SPICE GIRLS – "2 Become 1”

Love it. Catchy ballad, well sung, lovely bass in the prechorus (is it a prechorus?), exactly as good as “This Corrosion” by The Sisters of Mercy. I need some love: 8/10.

Surprised that the “boys and girls…” wasn’t on the single version, because I’m pretty sure it’s there on the video – I shall check.

EDIT: They do indeed change it. That’s good.

Other thing I like: the way the chorus just sort of trails off dreamily and doesn’t quite resolve (it feels like it’s a line too short, but in a good way, if you see what I mean).

Only Spice Girls #1 not to appear on a Now! album (although there’s a double-A side later which doesn’t appear in full); I presume this was an issue of timing more than anything else.

I recall this song vividly because I was at primary school at the time, in my final year, aged ten. And at the time I was unusual among my classmates for having – shock – access to The Internet. And so a girl approached me to ask if I could get the lyrics of this song off the internet for her so her and her friends could perform it for the school.

I don’t actually recall if I agreed (or if I actually carried it out if I did). I do recall being dimly aware that the song was probably inappropriate for a group of ten year olds to sing at a Church of England-sponsored primary school assembly, though.

The second* song I remember thinking was a bit, erm, naughty. I was only eight years old but knew exactly what they meant with the whole two-becoming-one metaphor. Saying that this still seemed tame in comparison to songs which had the word ‘Sex’ in the title, which I’d be shocked to hear on the radio – none I remember in 1996, but the following year saw a certain 1975 hit re-issued which I remember being very embarrassed hearing, wondering if I’d get into trouble simply for my ears picking it up. Those were the days.

I’m torn between this and a 1998 bunny as my favourite Spice song. I think the bunny just edges it but this, despite my continued irritation of them at the time as mentioned before (“they’re GIRLS! Ewww!”) is still really good, and takes me back to what I remember being a cold winter with lots of snowfall. My Christmas presents that year were dominated by both the film ‘Toy Story’ and its associated toy tie-ins that brilliantly worked *exactly* the same as their CGI counterparts, and most exciting of all, CD-ROMs for our recently bought Windows 95 computer. Music itself would remain strictly cassette tape only however in our household until I got my first CD player two years later.

Apologies for the nostalgia ramble but it’s amazing how much one simple Spotify play can conjure up. 7 is about right.

*The other, incidentally, was ‘Ooh Aah Just A Little Bit’. That and this were probably two of the ‘rudest’ songs I knew as of ’96, for now anyway.

I was hardly listening to pop music at all in 1996/1997 so barely remember this one from the time, but listening to (and watching the vid. for) 2B1 over the past few months it’s quickly become a favorite. At any rate, my sense is that 2B1 must have been the ‘resistance is futile’ moment for those who were paying attention (maybe functioning a little like ‘Time (Clock Of The Heart)’ did for Culture Club) – anyone with ears and eyes can agree that this is come-hither pop of a very high order, and if you’d scorned or otherwise been immune to ‘Wannabe’ well it was time to relent, get a little wiser baby, and long live love:
9

As a slightly older (b.1970) American male who never habitually followed the pop charts, I have 2 questions about the whole SG phenomenon. The first is whether it seemed that the group had passionate female admirers of their own age, grown women who identified with the group? Like women once did here with Mary Tyler Moore? Or would that have seemed a bit much, that is, like it, sure but maybe not outright identification.

The second question is how the romance of Posh and Beckham was perceived amongst discerning Britons at the time. Was it any kind of betrayal or merely a patently corporate move or on the contrary, a brilliantly seamless extension of her superstardom? Was there resentment or admiration or ennui?

For the record I’d give the three singles a 9/7/7 in chronological order.

It strikes me that, as well as Emma (obviously, and excellently), Mel B is on notably good form here. (and Geri almost absent?)

This is sufficiently well done (touching, even) to let the ‘third single as ballad’ ploy seem…warranted, even.

7

I don’t think Emma’s vocals lent themselves well to the group and she didn’t come into her own till after the split. Having to compete with the more forceful vocals of the Mels and Geri always seemed like a losing battle, so this one only really works for me when the interjections and harmonies of the other girls embellish her performance otherwise she tends to sound a little lost.

The B side to this is great – a charming cover of Sleigh Ride complete with spoken bits where the girls chat about Christmas. At one point someone (Mel B?) shouts “FATHER CHRISTMAS DOESN’T EXIST!” and the others have to shush her.

I enjoyed the video a lot and the song is finely crafted, even if it’s a little too polished for my taste. Geri being sidelined from the video is what caught my attention. Claims that it was her idea to cut her contribution sound like PR speak. In light of her subsequent defection I wonder whether she had already begun to question her place in the group.

As I mentioned before, I basically missed the Girls-as-phenomenon, so I only really know them for the records. Hence I’m perplexed at the emerging theme of Geri being the Alpha of the group. How can this be, how did it manifest itself?

From my perspective she seems to have brought relatively little to the group, other than ambition (which shouldn’t be downplayed too much, especially in the early stages). I find it hard to imagine her being many people’s real favourite.
Her solo career doesn’t shed much light either, she was no Robbie Williams.

The role Geri plays in the film is (un)surprisingly subtle and complex:
i: she’s one the who reads book and uses long words (some of which don’t really exist) and always has an opinion
ii: the others affectionately tease her about this, bcz she kind of assumes she is better informed and capable then she mostly is (the scene i remember encapsulating this is when their friend — who had to not be a spicer bcz she was pregnant — goes into labour, geri is the one giving instructions, as she reads from a thick hardback book)
iii: she is kind of the mumsy one (role shared with mel b, who approaches it very differently)
iv: she is basically ALWAYS gung-ho — the others manifest reserve or reservations, tho in very different ways

So Geri kind of becomes the designated spokesperson, if only bcz she jumps in with both feet (often into her own mouth).

