That’s a lovely surprise!

 

And it could’ve been a nice hit indeed as a double a!

Here is my review for Step's debut album Step One, I have already reviewed their 2nd album 'Steptacular' the link is here if you wanna read it.




01. Steptro - 5/10
To date this is the only Steps album to date to have an intro & while it’s a rather fun oddity, its rather unnecessary & feels more like a teaser to a concert rather than an album as it slowly and quietly builds to the next song which is…

02. Last Thing on My Mind - 10/10
This is where the album really begins with this slice of pop perfection. Kicking off with a distinctive drum beat with joyous production, catchy chorus and stellar vocals from the girls Faye, Claire and Lisa which would lay the foundation for what Steps would become. Originally sung by Bananarama back in 1992, but Step’s version is far better than the rather listless original with a much more defined and dynamic approach & made this their own. Steps had a lot to prove with this their 2nd single & thankfully it worked to perfection.

03. 5,6,7,8 - 7/10
The group’s debut single that stands out from the rest of their discography for being something of a novelty single with its blend of country/techno & pop sounds that was obviously created to capitalize on the line-dancing craze at the time. Whether you like or not, this track is unique and a hell of a lot of fun & catchy as hell with Lee taking lead vocals and totally holding his own against the haphazardness of it all. Everybody has to start somewhere.

04. One For Sorrow - 10/10
An absolute gem of not only the album, but also in their stellar discography that solidified the group’s status as a serious pop act. Everything about this mid-tempo ballad works beautifully from the stellar production with tinkling pianos and beautiful keyboard melodies to Claire’s stunning powerhouse vocals, which starts out tender before building to a mammoth chorus. This is classic Steps through and through & one of their very best.

05. Heartbeat - 9/10
The album’s 4th single released alongside ‘Tragedy’ & often overlooked due to the amount of attention its counterpart got. But this track stands on its own with its gorgeous harmonies, warm chorus and ethereal production that blends beautifully with the group’s vocals. Faye’s ab-libs are a highlight and overall the song is a well-structured ballad that may not stand as one of the group’s better singles, but it’s a firm standout moment on here.

06. This Heart Will Love Again - 7/10
The first non-single and it’s a sweet mid-tempo number with solid keyboard melodies, twinkling synths and dramatic production. The choir chorus adds an extra layer of cheese to the mid-tempo number. A nice album track but doesn’t really go anywhere interesting.

07. Experienced - 4/10
By far the worst track on the album with its dated R&B tinged pop production and cringey lyrics that doesn’t fit on this album at all. The only positive thing I can say about this is that H’s lead vocals sound decent, but everything else about this fails miserably.

08. Too Weak to Resist - 5/10
The other H lead track on the album and slightly better than the previous track with its warmer melodies and tighter production that again feels a little dated, but H’s vocals sound decent on here at the very least, but nothing can rise this above album filler.

09. Better Best Forgotten - 10/10
Coming right after a couple of fillers like a breath of fresh air is this glorious offering. The album’s 5th and final single and perhaps the most obvious candidate from the remaining tracks to be elevated to single status. Not quite as polished as the single version, but the album mix is still great and so much fun with its frantic synths, bubbly electro production and pulsating dance beats mixed with a catchy chorus and stellar vocals. All of which makes for a memorable and incredible classic Steps number.

10. Back To You - 8/10
A cute upbeat bop with a catchy chorus and a positive message. This track is so much fun and danceable all-round with a great back and forth vocals from Faye and Claire. A good solid pop song, but just an album track nothing more.

11. Love U More - 9/10
A firm standout and definitely the best non-single track on the album. Originally sung by Sunscreem back in 1992, Step’s version was set to be released as the album’s 6th single, but the group opted to move onto the next era instead. Again the group does a fantastic job updating this cover that starts with an infectious electronic hook and cool synth beats that slowly builds through the verses as it hits the stunning and ethereal chorus. Brilliant track and definitely the most mature moment on the album.

12. Stay With Me - 6/10
The closing track on the album, a rather nice and tender ballad which sees Faye and Lisa taking lead vocals and both sounds fantastic, adding a nice touch of vulnerability to the track. Not one of the more interesting moments on here, very average and a weird end to the album after the awesome previous track.



Avg.7.5

Edited August 30, 20222 yr by Nina West

Great review Nina! I’d probably slightly change some scores but the write up and comments are spot on! Great job.

Great review but I'd disagree about the back to you comments and scores.

