Posted February 3, 200718 yr http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drp200/p240/p240453h3u3.jpg Sugababes Biography by MacKenzie Wilson & Andy Kellman Multi-ethnic U.K. trio Sugababes jumped aboard the teen pop bandwagon prior to the new millennium and exuded their own sassy demeanor without the frivolity of most mainstream acts. Siobhan Donaghy, Keisha Buchanan, and Mutya Buena were barely in their teens when they formed in 1998, sharing a liking of garage, hip-hop, and dance music. Initially, Sugababes were three friends who enjoyed singing along to the radio. Buchanan and Buena had been pals since primary school, and a chance meeting with Donaghy molded a fierce bond. A career in music wasn't intentional, yet a deal with London surfaced in 2000. Studio time with producer Cameron McVey (All Saints, Pete Tong) led to One Touch, which was released during the summer of 2001 and featured a dozen tracks co-written by the girls, including the smash hit "Overload." Sales didn't meet London's expectations. The group was subsequently dropped. During the fall of 2001, rumors swirled about Donaghy's departure. Buena and Buchanan denied that Donaghy was kicked out of the group, but she was nonetheless out after a four-year run. Heidi Range, one of the pre-chart members of Atomic Kitten, became her replacement, and Angels with Dirty Faces — the group's second album — was released through a new deal with Island by the end of 2002. The Richard X-produced "Freak Like Me," a cover of Adina Howard's 1995 R&B hit that featured a bolstered version of Tubeway Army's "Are Friends Electric" as its backdrop, debuted as a number one hit in the U.K. The Xenomania-produced "Round Round" followed suit with identical success. Three, released in late 2003, fittingly topped out at number three on the U.K. album chart. It spawned another U.K. number one, "Hole in the Head," which even managed to scrape the Hot 100 in the U.S. and hit the top of the same country's dance chart. Amazingly, the group was never given much of a push stateside. Taller in More Ways, the fourth album, followed roughly two years later and eclipsed the group's already successful run by reaching the top of the U.K. album chart. Shortly after its release, Buena left the group on good terms, citing personal persons. Amelle Berrabah's entry into the group prompted a re-release of Taller that featured her vocals on a handful of cuts; Buena's work was left intact on a few others. The album eventually gained platinum status. Overloaded: The Singles Collection was out by the end of 2006.
February 3, 200718 yr Author http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf400/f467/f46716lkaoe.jpg One Touch (Jun 26, 2001) 3.5 Stars (7 out of 10) Review by Dean Carlson Less sculpted than Steps, not as gaudy as Destiny's Child, and, if you can believe it, far more of an awkward, provocative outfit than just about any logical peer, the Sugababes didn't so much usher in the suffused post-millennium market for myopic pop as give it a much-needed kiss of nubile soul. Clearly 16-year-olds Keisha Buchanan, Siobhan Donaghy, and Mutya Buena have been weaned on Madonna and Aaliyah records, taking from them their feminist assurance and passion, but they remind us of a valuable lesson — if you're going to hew melodious, structurally accessible songs out of cold dub and rock, it really helps to use actual feeling and sincerity, and hang on to every shaky personal trait that got you there in the first place. From the Reebok Matterhorn-rumble of "Overload" to the petal-plucking Bangles cheval glass of "Soul Sound" and on to the nocturnal, string-doused pop-wonderland-with-trenchant-garage-middle-bit that's "Run for Cover," the jitters of youth are here though tempered by shrewd ambition and a clever and unpredictable production aesthetic. As alarmingly undeveloped LPs go, One Touch is everything a post-Spice Girls teen pop debut should be — discreet, adolescent, and as unstudied as a late-night phone call about boys.
February 3, 200718 yr Author http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf700/f702/f70205k0x9d.jpg Angels with Dirty Faces (Aug 26, 2002) 4.5 Stars (9 out of 10) Review by Andy Kellman One of the best pop albums of 2002 wasn't released in the U.S. If that's not dropping the ball, then what is? An assured and durable follow-up to 2001's formative One Touch, which still packed a number of singles that gave the group a great deal of success overseas, Angels With Dirty Faces is a thoroughly convincing amalgamation of the artists they've been weaned on — from Madonna to TLC to Aaliyah — with a strong foothold in contemporary trends. A bootleg mash-up of Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" and Gary Numan's "Are Friends Electric" led to the group's own spin on the trick, and it landed them the top spot on the U.K. chart. Using a beefed-up arrangement of Numan's robotic new-wave tune, the Sugababes lift Howard's forthright lyrics — somewhat sheepishly, the "pump pump" that precedes "all through the night" is subsumed in the mix — and weave the two elements together for a powerful and immensely catchy opening to the album. At no point during the remainder of the first half does the album lose steam. The verses of "Blue" are backed by jutting electronic beats that stutter and twist, while the chorus unwraps a tempo shift carrying an unexpectedly strummy quality. "Round Round," another hit that put the group on Top of the Pops, is something Garbage would no doubt love to have in their own catalog. Apart from a couple bum moments during the second half of the album — see "Shape," a misguided re-configuration of Sting's "Shape of My Heart," replete with a literally patched-on appearance from the man himself — this is a pop album that offers much more depth and excitement beyond the singles.
February 3, 200718 yr Author http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drg100/g169/g16931m6var.jpg Three (Oct 27, 2003) 3.5 Stars (7 out of 10) No Review :(
February 3, 200718 yr Author http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drh100/h120/h12081adb3s.jpg Taller in More Ways (Oct 11, 2005) 4 Stars (8 out of 10) No Review :(
February 3, 200718 yr Author http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dri100/i193/i19391rb6df.jpg Overloaded: The Singles Collection (Nov 13, 2006) 4.5 Stars (9 out of 10) Review by Andy Kellman During the seven-year span covered on Overloaded, Sugababes released four albums and 16 singles, while they lost — and replaced — two members. Twelve of those singles, in addition to a pair of new songs, make up the disc. It's an ideal introduction to the group since its four omissions (three of which made up their formative debut) were the four lowest-performing chart-wise, and it just so happens that they were also the least memorable of the bunch. Each of the 12 songs that form the basis of the disc placed in the U.K.'s Top Ten; four of them reached the very top, from the Richard X-produced "Freak Like Me" to the Dallas Austin-produced "Push the Button" — two of the most clever and suggestive pop singles of the decade. "Good to Be Gone" and "Easy," the first two completely new songs recorded with Amelle Berrabah, indicate that the group hasn't lost any of its momentum. Unfortunately, despite their tremendous amount of appeal and popularity across Europe, they've never been given much of a chance in the States. A domestic issue of Three was planned and then scrapped, though "Hole in the Head" and "Round Round" did impact the dance charts.
February 4, 200718 yr Cheers TIP, brilliant reviews :D Overload was named by NME as the 7th best single of 2000 and Freak Like Me as the 7th best of 2002 aswell
