Forever [Enhanced]

Two years after releasing their 1998 single, Victoria, Emma, Melanie B., & Melanie C. reunited to release their third album, Forever, their first album without Geri. The album pulled away from their original girl power sound and their sexy images. The girls took up a more mature look and grabbed a techno R&B sound.

HOLLER
The second single from the album. This is one of the best songs on this album. The video is nothing short of amazing.

TELL ME WHY
Not bad.

LET LOVE LEAD THE WAY
The first single from the album. This song was their second dedication to Geri, the first being "Goodbye". This is another beautiful song and the harmonies are unbelievable.

RIGHT BACK AT YA
Not bad.

GET DOWN WITH ME
This is my favorite song off the album. I love it's funky R&B sound.

WASTING MY TIME
Not bad.

WEEKEND LOVE
Okay.

TIME GOES BY
Another beautiful song. When read the title of the song, I thought it was another song about Geri, but when I read the lyrics, I found out I was I wrong. It's a love song and a beautiful one.

IF YOU WANNA HAVE SOME FUN
Not bad.

OXYGEN
Okay.

GOODBYE
From the single, Goodbye (1998). I thought it was a great gesture to put this song on the album. After all, there is another dedication on the album, so they put two and two together.

This album did very poorly on the charts, due to the fact the girls abandoned their girl power sound and image, and most importantly, because the whole group wasn't there. But, in my opinion, the album is not that bad, and I give the girls credit for trying to move on. Melanie C. has stated that they will not be getting back together. She has said that they've accomplished so much in their short time and all of their fans have grown up. They want to live in their fans memories as they were when they first started out with their first two albums. You girls did a great job and, even though us fans have grown up, the five of you will forever remain in our memories and hearts.

FOREVER came out 3 years (!) after SPICEWORLD. 3 years in the music industry nowadays is a long time-and in the POP world it might as well be 300! The Britneys, NSYNCs, Backstreet Boys, etc etc all moved in when the girls took their extended break. During which the girls grew up and their priorities shifted. They no longer possessed the young, in yer face, go for it, we've got nothing to lose, navite that comes with being 19-20. This is what made the Spice Girls the best POP group of the 90's. Here they seem to be playing catch up with the latest trend rather than trailblazing the way for others to follow.

Lead track and single Holler is good enough and features some great vocals from the girls (including Victoria!). Other stand out tracks are Get Down With Me and Tell Me Why that have a minimal demo-ish feel to them that somehow work very well. Smash hit Goodbye is on here too and ends the album (very fitting). However then you have the Backstreet Boys-ish "Right Back At Ya" filled with forced lyrics and just bad production. The Will Smith (!!!!!) sounding If You Wanna Have Some Fun. Another major drawback to this album is the fact that there are far too many ballads. Four in total. Whereas other pop groups usually have about 15 tracks with 10 being ballads, the Spice Girls usually kept their ballads at a strict minimum and the girl power vibe front and centre. SPICE had 2 Become 1. SPICE WORLD had Viva Forever and Too Much (sorta ballad). True these were great songs however the Spice Girls were a party group. Not a weepy, melencholy, take me seriously one.

The fun of the two albums is missing. You can just imagine and almost hear the laughter and girl-camraderie in the first two albums. Here you get a sense that the girls stopped by during their busy schedules to record their own vocals and then just left. In fact Melanie C did record her vocals for many songs while she was on her solo tour and then just mailed them in!

This album was made as a "let's see if we still got it" gesture. Holler did indeed hit #1 however the album reached "only" #2 losing out to Irish boyband Westlife. The girls then lost interest and began to concentrate on their solo careers. No more singles were released.

A shame the girls didn't go out with a "bang" but rather just faded out. They will always be the best pop group of the 90's and have firmly placed themselves in music history.

FOREVER is not the Spice Girls to remember. But still, it's okay as background music at a party or while your doing housework.