Another great review Nina West ^_^

 

One thing though is that I don’t think your Experienced review reads as generously as 4/10 (more like a 1 or 2 if H’s vocal is the only positive on a song that you say fails miserably otherwise!) while you also say that Too Weak to Resist is far better than it, yet it’s only one mark higher? 😅

 

Is there a reason why you consider Stay With Me to be weird as an album closer? It’s interesting that more often than not Steps would close their albums with ballads. The only occasions they didn’t were Tears and WTFH2!

 

I don’t remember Love U More being confirmed as a planned single, was that said by Steps at some point? Even 5 singles made it quite a lengthy era compared to a lot of pop eras so maybe 6 would have pushed it a bit - they were probably right to move on.

 

Great review but I'd disagree about the back to you comments and scores.

Apart from “just an album track nothing more.” wouldn’t you agree with everything else said though? :o

Another great review Nina West ^_^

 

One thing though is that I don’t think your Experienced review reads as generously as 4/10 (more like a 1 or 2 if H’s vocal is the only positive on a song that you say fails miserably otherwise!) while you also say that Too Weak to Resist is far better than it, yet it’s only one mark higher?

 

Is there a reason why you consider Stay With Me to be weird as an album closer? It’s interesting that more often than not Steps would close their albums with ballads. The only occasions they didn’t were Tears and WTFH2!

 

I don’t remember Love U More being confirmed as a planned single, was that said by Steps at some point? Even 5 singles made it quite a lengthy era compared to a lot of pop eras so maybe 6 would have pushed it a bit - they were probably right to move on.

Apart from “just an album track nothing more.” wouldn’t you agree with everything else said though? :o

 

I think I was generous giving 'Experienced' a 4 & should have probably rated it lower, but because I add up all the scores given to the tracks, I didn't want the overall average to be too low, as I really do enjoy the album overall, apart from a couple of the filler moments as you can see by my scores.

 

'Too Weak To Resist' that's a typing error I was meant to put slightly instead of far I will rectify it, even though it is far better, but giving it anything higher than a 5 felt way too generous.

 

'Stay With Me' - I'm not too sure exactly why I feel its a weird album closer, maybe its because I've just listened to the original Romeo's Daughter version (which is far superior). I dunno it just felt like an odd weak album closer coming after 3 brilliant tracks 'Better Best Forgotten', 'Back To You' & 'Love U More'. '

 

As for 'Love U More' - I know I read it somewhere that it was planned as a single, but can't remember where.

 

I feel like a lot of people are misunderstanding my review of 'Back To You', I do like the track, I just don't think that its single material that's all, just a perfectly solid album track.

Edited August 30, 20222 yr by Nina West

Pop Unlimited YouTube channel has uploaded some Step One era performances/appearances:

 

Blue Peter:

 

 

Record of the Year 1998:

Not sure if I posted these before:

 

 

https://bringitallback.co.uk/pages/5678.php

 

Remastering the line-dancing smash hit 5, 6, 7, 8 presented a lot of challenges because the only available copies of the music video were on analogue tape known as Beta SP.

 

Analogue tape can lose a bit of quality every time it is copied - and 5, 6, 7, 8 had been copied a lot of times!

 

Shortly after its release in 1997, the record label decided to make some changes to the music video. The editors took the analogue tape into an edit suite, tinkered with it, and then put the improved video back on to analogue tape.

 

It looked fine in 1997 - but the resulting copy was not a great source to remaster in 2022.

 

So, we searched the Sony Music archive to find the original rushes from the music video shoot.

 

We found two Beta SP tapes with all the rushes from the shoot: the clearest copies of the material we could find.

 

We then recut the video shot-by-shot and cleaned up any dust, film scratches and tape sparkling before upscaling the video to high definition.

5, 6, 7, 8 was released 25 years ago! 10th November 1997.

Just saw this on instagram!

 

Happy 25th birthday to 5,6,7,8.

 

Where does the time go??

Happy 25th birthday 5,6,7,8. I still really like it.

Off topic but I didn’t realise 5,6,7,8 was released on the same day as All Saints hit Never Ever. I’m sure I saw that somewhere this morning that they were both celebrating 25 years today.

Wow, I feel officially old now

 

Happy birthday to this track that got everything started though :cheer:

It def makes me feel old but also reminds me of some great times.

25 years! Madness!

Forgot to mention that Heartbeat/Tragedy was released 24 years ago this week! 9th November 1998.

It would have been nice if they released Step One 25th anniversary edition.Clearly it's not happening but I would have liked that. It was highly successful album and everything from then was so big for them outside the album itself selling in huge numbers.

Its 25th anniversary isn't until September 2023 so maybe they (or Sony) will give it its own moment then! I think they're aware by now that fans want the first three albums on vinyl, so hopefully that'll be something that is considered.

Would be a nice way to bridge the gap between new material as well!