Forever (Spice Girls album)
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| Forever | |||||||||||
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| Studio album by Spice Girls | |||||||||||
| Released | November 7, 2000 | ||||||||||
| Recorded | 1999–2000 | ||||||||||
| Genre | Pop, R&B, dance-pop, pop rock | ||||||||||
| Length | 49:28 | ||||||||||
| Label | Virgin | ||||||||||
| Producer | Matt Rowe, Richard Stannard, Darkchild, Harvey Mason, Jr., Fred Jerkins III, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis | ||||||||||
| Professional reviews | |||||||||||
| Spice Girls chronology | |||||||||||
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Forever is the third studio album by English pop group the Spice Girls, released in 2000 (see 2000 in music). It is their only album without Geri Halliwell (who reunited with the Spice Girls in 2007 for their Greatest Hits release). The album saw a huge drop in sales compared to their last two albums, but it was also because of lack of promotion especially in the United States, where most albums were sold. Also this was the point as some say the Spice Mania began to fade. Despite everything that happened Forever managed to sell two million copies worldwide and managed to peak at number-two in the United Kingdom, beaten off the top spot due to competition from Westlife.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holler" Writers: R. Jerkins, L. Daniels, F. Jerkins III, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producer: Rodney Jerkins |
4:15 |
| 2. | "Tell Me Why" Writers: R. Jerkins, F. Jerkins III, L. Daniels, M. Butler, M. Brown, V. Beckham, E. Bunton Producer: Rodney Jerkins |
4:13 |
| 3. | "Let Love Lead the Way" Writers: R. Jerkins, L. Daniels, F. Jerkins III, H. Mason Jr, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producers: Rodney Jerkins, Harvey Mason Jr. |
4:57 |
| 4. | "Right Back at Ya" Writers: E. Kennedy, T. Lever, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producer: Uncle Freddie |
4:09 |
| 5. | "Get Down with Me" Writers: R. Jerkins, L. Daniels, F. Jerkins III, R. Smith, M. Butler, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producers: Rodney Jerkins, Robert Smith |
3:45 |
| 6. | "Wasting My Time" Writers: F. Jerkins III, L. Daniels, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producer: Uncle Freddie |
4:13 |
| 7. | "Weekend Love" Writers: R. Jerkins, F. Jerkins III, L. Daniels, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producer: Rodney Jerkins |
4:04 |
| 8. | "Time Goes By" Writers: F. Jerkins III, R. Jerkins, L. Daniels, M. Butler, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producers: Rodney Jerkins, Uncle Freddie |
4:51 |
| 9. | "If You Wanna Have Some Fun" Writers: J. Harris III, T. Lewis, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producers: Tierry Lewis, Jimmy Jam |
5:25 |
| 10. | "Oxygen" Writers: J. Harris III, T. Lewis, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm Producers: Tierry Lewis, Jimmy Jam |
4:55 |
| 11. | "Goodbye" (Video Edit) Writers: R. Shannard, M. Rowe, V. Beckham, M. Brown, E. Bunton, M. Chisholm, G. Halliwell Producers: Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe |
4:35 |
Some international editions of Forever do not include Goodbye.
[edit] Production
"Right Back at Ya"- This was their official 2000 comeback anthem, its lyrics are basically hitting back at their critics ("...bet you thought we wouldn't make it this far"). It was originally a pop song produced by Eliot Kennedy who has produced other Spice Girls' songs such as "Say You'll Be There", however, it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the album and in order to stay on the album it was heavily remixed by Rodney Jerkins. This really offended Kennedy and he described the final piece as a "Boring, plodding R&B song".
"Get Down with Me"- The shortest track on the album, mainly an upbeat disco song about a one-night stand as the woman asks the man to 'get down with' her but by morning she'll no longer be with him.
"Wasting My Time"- This song sports a disco sound slightly slower, yet extremely similar to "Get Down With Me". This song features no vocal and writing credits from Melanie B and Victoria respectively. The song talks about how the protagonist's lover treated her so badly, simply wasting her time and now he's regretting that he ever cheated on her.
"Time Goes By"- This is the slowest track on the album and is a romantic ballad about how love is for eternity with complimentary sentiments to a lover in the lyrics.
