Looking back the split did come at the right time as they went out on a high which made the comeback easier i think. I do sometimes wonder though what a follow up album to Buzz would have sounded like back then as with that album you could see a change of direction which at the time i wasn't fully on board with but now i actually like the album alot more and would prefer it at the moment prefer to steptacular although step one would be far ahead of both. Overall though im much happier than that baby dont dance wasnt a single as i really dont think it was strong enough.

Looking back the split did come at the right time as they went out on a high which made the comeback easier i think. I do sometimes wonder though what a follow up album to Buzz would have sounded like back then as with that album you could see a change of direction which at the time i wasn't fully on board with but now i actually like the album alot more and would prefer it at the moment prefer to steptacular although step one would be far ahead of both. Overall though im much happier than that baby dont dance wasnt a single as i really dont think it was strong enough.

 

I do think Steptacular is (quite) full of Step One cast offs. There’s only maybe… three songs that are the exception to that…

Its a far enough point, from their 3 albums back then, its def the one that hasnt aged aswell.

Steptacular is a more cohesive album than Step One, for me. Step One is really dragged down by Experienced, Too Weak to Resist and to a lesser extent, Stay with Me. This Heart Will Love Again & Back to You are very good, but far and away the highlight album track Love U More imo.

 

I think they honed the overall Steps sound with Steptacular. All of the solo moments on there managed to avoid coming anyway close to being as tragic as Experienced, so that’s a plus! Movin’ On, Never Say Never & I Surrender are some of their catchiest album tracks in their discography. I will say that I’m belatedly very surprised that their team considered Just Like the First Time to only be worthy of international bonus track & eventual UK B Side status. If it was a standard track on Steptacular it would be the one of the highlights!

 

Buzz was a bit of deviation from the sound they’d honed. Some of the production (particularly on the album tracks) is a very “turn of the millennium” sound with bleepy bloopy production that unfortunately doesn’t hold up well today. Thankfully the whole album isn’t like that though.

 

Obviously this discussion has strayed from Baby Don’t Dance (and I’m still a bit surprised by how poorly it’s received here. I listened to every single Steps song over the past three days, and I do think it stands above a significant chunk of their first 3 albums of material, even if it doesn’t reach the highs of a few of the singles).

It's def better than some album tracks but there is also far better songs from those albums than it. Leaving light up the world out all their studio albums are great and in some cases some album tracks were better than the singles mainly the slowies as I call them. Baby don't dance I prefer to most of their ballads but I prefer all their upbeat singles and many albums to it.

I definitely agree that them splitting when they did meant they have been able to enjoy the career they have now. Although Steps were a bit more of an albums seller than their peers of the time which also helps them I think and the fact they have always had the same line up never deviating from that.

To be fair to them they were great album sellers which did give more punch to the comeback and having all members reuniting was great as so many bands from that era tried reforming without a member or having a different line up which makes it harder on the comeback trial, to be fair Blue are another one who have united with all members.

From the little I’ve heard of their comeback stuff though, Blue aren’t trying to/haven’t successfully managed to recreate their sound (in my view anyway.)

Was BDD a PWL song? If it wasn’t, they were contracted to include one as the b-side so we may have got an additional track had they released it.

 

Just wishing things were different, don’t mind me haha!

From the little I’ve heard of their comeback stuff though, Blue aren’t trying to/haven’t successfully managed to recreate their sound (in my view anyway.)

I agree they are trying to be more modern with the times but it doesn't fully work but it's all members have stayed with the band. STEPS reform worked for me as they came back knowing who they were and what they wanted and kept the sound that made them but also freshened it up.