Piers

I agree with the unpopular opinion on here that the solo songs could have a place. It's not like I think they should perform songs that barely made a ripple on the charts. It's just...it's a UK festival...and they straight up had a few of a given year's biggest hits as solo artists. If they're sitting on eight number one singles as solo performers...why not perform some of them? When I saw the Rolling Stones, they did their solo hits...and they're obviously far more famous as a group. I actually think it'd be really cool to see the full group do some of the solo hits. I'll do a Glastonbury setlist just based on what I think would get a crowd revved up the most. I'll do it as if Victoria isn't there. Also. I'll throw in a few guest appearances by people I think they could plausibly get. 1. Spice Up Your Life 2. Stop 3. Say You'll Be There 4. When You're Gone (appearance by Bryan Adams...duet with Mel C) 5. What Took You So Long (full group performance) 6. Mama 7. Too Much 8. Holler 9. I Want You Back (appearance by Missy Elliott...rearranged to make it more of a duet with Mel B) 10. Never Be The Same Again (full group...Missy Elliott performs rap in tribute to Left Eye) 11. instrumental dancer interlude - Out Of Your Mind 12. Never Give Up On The Good Times 13. Look At Me/It's Raining Men medley (full group performance) 14. I Turn To You (full group performance) 15. 2 Become 1 16. Pure Shores (appearance by All Saints alongside the Spice Girls) 17. Goodbye 18. Viva Forever 19. Who Do You Think You Are 20. Wannabe

I'm not naive enough to believe we're getting an album. But. Just saying...in some alternate universe, this lineup would be pretty close to what I'd choose out of her unreleased material for an album 4. I realize the jury's still a bit out on the songs we didn't hear in full, but this seems to mostly do a good job of weeding out the weaker songs on the 2016 album leak. I'd just keep the original mix of Man on the Mountain...and add Phenomenal Woman. I'd also add Back in Business...but that's just because I pointlessly carry a candle for a song that Geri probably dumped and promptly forgot years ago.

The US dance chart is a somewhat odd thing, though. This is the same chart where Mel C had success with I Turn To You...and Mel B's For Once In My Life got to #2. I know the chart description says that it's a national survey of club disc jockeys of the most played songs of the week. But. I don't know. Even though she struggles on the Billboard charts now, nearly every song Madonna has released in the past ten years has ended up at #1 on that chart. I'm not much of a club person. But I do have to wonder...were four different Madame X songs honestly the most played songs in American clubs for a week? Was For Once In My Life honestly the second most played song in American clubs at one time? Like I said. By and large, I wasn't there. Maybe they were. I just figured the crowds would be requesting remixes of the Billboard hits.

I apparently went on a whole ramble about the song in September 2019 without actually saying where I think it should have charted. Uh. Some similar stuff made the lower top 10 around that time. So. I'll go with that, I guess. Even though I like it, it doesn't command attention as an album launcher like Look At Me and It's Raining Men did. But. I will say...I do find the radio blacklisting she experienced to be really annoying. She had four solo number ones and another four top tens at that point. Her chart placings back then *always* far outperformed her level of radio support. Technically, that trend continued with Desire as her support was zilch. I guess we'll never know what happened in the biz, and if she just stepped on the wrong toes in the industry or what. But I don't like that her success was promptly ended by some forces in radio basically saying "okay, sweetie. We think you're done now."

Yeah. I was wondering what conversations were going on in her team that made her decide to stop the hangovers. My guess is her team noticed the reactions were getting pretty negative to the talking over the songs...and they'd rather just yank them down than recut them. There's also the possibility she had a crew contracted to edit all the videos a while back. They're done...and recutting isn't an option. So...choose not to post rather than deal with the comments section again? I guess it's also possible they're testing the water to see if the views for the Sunday videos would go up with only one post a week. She's close to 30K views on the latest vid...which is quite a bit more than any of her videos since the one she delivers boxes of...something?...to healthcare workers.

