Dear Poptastic Readers,
Twenty years after the release of their third and final studio album Forever, the Spice Girls have thrilled fans by finally issuing the album on vinyl for the first time ever. Historically, this is an album that has been overlooked by many – being the least successful of their studio albums and the only album to be released by the group as a four-piece. This reissue brings with it an opportunity for a long-overdue celebration of an album that was widely mispresented by the music press at the time of release.
By late 2000, the Spice Girls had not released any new music as a group for nearly two years, yet they had still remained active in the UK charts as solo artists (particularly Melanie C, who was riding high off the success of her debut album Northern Star). Although long-awaited by fans, Forever unfortunately arrived at a time when the UK media in particular had already been saturated by the Spice Girls. The fact that the album was released only four weeks after Melanie B’s debut solo album Hot demonstrates that there was little opportunity to build momentum for a new group release at that time.
Forever was a very different album from Spiceworld that had landed three years earlier. Not only had Geri since departed the group, two of the group were now mothers and they were now working with renowned US producers Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Each Spice Girl had also forayed in the music scene as a solo artist, challenging themselves as performers, singers, and songwriters. This had all resulted in a slicker, more mature sound from the collective – heavily drawing on their R&B influences with a more polished production style and a distinct focus on demonstrating their improved vocal capabilities. A vast departure from the more eclectic pop soundscape of 1997’s Spiceworld album.
However, this was not an “R&B” album as many reported at the time. The familiar pop melodies of both Spice and Spiceworld are still evident in tracks such as “Right Back At Ya” and “Weekend Love”, as well as in the more traditional Spice ballads “Goodbye”, “Let Love Lead The Way’, and “Time Goes By.” Although there is clearly a more R&B-flavoured production style throughout (particularly demonstrated in lead single “Holler” and album cuts “Tell Me Why”, “Get Down With Me” and “Wasting My Time”), this is merely a progression of what the girls explored sonically in elements of both Spice (“Something Kinda Funny” and “Naked”) and Spiceworld (“Denying”). In fact, many would argue that “Holler” has aged the least out of all the Spice Girls hits, sounding nearly as fresh today as it did twenty years ago.
This new vinyl release has been presented beautifully, with artwork carefully recreated and a collection of exquisite art cards featuring the original sleeve photos. Perhaps the only flaw is that “Goodbye” surprisingly isn’t acknowledged as a number one on the hype sticker alongside “Holler” and “Let Love Lead The Way”, to give it’s credit as one of their nine number one hits in the UK. Die-hard fans are campaigning to get Forever back in the UK charts this weekend, by streaming the album and purchasing digital copies as well as the vinyl. It would certainly be great to see this album get the recognition it rightly deserves, or as the fans are calling it – “Justice for Forever.”
Forever is available on digital outlets everywhere. You can buy the vinyl on Amazon or other record retailers. You can stream it here ...
Enjoy!
—Normski
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