I ***love*** the film, if this isn’t obvious: and gave it a thumbs-up review in UK cinema’s journal of record Sight and Sound. I won’t say more as it’s presumably semi-bunnied.

My favourite Spice Girls single.Similar to Billy Hicks above it’s a close call between this and the 1998 bunny (if we’re thinking of the same one!)

I liked this the most of the 3 Spice Girls Number 1’s by a distance when it was released as unlike the first 2 it wasnt as brash and loud and was easy to enjoy. A less is more approach working well.

Sneaked into the end of the ‘Heroes and Villains’ episode of Only Fools And Horses late that year aswell.

This is the girls at the very top of their game for me.8

There’s a few nods to christmas with the ice rick and that but done differently it could have been the Spice Girls own ‘Stay Another Day’. Given the marketing and promotion behind it it seems like they missed a trick in not making a more festive video. Maybe they should have went all out videowise like S Club 7’s ‘Never Had A Dream Come True’ from 2000.

Re: the cover photo, is Victoria rocking the proto-Winehouse look here?

#12 – The least interesting part of the Morrissey book is the part about The Smiths which like so many of the other books written about them becomes bogged down in the boring details of their messy business affairs. As for the account of the high court case, a good arguement for putting a fast-forward switch on Kindles.
The early part of the book describing his upbringing I found evocative, thoughtful and affectionate -Morrissey back to something like his best. There are some curious but somehow fascinating digressions as well, such as when he goes on for a page-and-a-half about the acting styles on ‘Lost In Space’.
Actually considering it’s a muscicians autobiography a lot of the stories about famous encounters in it seem to involve thespians rather than pop stars.

#2 The way the chorus resolves itself (or rather doesn’t) isn’t something I’ve ever been able to quite deal with, to be honest. The slight instrumental meandering after the final line “It’s the only way to be” feels like a fudge, as if nobody could think of how to resolve the ending and get back to the verse so let it hang in the air instead. This has been bugging me for years so it’s interesting that one of the first comments on the single is how well that aspect works! It’s interesting how people will hear the same device in very, very different ways.

Other than that, this is perfectly OK. I always preferred hearing it on the radio without seeing Emma performing it as (purely from memory) she did put a slightly twee, coy edge on her TV performances which suggested something the music and lyrics didn’t appear to agree with.

As for Geri, she was always the most visually striking one, I’d say, and had an advantage over the others in that respect as well as being generally gobbier.

My favourite Spice Girls song, too. I think Tom is spot-on about why it works.
A half-thought: I actually fall in the category of people (blokes) who tend not to like ballads by pop acts (whereas I love country weepies, old soul ballads, Yo La Tengo slow songs, etc), but this is a supple and light and charming, rather than a belted-out pseudo-Broadway showstopper or an Irish boyband sleeping cure.

Re:34, I’ve also always liked the way the strings kind of meander after the last line. To me they sound like something from some distant AOR hit (Wichita Lineman, for example) playing on AM radio. I appreciate that almost no-one else will hear them like that.

41: Yes – a film. Now you mention that, it reminds me of the string stabs that you sometimes found on moodier bits of the incidental soundtrack (as opposed to the song based soundtrack CDs that did the rounds) of the pre-Nolan Batman movies.

Contrary to the opinions of Tom’s indie-snob acquaintances, there’s nothing wrong with a slushy romantic ballad if it’s done well, and The Spice Girls’third single is very nearly that; indeed, if it had been released ten years earlier, it would no doubt have soundtracked hundreds of slow dances at school discos across the country.

A dead cert for the Christmas Number One, it’s mostly a very pretty and well-made record, complete with tasteful acoustic guitar solo, even if the rhythmic backing is overfussy and some of the string section’s interjections are a bit obtrusive. The effect is however spoiled by the jarringly unconvincing “wanna make love to you baby” in the chorus, which surely constitute some of the least erotic invitations to coition ever recorded. It’s unclear, too, given the average age of their intended market, quite why there wasn’t an outcry to BAN THIS FILTH over the lyrics. All in all, though, it’s definitely the best of their first three singles, and it was decent of them to hold its release back to let Dunblane have its say. A high SEVEN.

The video, by the way, fits very well with the song, but look closely at the blonde one at 2:38, shortly before she gestures the title with her fingers – does she check the lyrics off camera for a moment? And, even in 1996, were there no complaints about the same-sex couple who appear briefly in the guitar break?

#44 Emma’s look away and back to camera is an affectation that suggests coyness rather than checking an autocue. In answer to your 2nd question, we’ve already had the Gary Barlow video in 1996 (lest we forget The Communards, Culture Club, FGTH and Dead Or Alive covered by this very blog when we were recalling the 1980s) and the closeted George Michael recalled by Tom in his review above. It’s widely regarded as a positive thing that same sex relationships can be promoted by mainstream pop acts with very few feathers being ruffled. I don’t recall many feathers being ruffled in 1996. Why should it be an issue?

(Though I’m more struck by Emma and Geri cooing over each other at 2:54)

#15 The glorious (real) string coda is arranged by composer Craig Armstrong who had previously worked with Massive Attack and subsequently scored many movies (notably for Baz Luhrman).
I remember being particularly surprised by his involvement and impressed by the use of real strings here – it showed a producer’s care and attention to detail missing from other pop hits at the time.
Armstrong’s The Space Between Us album from ’98 has some great orchestrations of Protection-era MA tracks.
I love the b-side Orchestral Version here (even less Geri!) but it could do with being longer.
Gorgeous track – a 9 for me.