Was the US Maybe release another remix? I seem to vaguely remember that. Anyway. I'd agree with you that was probably Simon's US plan of attack. But I'd find that approach to be muddled as she wasn't doing anything to push herself in the dance direction. She was performing the regular versions of the songs and talking in interviews about loving the album's 60s sound. Also, if the Free Me remix had somehow actually taken off, it would have been something of a bait-and-switch for anyone buying the album based off the remix...and finding the album was nothing like it.

^ Yup! In the US, I think she also did a performance on a short-lived Tony Danza talk show. As great as the album is...and as wonderful as the era's videos are, her team's strategy in the US was super weird. What was released to American radio/MTV was a dance remix of Free Me...which wasn't at all indicative of the album. (the only place I ever saw/heard it was in an ad on The TV Guide Channel) Then, she didn't even perform that version of the song on shows...instead doing the original. As far as I can remember, no version of Maybe was ever released, though we did get that one performance on The View. I was always a little disappointed in it...because despite the stage in front of a larger American audience, the performance, energy, and general fabulousness feels scaled down from her UK appearances (this was also true of Geri's US Look at Me performances...the full set of dancers not have passports?). Ultimately, I wish her team just had the confidence to give Maybe and Free Me a fair shot. They may not have taken off, but it wasn't too long after this that a few Brits got US hits off 60s-sounding songs. So. Anyway. The interview bookings, they mostly got it right...though it was an oddball move to put her on ultra-conservative Fox News. This publicity tour also saw yet another disastrous "Spice Girl goes on Howard Stern" appearance...

Uhhh. I think Mel B...mostly...jumps the gun. But there have been cases I'd consider...wishful thinking. I can't remember the literal litany of things Mel B has claimed over the years. But I could give a few that I don't think were ever truly in the cards. In 2001, she claimed the group would continue releasing Forever singles in 2002. Knowing the behind-the-scenes of this now, this definitely wasn't ever true. After the first reunion tour, Mel claimed she was recording a song with Janet Jackson and that she'd join her on tour. Janet's reps basically laughed this off as absurd. (she also said she was working with Missy again during this time...but I'll accept that as more plausible) Then, there was Mel's claim that the full group would be at the royal wedding. Anyway. A lot of it's harmless. Mel claiming GEM is about to choose and release their single may not...totally be in the pipeline, but it raises her profile for a moment. Nobody (except for fans) seem to remember those claims or hold her to it. But. Stuff like the Janet Jackson and royal wedding claims are so easily disprovable...I think its a little embarrassing. I also have to assume it's not great for the group dynamics that nothing can be discussed in private without Mel telling it to the world (...like the announcement to an entire stadium about an Australian tour)

With Right Back At Ya, I still think it's worthy of being on the album. But...there are things that irrationally irk me about it. It probably bothers me more than it should...that Emma's ad-libs are copied and pasted from the first chorus to the second. I also don't like the vocal rearrangements of some of the verses...mainly Victoria's "...taste of what we all can achieve" and "...dreams into our reality". The fanbase had already been listening to the live RBAY for ten months at this point...and the album version has never sounded right to me. I do think the chorus is the stuff of a classic pop gem, which is why I'd say it still belongs on the album...though I think the Darkchild team did a lazy job with it. The leaked pop version sounds incomparably better to my ears. I'd agree that version wouldn't fit naturally with the rest of Forever as it is. But if there was insistence on giving all the new material an American vibe, I actually think Jam n' Lewis would have done a much better job in updating the sound but letting the song keep its spirit.

