The Spice Girls were without a doubt the most successful girl group of all-time. In July 1996, they exploded onto the pop scene with their infectious debut single Wannabe. It entered the UK singles chart at No.3, before storming to No.1 the following week...and stayed there for 7 more weeks. They accquired more popularity and recognition with the release of their debut album Spice. It topped the charts for months through November and December 1996 and on into January and February 1997 and has sold 27 million copies worldwide. Many people were quick to write the Spice Girls off as a one-hit wonder, but they actually did have some brilliant songs and definitely knew how to sell records and promote certain subjects. After four consecutive UK No.1 singles with Wannabe, Say You'll Be There, 2 Become 1 and Who Do You Think You Are/Mama, the Spice Girls went over to America, intent on storming the place - and they did.

They officially cracked the tough American market faster than the Beatles, and within 5 months their debut album had sold more than 7 million in the US alone. They were the band that brought back pop music to the world - there would've been any Backstreet Boys, 'NSync or Britney Spears if the Spice Girls hadn't have stormed to No.1 in America with Wannabe. The thing that made the Spice Girls so popular was their individuality. Each girl had their own character and personality. There was Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, the loudest and most outspoken member of the group and definitely the driving force behind the Spice Girls. There was Emma "Baby Spice" Bunton, the quiet and innocent band member. With her pigtail blonde hair, she was the cute one of the band. There was Mel "Scary Spice" B, the wacky and outrageous band member who always had an opinion on something. There was Victoria "Posh Spice" Adams, the posh one of the band who always wore her mini Gucci dresses and striked that pose. And there was Mel "Sporty Spice" C, known for her sporty attitude and tracksuit clothes. At least these girls were individual and knew what they wanted from life - unlike Westlife...wooden and two-dimensional. Some people who never got into the Spice Girls phenomenon will never truly understand how influential they were. Before the Spice Girls, I had no interest in music what-so-ever. Then, for about two years, they were all I could think about - day in, day out. This eventually led me into different musical territories such as Madonna, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. They'll never know how much I was obssessed with them - along with every other 10 year old in the world.

Spice begins with Wannabe (10/10). The debut single and classic pop hit Wannabe topped the charts in a whopping 31 countries worldwide and catapulted the Spice Girls into the stratosphere of worldwide popularity. The song has that one-hit wonder feel to it, but these girls were far from a one-hit wonder. Track 2 is Say You'll Be There (10/10). The second single from the Spice Girls, this song topped the charts in October 1996. The lyrics are very girl power-ish and strengthened their positive, worldwide famous message of "Girl Power!" Track 3 is 2 Become 1 (10/10). The third single from the Spice Girls and their third UK No.1. Topping the charts in December, 2 Become 1 was the UK Christmas No.1 for 1996. This beautiful ballad is one of my all-time favourite songs - I just love it. Between them, Say You'll Be There and 2 Become 1 topped the charts in a staggering 53 countries around the world. Track 4 is Love Thing (10/10). This is another traditional Spice Girls pop song. This song was never released as a single, but should've been! There's a trademark rap from Geri halfway through and the choruses are so catchy. Track 5 is Last Time Lover (10/10). This song is probably the most diverse on the album. With it's raunchy and funky R'n'B beats, this song has got to be my favourite unreleased song from Spice along with Naked.

Track 6 is Mama (9/10). The longest track from Spice, Mama was the fourth consecutive UK No.1 single for the Spice Girls in March 1997. Being released around Mothers Day ensured another UK No.1 for the girls of the moment. Track 7 is Who Do You Think You Are (10/10). First previewed at the Brit Awards 1997, this song became an instant classic. The performance of this song at the Brits is absoltuely legendary; Geri Halliwell wearing a Union Jack mini-dress was pure class. It was perfect for the event and promoted their message of "Girl Power!" Once I saw her in that dress, I had a BIG-TIME crush on the woman for years! Track 8 is Something Kina Funny (10/10). This deep and mysterious song has a very hip and street feel to it. Mel C is superb on this song and Emma makes good use of her sweet voice towards the end. Track 9 is Naked (10/10). Oh my God! I absolutely love this song. The mid-tempo bassline with swirly beats and sultry lyrics makes this the album's best track. The Spice Girls would've received so much more credibility from the public if this song had been released. Mel C's little ditto after the phone-call is awesome too. Track 10 is If U Can't Dance (10/10). This song is superb to close such a top album. The bassline sounds like a car engine revving up - it's rather subdued so keep your ears peeled! Instead of verses, you get raps from Mel B and Geri in verses one and two respectively. This song is also a live favourite amongst fans.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

If you like pop music, this is the absolute album for you. It's such a shame that after Geri left, the Spice Girls went right down to the bottom of the pan. The Spice Girls were the biggest pop phenomenon of all-time and I'd give anything to re-live those moments and feel those feelings all over again. Buy Spice from Amazon now!

