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A very well produced album with mostly very good tracks. Emma has a sweet harmonious voice which I remember from the Spice Girls contrasted well with the more edgy voice of Mel C. Track 2, "Maybe" could have been a good intro to a James Bond film!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Very good
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Great cd - made me very nostalgic
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The title track from Free Me is so evocative of James Bond it should come with a free Martini. Emma Bunton tries to reinvent herself as a modern Sandie Shaw. Following the title track is a Sergio Mendes style piece of Brazilian pop. To continue the club-tropicana feel there's even a cover of Brazilian Marcos Valle's irresistible "Os Grilos" ("The Crickets"), here known as "Crickets Sing for AnaMaria". Will her fans get this? Does she still have fans? Who is Emma Bunton? Like all the other Spice Girls she's searching for a musical identity after losing a collective wholeness. Note the change from Emma Bunton to Emma, another way to separate past from present. But having Brazilian musical plastic surgery doesn't cover up the fact that underneath the alterations is a woman undergoing the painful process of finding artistic individuality. She best achieves this on the ironically titled "No Sign of Life". This is by no means a bad album. "Breathing", after a few plays, sounds like a possible No. 1. "Who the Hell Are You?" could easily power a car advert. It doesn't say a lot but sounds fun, which is about right for this album.Read full review
It's not just that this album is superlative in every respect, a refreshing example of pop music at its nostalgic best, restoring real orchestra and horns and lyrics and hooks and memorable melodies and.....just about everything I have been missing in what passes for pop music today. That this album is the best set of songs I have heard in two years, combined with the fact that it comes from a young woman who is pure eye candy, is a given. What is astounding me is the fact that it was released in 2004 -- SIX YEARS AGO -- and I never heard it until a random YouTube search pulled up a few of its tunes. Just as amazing is that she has never penetrated American radio as a soloist (and had to struggle to do so as one of the Spice Girls), and that she draws 20,000 people in Europe but has NEVER had a North American tour. Just astounding. Music of this quality is being passed over for....rap?? Are you kidding me? Bunton has so risen beyond the otherwise good material she did with the Spice Girls, with a kind of retro quasi-Sixties sound that is appealing for all of the reasons I liked 60s music in the first place. More than one song has a movie theme quality to it, and the few videos that Bunton has shot are pure delight. Her connection to 19 Entertainment and Simon Fuller of American Idol fame are no surprise to me. Everything Fuller (and Clive Davis) touch turns to gold these days, but apparently, Britain and the Europeans get the good stuff while we get the rap. At times, she reminds me a bit of Olivia Newton-John, with a breathy, understated vocal, then she takes off on a Brazilian-tinged tune like "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" and blows my mind with vocals that rival those of Flora Purim or either of the original two ladies with Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66. Emma Bunton is a stunning, consistent talent who I have been unable to find singing a single song that I don't like. I not only highly recommend this album but encourage true pop music lovers to get their hands on everything this 34-year-old stunner has recorded. I'm doing that same thing as I write this. Check out "What Took You So Long" and "Maybe" on YouTube, then look down at your ankles. You will notice that your socks are on the opposite side of the room.Read full review
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