I'd be really curious to know the behind-the-scenes discussions about the future of Forever. Obviously, Emma was really vocal about liking IYWHSF. Mel B even claimed at the time that Weekend Love was her favorite off the album. I remember the old Worldpop site had an article in 2001 claiming Victoria was pushing for a release of Oxygen (though...there was so much fake stuff floating around at that time, I'm not sure of the validity of this one). But ultimately, I think the only time any of them explicitly suggested a further Forever single was Mel C with Time Goes By. To her credit, she didn't back off of it. She continued to compliment the song years later during her Reason promo. Anyway. I guess someone within Virgin had to have had the conversation about Tell Me Why being next...since remixes were created (and fairly strong remixes, at that). What's kinda interesting in retrospect is that what should have been an obvious tabloid talker in 2000 was just about completely missed; Is Tell Me Why about Geri? Instead, all the focus was on the Westlife chart battle and Mel C throwing daggers at half the names in pop. I remember the really popular rumor that Tell Me Why was getting an animated video because the group didn't want to be overexposed. Which. Being overexposed was the least of the group's worries at that moment. Of course, I'm not sure the animated video thing was ever really true, but I consider it plausible. It could have possibly been leaked out by Virgin PR as they tried to sell an album by a group who couldn't be bribed to be in the same room together at that point.

Yeah. I remember Mel C being really supportive of Time Goes By. Her opinions during the Forever era were a really odd thing, though. She was throwing her support behind a Time Goes By release...when she otherwise didn't want to have anything to do with the group. Meanwhile, it wasn't long before she was publicly stating that she didn't like If You Wanna Have Some Fun. After Goodbye and Holler, IYWHSF is easily my next favorite of the album. Meanwhile, Time Goes By is the only album track they did that I don't like (didn't like it on release...and it's never grown on me after 20 years). Furthermore, I actually think it's the least flattering Mel C's ever sounded on one of the group's album tracks. Her verses are fine. But her ad-libs over the chorus (a-uh-aaand I knoooow!)...just strike me as trying too hard. Not my taste. But. Keeping in mind, in that era, Mel was also sacrificing time that could have been spent promoting Holler/Forever...promoting If That Were Me instead. And that, IMO, was easily the weakest track of Northern Star. So. Yeah. She had some interesting opinions.

I love how this video starts with Geri being stunned that a butterfly is real...inside a butterfly farm. Dear... Anyway. I'm glad Without Love has finally shown up. It's probably in my top three of her recent unreleased songs. It's a gorgeous song and, I think...maybe even my favorite of her solo ballads? This version in the video definitely has some different lyrics to the version we know from the leak. I like this second song too...and I'm glad to hear a newer song be upbeat and fun. She has a tendency to lean toward the introspective songs now. I'm glad to see the occasional little flash of the old Geri now and then. I still have no idea what to make of this YouTube page, but I honestly do think she has a strong set of songs she's teasing (...which will likely remain as teases...)

Any of their lyrics ever left you a little confused? Thought I'd start a topic for us to discuss a few songs. I figure a lot of their songs are just straight-up fun, so I'm not looking for much depth in, say, Spice Up Your Life. But other songs...I do think they're out to say something...I just don't totally follow it. Probably my #1 case is Northern Star. I know the song is overall about navigating fame, but the meaning of the verses lose me a bit. Wanted to see what you all think. "They tried to catch a falling star..." I've always taken the opening lines to be about a celeb who cracked to the pressures of fame. "If all the history is true, she's gonna end up just like you. You made it to the other side..." So. Is the implication here that the celeb who cracked will eventually stabilize...just like the unknown celeb (?) that Mel is apparently singing to? (as a side note, Mel C recently shot down the rumor this song is about a conversation with Mel B) "But tell me who will be my guide?" At this point to me, Mel sounds like she's seeking the mentorship of the unknown celeb. However, the following lines seem to reverse the roles. Mel is suddenly the mentor starting with "they build you up" and in the chorus...giving advice about surviving fame, rather than being the person seeking mentorship. Is she singing from the perspective of the unknown celeb? Is the song a conversation between two people? Two different narrators? Also. The second verse after the first chorus confuses things for me a bit more...as it's suddenly about love between two people rather than strictly about navigating fame. Anyway. Thoughts on it? Like I said, I get the overall message about fame. I'm just lost on the meaning of verses. Any other interpretations? Any songs you've always wanted to clear up?

