Are these in woolworths by anychance :P

 

They are so cheap at the moment, you might aswell get them WWTNS is pure pop genius, and Chemistry is really good aswell!

 

Woolworths :(

 

 

Their debut could have been stronger but as debuts go it wasnt bad and set things up nicely for the huge career they had ahead.

Life Got Cold was a big let down in quality after Sound of the Underground and No Good Advice which were both edgy and different to what other girl bands were delivering at that time in the charts.

I don't mind a bit of 'Life Got Cold', although I remember it got a lot of ridicule at the time (particularly from the Radio 1 DJs) for sounding a bit like 'Wonderwall'.

 

'You Freak Me Out' and 'Some Kind of Miracle' were at one point mooted to be singles on the release schedule, I can't recall if it was before or after 'Jump' though.

If I remember correctly, Some Kind of Miracle was going to be 4th but they went with Jump instead, and You Freak Me Out was meant to come out after Jump - they performed it on CD:UK and it was referred to by the host as their new single!

 

Apparently their second single was initially intended to be a Hear’Say unreleased left over track (If You Wanna Roll) but I’m not sure if that’s just a rumour, and if it was true it’s interesting that it went from single potential to not even making it onto the album.

Don't forget Don't Want You Back, Love Bomb and Everything You Ever Wanted from the original album, Jonjo! (+ the original mix of Some Kind of Miracle, which imo is superior to the updated mix).

 

This album came out before S Club split up so I don't think any of these tracks would have fallen on Rachel's lap at that point!

 

It's definitely puzzling that Sound of the Underground didn't become a blueprint for winners singles. As much as I don't actually mind Cannonball, Little Mix deserved a great original first single just like Girls Aloud.

Ooh thanks! I shall listen to them now. Don't think I've ever heard these ones, so these will be first listen rankings! Oh and Ik, r.e Rachel/S Club! Aha. That's why I suggested it as being the blueprint :lol:

 

Didn't know where else to put this so I'll just drop it here (if a mod has a more suitable/fresh topic for it, feel free to move there instead!)

 

But I'm doing a Girls Aloud album listen through (I've definitely hear every album at LEAST once - this is just a refresher as I only ever remember how much I like 'Tangled Up' & 'Out of Control' lol), so here is my thoughts on the 'Sound of the Underground' album:

 

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As we head into the album, I liked all the singles except 'Life Got Cold', which I find dreary, monotonous and quite frankly the dullest thing they've ever recorded. 'Sound of the Underground' always blows my mind when you think how successful it was and yet reality show winners have never been as daring to release a song quite to the same degree as their coronation winners single. I don't get why this wasn't the blueprint to continue the more risky singles choices. Classic. I think it's held up surprisingly strong too. 'No Good Advice' was a nice 2nd single choice, it's never been a favourite, but it's always been a reliable one to enjoy and 'Jump' is a lot of fun!

 

Why does 'Some Kind of Miracle' have a "Single Mix"? Was it planned to be one? I can see why tbh, I just wish it had gone a bit harder and had a lil bit more impact.

 

My Ranking:

1. Sound of the Underground

2. You Freak Me Out

3. Don't Want You Back

4. Jump

5. No Good Advice

6. Mars Attack

7. White Lies

8. All I Need (All I Don't)

9. Some Kind of Miracle

10. Stop

11. Forever and A Night

12. Everything You Ever Wanted

13. Boogie Down Love

14. Girls Allowed

15. Love Bomb

16. Girls On Film

17. Love / Hate

18. Life Got Cold

OMG I am loving 'Don't Want You Back'! That should've been the more downtempo single, not LGC! Omg. 'Love Bomb' is alright, a bit annoying though. Liking EYEW too. Pretty funky. Gives me slight "could have fit in on 'Spiceworld' album" vibes. That same kind of upbeat pop-funky number.

 

They were cute. I like DWYB a LOT though!

Some kind of miracle, dont want you back would have made better singles than the dreary life git cold.

I'm surprised with the hate Life Got Cold is getting in here! I've always loved the moody feel of the song and thought it's one of the strongest songs on the album and worked really well as a single (maybe not perfect for a summer release though). It did sound a lot more mature and 'them' than most of the other songs, which is also the problem I have with this album. It's a decent pop album, but a bit all over the place. The first two singles were SO strong and the rest cannot keep up. Maybe not that strange given it was released just a few months after they started but it really is all over the place without having a real identity or being cohesive. A song like You Freak Me Out could have easily be recorded by someone like Hilary Duff around that time, with that American pop-rock sound that doesn't really fit them.

