying down your own imaginary runway. There's nary a miss among the dozen tracks here, thanks to grand, eye-winking production and Bunton's spirited, genial vocals. Think Petula Clark in her "Downtown" days or a new-millennium Girl From Ipanema. The only downside: "Free Me" is likely to remain a private pleasure, until top 40 radio realizes there's more to life than hip-hop and rock. Fortunately, club action has already alerted some to this prize project, truly one of the guilty indulgences of the new year. Key tracks: the title cut, "Maybe," "I'll Be There," "Tomorrow" and . . . ah, hell, all the rest.-CT
Emma Bunton
Free Me
Originally released (in USA): 2005
Universal Music Group
Having ushered in the girl-power era with the Spice Girls, Emma Bunton launches her American solo career just as girlie-pop abandons its sleazy dance moves for cheesy faux-punk guitars. Undaunted, the once Baby Spice takes the high road on her second album and U.S. debut: Free Me is easy-listening fluff so lusciously lush and lovingly retro that it's nearly radical. Rather than dumbing down tired Courtney Love licks, leggy Emma blows big kisses to Burt Bacharach, Brazil and swinging- Sixties British birds such as Petula Clark via massive orchestrations, bossa nova beats and substantial tunes. Bunton's voice isn't big, but it's sweetly nuanced, and she coos through Marcos Valle's samba classic "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" and spot-on Sixties pop tributes such as "I'll Be There" with a freshness bound to surprise even longtime Spiceheads.
BARRY WALTERS
3 out of 5 stars.
Billboard Reviews Free Me: the album.
EMMA
Album Title: Free Me
Producer(s): various
Genre: POP
Label/Catalog Number: 19 Recordings/Universal 19R012
Release Date: Jan. 25
Source: Billboard Magazine
Originally Reviewed: January 29, 2005
Pop-starved fans are about to get a heaping helping of cheesecake topped with a cherry. Emma Bunton, arguably the most talented of the Spice Girls, crosses the seas with her second international solo album-her first released in the United States. "Free Me" is a carefree uptempo romp tailor-made for singing along, sipping Cosmos and sashaying down your own imaginary runway. There's nary a miss among the dozen tracks here, thanks to grand, eye-winking production and Bunton's spirited, genial vocals. Think Petula Clark in her "Downtown" days or a new-millennium Girl From Ipanema. The only downside: "Free Me" is likely to remain a private pleasure, until top 40 radio realizes there's more to life than hip-hop and rock. Fortunately, club action has already alerted some to this prize project, truly one of the guilty indulgences of the new year. Key tracks: the title cut, "Maybe," "I'll Be There," "Tomorrow" and . . . ah, hell, all the rest.-CT