I thought that was odd too. Also odd she'd choose to reuse one of the only of her new songs that we have through a legitimate means...and not a leak. Maybe she'll reuse a few songs and just cut out/talk over different parts of it this time? I do wish it were a new song every week just because she hasn't done a showcase of a few of her stronger unreleased tracks...namely Without Love, Deep Down, Back in Business (if she didn't throw that in the trash heap), and Phenomenal Woman. I feel Phenomenal Woman may be too lively for the rather subdued Geri of this YouTube page. But it'd be wonderfully bonkers if she'd do that song over video of an elephant. Anyway. This week's video. It's fine. Some of the these remind me a lot of little lifestyle shows I see on local TV stations. The host goes on a series of adventures and might cook something or visit an animal or whatever. Those shows are typically just showcases for their sponsors, though...and I'm not sure who watches them...outside of...y'know...nursing homes. Her numbers have really dropped. Starting out with 120K views...and now at around 2K. I feel she might liven things up if she were to do the same kinds of live fan Q and As that Melanie C does.

I guess part of the fun for these celebs is seeing if they can disguise themselves from the judges. But. Honestly, I wish she'd just come strutting out...sang in her comfort zone...and maybe slayed some 80s rock song or something. I don't think she sounded bad or anything, per se. Probably starting with her being miscast in Rent, I've felt like every time she's sung on her own, it's been uncomfortably out of her range. I feel this way about Rent, LA State of Mind, the times she sang on It's a Scary Life, For Once in My Life (though I like the song), some of the Chicago recordings I've heard, and now this. In the past 20 years, I think she's only truly shined as the amazing performer on stage she is...when she was with the Spice Girls...ROTSG tour, Olympics, 2019 tour. Anyway. Like I said, I don't think she was bad here or anything. I didn't watch this full episode, but I do think she would've gone home first week doing this on the US version. It's less about having an amazing voice on this show than it is coming to entertain. This was too subdued, and I don't think her showing some moves would have given away who she is. But. Credit where it's due. She DID sing live...and I'm convinced most of the acts on the US version are performing to a recording.

And now Geri's bonding with an elephant. Naturally.

If I'm being honest, I think Today's lucky to have charted as well as it did. The song's fine, and the horns toward the end are cute...but it's just not a commercial song by design. Did anybody play the music video in the UK? Cause...the video, I really can't defend. I get that it's a low-budget affair. But. My world is surrounded by videographers...and...the Today video is really, really bad. She wouldn't have to spend a ton to get something far better. The awkward editing...the weird plant in front of her face at one point...it's just...not good. Anyway. Looking at the album as a whole, In Too Deep is really pretty and is my clear favorite of the album. I wish she'd sprung some money to get some decent producers. I get she'd have to go lower profile than her team on Hot. With the right producer, I actually think Bad, Bad Girl could be quite a bop...giving it the proper 80s-throwback treatment. "He said he'd leeeeeave" has the makings of a solid pop chorus...but it's sunk under the album's really tacky production and unflattering vocals. Likewise, I cringe at the opening of Music of the Night...sounding like music being sold in a tourist trap gift shop. It's a weird thought looking back...this album came not even nine years after Wannabe. Just over four years after Feels So Good sold rather well. I wish some legit label had still been willing to take a chance on her. The production on this doesn't sound like someone who was still on board big hits just a few years before...

So. I know everything we're saying in here is total speculation...but...I actually would rather like it if she'd do The Masked Singer in the US. I realize she's pretty unlikely to travel over here during COVID. But. In the event life somewhat returns to normal in the next year, I'd love it if she did it. The show's a huge hit here. Massive audience. And honestly, I think Mel C easily has the smallest profile of the five girls in the US. In the Spices' big US heyday of 1997/1998, I always felt their fame was very much as a group...and a lot less so as individual members. I actually think Victoria and Mel B became better known as individuals here starting with their 2007 projects...than they were in the 90s. Emma's done a few things on US TV. I guess Geri has some residual fame from being the one who left. Mel C's done comparatively little to be known individually in the US. Granted, there are some drawbacks. I'm sure some contestants are having to swallow their pride. Living legend Patti LaBelle only came in 8th in her season...with the people beating her including a basketball player. I also cringe at the memory of the judge panel speculating that an alien definitely wasn't a singer...and then it turned out to be LaToya Jackson. But if Mel can really go in there and crush it, would be nice to see her trending here for a bit.