I agree the album was rushed as it was released so quick after their formation but i get why they did that as they wanted to take advantage of the all the hype etc, ya im one of the haters of life got cold and always has been, maybe if i didnt love the first 2 singles as much as i did or do i would have taken to the song more but i just found it a complete wet blanket following its 2 predecessors.

I don't mind debut albums being "a bit all over the place" tbh (especially for reality TV show winners). I just see it as them trying to find a sound that works for them as they live off the hype of their first singles etc.. so I don't mind if the album itself isn't cohesive or whatever. As long as the majority of the songs click with me, it's fine and Idc. However, I do see it as more of an issue if they don't evolve with their follow ups etc.. (Girls Aloud, Leona and Little Mix are 3 prime examples of how it should be done tbh)

Life Got Cold is great, you guys just suck tbh x

I don't mind debut albums being "a bit all over the place" tbh (especially for reality TV show winners). I just see it as them trying to find a sound that works for them as they live off the hype of their first singles etc.. so I don't mind if the album itself isn't cohesive or whatever. As long as the majority of the songs click with me, it's fine and Idc. However, I do see it as more of an issue if they don't evolve with their follow ups etc.. (Girls Aloud, Leona and Little Mix are 3 prime examples of how it should be done tbh)

 

Overall I agree, the danger of having a brilliant debut is the follow ups never measure up, if you release a good debut it's enough to keep fans happy, progression on second album and so on helps widen the fanbase. I think Olly Murs managed this really well especially with his first three albums.

 

The album sounds pretty cohesive to me, very inspired by the 80s and the rise of indie music. I'd say their next album properly established 'their' sound, but you can definitely hear the blueprints of it here. I actually prefer this album to the follow-up. Special shoutouts to 'All I Need (All I Don't)' and 'White Lies'.

 

I'm curious as to who sings the chorus on 'Forever and a Night'. You can hear Nadine for sure but I don't recognise any of the other girls' vocals at all.

I always thought 'All I Need (All I Don't)' and this sounded eerily similar:

 

 

Are they by the same producer?

Wow they do sound the same! They are indeed by the same producers, Peters & Peters.

It's not entirely unheard of producers re-using the same backing track when something "just" ends up being an album track and they might've felt it could've done more. I'm guessing they literally just spruced up the original instrumental and wrote new lyrics.

I actually love this album, it's not the greatest but it's cohesive and catchy as hell. SOTU and NGA advice are the clear stand out singles from the first edition, Jump was obviously an excellent choice from the re-release, I am surprised at the hate Life Got Cold is getting though I thought / think it was a great track again different from most girl bands out there (perhaps a bit Sugababesy but then I think SOTU is Sugababesy aswell)... Some Kind of Miracle was a bit of a missed opportunity at the time, although I don't think it aged as well as the other songs so in the long run probably not.

I've always loved Some Kind of Miracle and would've been happy if it were a part of their single discography! The single mix is :heart:

 

I like this album, it's definitely their weakest but I have a load of memories with it and it's still very good pop music, they just went on to improve and progress beyond the foundations they laid with this. I think the single choices were spot on, surprised at the Life Got Cold hate in here as I've always loved that one! It'd probably be low top 20 if I were to rank their singles but that says more about the quality of the rest.

Life Got Cold is bottom end of their singles discography for me too but it definitely says a lot about the standard of their music. I enjoy it whenever I hear it as it’s quite different for them, never thought of it being Sugababes-esque but I can definitely see the similarity now.

I actually love this album, it's not the greatest but it's cohesive and catchy as hell. SOTU and NGA advice are the clear stand out singles from the first edition, Jump was obviously an excellent choice from the re-release, I am surprised at the hate Life Got Cold is getting though I thought / think it was a great track again different from most girl bands out there (perhaps a bit Sugababesy but then I think SOTU is Sugababesy aswell)... Some Kind of Miracle was a bit of a missed opportunity at the time, although I don't think it aged as well as the other songs so in the long run probably not.

 

I do forget there was a reissue, on the week of the reissue where did the album peak does anyone know?

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by Feel_The_Fever