"Oxygen"- This song is a slow, romantic ballad about unconditional love and how 'loving is like oxygen'. This was one of the most critically acclaimed track on the album, however, most critics were very positive, especially regarding the vocals of the girls in this song. Even their long-time rival band Westlife described this song as 'stunning'.
[edit] Promotion
[edit] Singles
- "Goodbye" - 1998 - #1 UK
- "Holler/Let Love Lead The Way" - 2000 - #1 UK
[edit] Canceled singles
Further planned singles to be released off the album never materialized in 2001. However promotional singles of the songs, Weekend Love, If You Wanna Have Some Fun and Tell Me Why surfaced and went into circulation. Weekend Love was to be the second single within the US and Asia (fifth in the UK and third in Europe and Australia). All US promotional singles were trashed by Virgin Records, however some singles managed to leak from the (US) record companies printing room. The most popular promo single is the one from Asia, which can be found sporadically on eBay. If You Wanna Have Some Fun was set to be the second single within the UK (forth in the US, Asia, Europe and the Australian region). Virgin Records had composed a promotional music video of concert footage of the girls. This video was created as a stalling tacit till the official video was released. However the official video never surfaced due to cancellation. Tell Me Why was the next single and by far the most popular single. The song was to be released as the third single within the US, Asia, UK and the second single in the Australian and European regions. Remixes were provided by Thunderpuss and Jonathan Peters. The promo single for Tell Me Why is still obtainable through collectors and bidding internet stores. The single even went on to become a massive club hit for the girls. 500 competition winners in Australia were lucky enough to win a copy of the single.
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[edit] Credits
- Melanie Brown — vocals (except 'Wasting My Time') and writing
- Emma Bunton — vocals and writing
- Victoria Beckham — vocals and writing (except 'Wasting My Time')
- Melanie Chisholm — vocals and writing (except 'Tell Me Why')
[edit] Personnel
- Susan Drake — background vocals
- Eliot Kennedy — background vocals
- Producers: Rodney Jerkins, Harvey Mason, Jr., Matt Rowe, Richard Stannard
- Engineers: Adrian Bushby, Paul Foley, Ben Garrison, Brad Gilderman, Steve Hodge, Ian Robertson, Dave Russell, Tony Salter
- Assistant engineers: Jake Davies, Bradley Yost
- Mixing: Ben Garrison, Brad Gilderman, Steve Hodge, Fred Jenkins III, Rodney Jerkins, Jan Kybert, Mark "Spike" Stent, Paul Waller, Bradley Yost
- Mastering: Bernie Grundman
- Digital editing: Harvey Mason, Jr.
- Vocal production assistance: LaShawn Daniels, Susan Drake, Eliot Kennedy
- Drum programming: Paul Waller
- String arrangements: Will Malone
- Design: Vince Frost
- Photography: Terry Richardson
[edit] Certifications, Peaks & Sales
| Country | Peak Position[1] | Certification (If Any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 9 | Gold[2] | 35,000+ |
| Austria | 10 | Gold[3] | 25,000+ |
| Belgium | 44 | Gold[4] | 25,000+ |
| Brazil | 1 | Gold[5] | 100,000+ |
| Canada | 6 | 2x Platinum[6] | 200,000+ |
| Eurochart | 5 | ||
| Finland | 24 | ||
| France | 43 | 25,000+[7] | |
| Germany | 6 | Gold[8] | 170,000+ |
| Hungary | 20 | ||
| Italy | 11 | ||
| Ireland | 15 | ||
| Mexico | 6 | ||
| Netherlands | 30 | Gold[9] | 45,000+ |
| New Zealand | 25 | Gold[10] | 7,500+ |
| Norway | 26 | ||
| Philippines | 2 | ||
| Poland | 15 | ||
| Portugal | 17 | ||
| Russia | 5 | ||
| Singapore | 4 | ||
| Spain | 26 | Gold[11] | 75,000+ |
| Sweden | 24 | ||
| Switzerland | 11 | Platinum[12] | 50,000+ |
| United Kingdom | 2 | Platinum[13] | 260,000+ |
| United States | 39 | 245,000+[14] | |
| United World Chart | 9 |
[edit] References
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