Honestly, I've never understood why people didn't like it so much. I think the reviews of the time were so needlessly nasty that it somewhat tainted the perception. Yahoo's review called her a bronchial sea lion. As per usual with solo Spices, the write-ups made it sound like the music was shockingly inept..without showing much evidence they actually listened to the album at all. My thoughts? I think Love Never Loved Me is the best thing she ever did solo. I like it even better than the similar Sorry by Madonna...which would land at #1 a few months after Passion was released. I think the title track is the best Geri ever sounded...and is a better, more flattering showcase for her voice than Mel B or Victoria ever got to have in their solo careers. After that, I think Feel the Fear and Let Me Love You More are very strong...and Ride It is extremely likable. I even think Superstar (which seems to be universally disliked by everyone except for...me?) has a classic pop chorus. There's a little fluff (Surrender Your Groove), but I don't think any of it's bad. I'll defend the album, but there are things about the era that I don't love. The Ride It video and performances were amateur-hour. Most of her previous singles honestly did have well-thought out campaigns...especially Look At Me and It's Raining Men. But Ride It was content to have people just doing silly choreography in bargain bin afro wigs. Her GAY performance of Ride It, in particular, was a mess...with her spending half of it fiddling with a microphone that wasn't even on anyway. Desire's video fared a little better...but it was a pretty weird decision to base it off Catwoman...which had been the previous year's biggest critical and commercial flop. So. Yeah. The music I like, but the others elements weren't clicking.

This week's video is nice. She's delivering presents to frontline healthcare workers who are treating COVID patients. Two thoughts. Firstly...a little unusual she's driving around in a Rainbow Woman van. The logo's nice enough and everything...but. Why does it need a van? I guess it'd make more sense to me if Rainbow Woman was some clothing brand (that's what the logo looks like to me). But as a logo just promoting a YouTube page? Well. Okay. Maybe her crew carries their equipment around in it? Secondly, I got kinda hung up on wanting to know what she was delivering to everybody. All we ever see are their wrapped packages she's dropping off. So. It's kinda like...what did you get everyone? Why, "presents"! Um. Oh. The video's nice enough, though. I like it better than the skiing video from last week. My initial thought about the series was that it'd be about Geri challenging herself with new things. But I've come to realize she's actually just doing a showcase of existing hobbies. And some of that (the skiing) can come off a bit mundane. But. Look. Giving the spotlight to frontline healthcare workers is always a positive. Seems like I Got A Name will be the song of the week.

And yes, I have fond memories of the girls tied to Christmases as well. They didn't explode in America until 1997, but I remember listening to their first two albums that Christmas...blaring Goodbye/Sisters/We Are Family as I unwrapped presents in 1998...and even playing Northern Star a lot in Christmas 1999 (the song's always sounded very wintry to me). I honestly don't love the Christmas songs they recorded as a group. The talking parts of Sleigh Ride sound like they were recorded in a bathroom or something. The version without them talking is a little better...but it's not an especially interesting take on the song. With Christmas Wrapping, I like the production...but I just think the song is awkward...like it's got too many words. I heard the girls' version before the original. I figured it was something they cranked out quickly...and was really surprised to learn it's a cover. I also think it'd be better with the full group ("oh DAMN, guess what I forgot?" should be a Mel B line). I realize Mel B and Victoria were pregnant...but they were still doing quite a lot of promo as a four piece after Christmas Wrapping was recorded. A studio session would have been less effort than all that. Actually, the 1999 live Christmas medley was the time I think they performed the right material for them. It's loud. Fun. Quirky. Those songs fit them perfectly. Granted, the audio's not perfect, some vocals sound like they're turned too low, and Mel B flat-out forgets the words. But had they really nailed it, I wish that live recording could have lived on as a staple of Christmas-time radio.

