Today I will be reviewing the "Spice Girls'" third (and so far final album), "Forever". The album was released at the end of the year 2000 and went through several changes before its release. In fact the album was delayed several times due to a change in producers which made the album have more of an R&B sound then pop like they previous albums, "Spice" and "Spiceworld". On top of that Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) had left the band before recording had even started, leaving Victoria Beckham (Posh), Melanie Brown (Scary), Emma Bunton (Baby), and Melanie Chisholm (Sporty) to record the original pop version of the record and scrap it (I explain that part later.) I will be honest and say that I'm not really into the Spice Girls' first two albums but for some strange reason I really like the "Forever" album and I'm sad it didn't do as well as the girl's previous albums. But now let's get to the track by track review:
1) Holler: This song was released as the lead single from album, alongside "Let Love Lead the Way". In a way it can be seen as the overall single from the album given that its video came before "Let Love Lead the Way" and "Goodbye" was released after two before it. The video showed the girls portraying the four elements, (Victoria was air, Mel B. was fire, Emma was water, and Mel C. was earth), as well as dancing in a pyramid. The song also showcased the girl's new R&B sound and managed to become the group's 9th number 1 single in the U.K. Overall it's a great song. 10/10
2) Tell Me Why: This song was one of three songs about Geri. Unlike "Goodbye" and "Let Love Lead the Way", which were sad songs, "Tell Me Why" was about how the girls felt betrayed by Geri for leaving the group. The song was released as a promo single and was also considered to be the fourth overall single from the album, even gaining some airplay, but the girls decided to go on a hiatus instead. A remixed version of the song did end up on the deluxe version of their "Greatest Hits" album in 2007 when Geri had rejoined. That had to be awkward. 9/10
3) Let Love Lead the Way: While it was released alongside "Holler" and the lead single, it can be seen as the overall third single because it's video was released after "Holler" despite the video being shot before "Holler". The song is a ballad that is believed to be about "Geri". Like in the "Holler" video, the girls were the four elements again but this time Victoria was fire, Mel B. was air, Emma was earth, and Mel C. was water. Victoria felt the video for this song was easier than "Holler" and it was the group's 9th U.K. number 1. 9/10
4) Right Back At Ya: This song was one of three new songs that the girls performed at their "Christmas In Spiceworld" concert. The other two new songs were "Holler" and "W.O.M.A.N", which remains unreleased. Originally the song had more of pop sound to it until the girls worked with "Darkchild" who's written and produced for "Brandy", "Mariah Carey", and the late "Whitney Houston", remixed it into an R&B song. Originally I hated the song but one day I got bored and decided to give it another chance and realized it actually sounded pretty good. 8/10
5) Get Down With Me: An upbeat song where Melanie B. and Victoria sing leads, while Emma sings the pre-chorus and Melanie C. sings the third verse. The song starts off sounding like it's about wanting to be someone's one and only until the third verse comes in saying that it was only like that for one night. It's good but not great. 7/10
6) Wasting My Time: This song is about a girl who is sick of her boyfriend continuing to play games with her. In the first verse it's explained he does it because his last girlfriend did that to him but the girl is tired of this and dumps him. Despite co-writing the song Melanie B. does not have a lead vocal whereas Emma, Melanie C., and Victoria do. I checked some forums and it seems it was because she was recording her album "Hot" which was released a month before "Forever". Not exactly a smart move. That being said the song is one of my fav's. 10/10
7) Weekend Love: This song can almost be consider as a sequel to "Get Down With Me". The song is about how a guy mistook a one night stand for actual love. According to buzzfeed the song was ranked as the worst Spice Girls song. I actually like the song and I don't understand why it gets so much hate. It's a ballad that contains a rap by Melanie B which causes the song's beat to change but it works for me. The was released as a promo single and while the girls each had a solo, Victoria only got to sing one line and a few ab libs which kinda annoyed me a little bit. 10/10
8) Time Goes By: When the girls were promoting the album, Melanie C said that she could see this song being a Christmas number 1. When I first heard the song I thought that she was out of her mind because at the time I didn't like it. But a year later I listened to it again and liked it. It's a ballad that's very slow and feels very long it's still a good love song. I also like Melanie C and Victoria singing the third verse together. 8/10
9) If You Wanna Have Some Fun: Like "Tell Me Why", this song was a promo single that was considered to be the overall fourth single from the album before the girls decided to focus on their solo careers. Thee song did however have a video the showed clips of the girls from the beginning of the "Spice Girls" to the end. It also marked the end of the "Forever" era. It's an awesome upbeat song that was Victoria's favorite and Emma wanted the song to be a single in an interview. 10/10
10) Oxygen: This song is a beautiful ballad that was Emma's favorite song. The girls each have a solo in this song and each one sings amazingly. It also proved anyone who thought the Spice Girls couldn't sing wrong. The song is about how the person they love is like the oxygen they breathe and without them life would have no meaning. This song screams, "Christmas Number 1" and should've been released as a single. 10/10
11) Goodbye: The first single from the album. The song was written while Geri was still in the band. It was originally written for the group's second album, "Spiceworld" but wasn't included due to time constraints. Once Geri had left the group, the song was re-written and and became the group's 8th U.K. number and their third Christmas number 1. The song feels very out of place on this album due to it's pop sound and while I think it's a good song, it doesn't work for this album. 7/10
"Forever" peaked at number 2 in the U.K. despite not having much promotion from the girls who had all been working on solo material. In 2015, four songs from the original version of the "Forever" album leaked. These songs were: "Painproof", "Give You What You Want (If It's Lovin' On Your Mind)", "A Day In Your Life", and the original pop version of "Right Back At Ya". Other songs recorded for the album, "Go Go Go", "W.O.M.A.N", "Too Hot", "Treasure", and "Overnight" remain unreleased.
Melanie B had wanted the group to reunite for the 20th anniversary of their album "Spice". While Emma and Geri were both up for it, Victoria declined. Melanie C thought about it but decided against it as she didn't feel right reuniting as a group without Victoria. In the end Melanie B, Geri, and Emma recorded some songs under the rumored new name "GEM" with a demo of "Song For Her" leaking onto the internet. When Melanie B said that the group's new would still be "Spice Girls", Victoria and Melanie C were both rumored to be mad at that. It seems at this point that a reunion won't happen due to Melanie B getting divorced, Geri just having her baby, Victoria working with her fashion line, Melanie C being on tour, and Emma working on radio and on a TV show called "Boy Band" with Nick Carter and Rita Ora.
My favorite songs on the album are: "Oxygen", "Holler", "If You Wanna Have Some Fun", "Weekend Love", and "Wasting My Time". Out of 110 points I give the album 98 points which is 89%, a B+.
Thank you for reading this review, I'm sorry it came so late, and if you haven't please give a listen to the "Spice Girls'" album "Forever". Even Geri's not on it, it still deserves a good listen.
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