I've had this thought too. They did kinda sorta have a song out near Christmas 1999...with that Artists for Children's Promise cover of It's Only Rock n' Roll. It was out a week earlier than the big push for the Christmas #1...but considering the level of talent rounded up for that thing, they might have expected it to have some staying power on the charts (it didn't). Side note. Just listened to it again for the first time in ages. I'm glad it was for a good cause...but that version is unlistenable chaos. Also weird to know there's a video out there that features both the Spices and Kid Rock so prominently. I used to see Kid out eating french fries quite a lot. Anyway. Is there a song we think should have been their attempt at a Christmas number one? The ballads that were recorded in the fall of 1999 were Let Love Lead The Way, Oxygen, and A Day In Your Life. One of those? I have wondered if any of them were created with the thought of a possible Christmas release. Certainly this crossed someone's mind. A Day In Your Life, in particular, sounds a bit to me like an attempt at that. I've thought they may have skipped it...not wanting to release a track so close to the charity track where they're featured. Might not be a good look? Taking on Westlife might not have been easy for them either.

This one's actually my favorite of the videos so far. I've felt all along that Geri needed other personalities to bounce off of...and this video proves it. The interactions with Bluebell and Monte sell this video better than the ones that have come before. Bluebell should be in all of these (...and I'd add her mom too). Before this video, I never totally grasped the significance of Geri's past eating disorders...contrasted with her interest in baking today. It's an interesting personal journey. I wouldn't have expected a video about baking to be more interesting than climbing a mountain or driving a tank...but here we are. I'll complain less about the lyric video this time. Of course, Hallelujah is one we've heard before, but unlike the Man on the Mountain tracks, I've never considered it a leak. Her co-writer/producer uploaded the song to Youtube years ago with Geri's approval...so this one's always felt more legitimate. And I've always liked the song too. I wonder why they decided to move the lyric videos to Sunday rather than Tuesday....

To my ears, all of their solo albums had songs worthy of being hits up until LA State of Mind (...which just isn't a commercial album by design). There may be other artists who got attacked by UK publications about as much. I'm guessing people like Michael Jackson and Madonna probably did. But. I do quite seriously think no other artists in history were analyzed so much for their chart performances as the Spices. I was looking through the old Spicenews archives the other day...and it's bizarre reading articles from late 2000. They claim that solo success has alluded Emma and Victoria...when both of them had #2 singles by that point. Victoria's was even the 21st best selling single of the year in the UK. And yet...it was still a disaster? What other artist has been held to this standard? You look at the chart placings for major pop acts that followed; Girls Aloud, One Direction, Little Mix. They, of course, had big hits...but their chartings are kinda all over the place. One single does well. One does less well. It continues. A song charting outside the top ten doesn't spell near-certain doom for a career in the way it did for the solo Spices in the early days. Anyway. All that is to say there was a bit of an uncommon harshness in the write-ups for the Spices' music that, I think, inevitably impacted their longterm music careers.

Oh wow. I haven't heard this before either. I like the remix...and it's a reminder this was a really good song that was pretty open to interpretations. I'm not opposed to a rap on this remix, though I don't love the lyrics of this one. It kinda follows Sophisticated Lady, Pack Your Shit, and ABC123 as songs by major producers...with a no-name featured on it. As for I've Got My Eye On You...what we've heard is definitely a demo, but I do like it. It has that Scary Spice vibe of several of her early solo recordings. I wish she'd kept it as its so clearly a Mel B song...unlike more generic "this could be by anybody" stuff like Hell No and ABC123. It seems Hot went on a fairly similar trajectory to Forever. Both times, she worked with the group's original collaborators...only to dump the material in favor of American producers...though the Darkchild team still produced one song written from the British sessions (Lullaby for Hot...Right Back At Ya for Forever)