I don't know where I went wrong. I am not a pop music fan at ALL. In fact I listen to heavy metal. No, seriously! I like Pantera and Metallica and Nirvana (more grunge than metal though), etc., but for some reason I also like the Spice Girls. I have all of their albums, solo albums, and a lot of their solo import singles, too. They are sitting right in between Soundgarden and Testament CDs. The Spice album has something different than other pop acts. Spice Girls albums are ones I just can't bring myself to throw away. Sometimes I can hardly believe I own this kind of music, but I listen to it, I like it, and I am sick of people branding Spice Girls fans as poppy teenage girls! Well, I AM a teenage girl, but I'm more gothic than preppie or poppy. Spice is an album MANY people will like if they can give it a chance. I don't know how anyone can listen to some of these songs and honestly say it's airheaded B.S.! The thing is, be open-minded and listen to it without thinking, "These are the Spice Girls. Bubblegum pop. No! Bad!" This is like saying some type of food is gross when you've never even tryed it! I HATE when people do that...

The British have musical phenomena that we Americans do three quarter flips and tuck dives headlong into. The two British music invasions showed how much we accepted the Beatles, Stones, Duran Duran, and Eurythmics. So were the Spice Girls the probing vanguard of the third extended gradual invasion that became transformed from pop/dance to alternative acts like Dido and Coldplay? What impact did Parsley, Sage, Rosemary...oops, I mean Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Posh, and Scary have? Well, in the UK, this album harkened back to the day when more than four singles were spawned from one album. Indeed, all six of their singles here shot to #1 on the UK charts. Eight years after the fact, here's a post-mortem.

The infectious "Wannabe" still retains the same fun it did when it became a transatlantic chart-topper, with that loopy "tell you what I want, what I really really want" line repeated, and lead vocals traded between all five, of which Parsley and Rosemary... I mean Sporty and Emma have the best vocals, with Geri and Mel B achieving a kind of contrasting balance.

If one feels there are two separate sounds here, the intuition is correct. Pop-like songs like "Wannabe," "2 Become 1" and "If U Can't Dance" were produced by Richard Stannard and Matt Rowe, while the more R&B stuff was produced by Absolute. However, the 70's disco synths mingled with a strong R&B bass beat of the mid-paced "Say You'll Be There," the second single, places this somewhere inbetween, despite being produced by Absolute.

"2 Become 1" still has its power as the best song here as a smooth inoffensive string-laden ballad meant to soften the hardest of hearts. I say meant because not everyone is impressionable. The strings arrangements were courtesy of Craig Armstrong.

If "Love Thing" had been done in the 80's, it'd be a perfect Culture Club number, done during their "Miss Me Blind" period, and "Last Time Lover" and "Something Kinda Funny" have the R&B stylings that the All Saints would take further. The big offender is the cloying ballad "Mama," which still makes my stomach bacteria scurrying for cover. Send yo mama a card instead if you really love her.

The scratching guitar, synths, and brass section of "Who Do You Think You Are," the fifth single, is a nod to upbeat 70's R&B, and is one of the best songs here.

The rap-versed, soul-chorused "Naked" is the one song that actually deals with the empowerment, gender equality, with equal and honest communication dynamic prevalent in Girl Power.

Along with a strong pulsing bass and a sample of the Digital Underground's "Humpty Dance" and a Spanish rap by Geri, "If U Can't Dance" sounds more like one of Absolute's contributions, though it isn't.

Image-wise though, all they did was take 70's-style feminism, taking to heart Madonna's line "express yourself" and package it in black Gucci dresses, Union Jack wonder-bras, baby-blue eyes, and football trainers. And using that dynamic of certain artists/bands dominating certain years via vested corporate interest, well, 1996 was their year in the UK and Europe, 1997 being theirs in the US.

At least they wrote or co-wrote all their songs here. Some charm still remains from this debut effort, given the sound and great vocals by Mel C. and Emma, who turned out the best solo albums of the quintet. If anything, this was the first salvo in the Spice Revolution, but think of what was to follow in the UK and here: a slew of imitators and, get the extra-size upchuck bags and bazookas out, boy bands and Britney (urgh!). It seems to be slowing down now, thank goodness. The second salvo would consolidate their power.

A strange idea, Geri Haliwell is the most credible Spice Girl as she jumps ship after 2 albums. The others, Scary Spice is just that. Baby is more like something you'd find in Amsrerdam, Posh is strange, and certainly not posh! This leaves sporty, who I assume is Footballer Paul Gascgoine 'dragged up', looks like it anyway. Remember "Come on Liam if you think youre hard enough" poor sod must have been terrified. Geri went on to produce a good credible album, and most importantly re invent herself as a human being. The rest will go on as long as twelve year olds will sing wanabee. Yes this is bland purile monotonous rubbish, just the sort of thing for that agegroup! I think England got its own back on the US for Hanson in glorious style!

Back in the late 90's if you didn't own this cd, you just weren't hip. Now in 2003, you if you still have it, well, you just aren't. The five spices came to America to conquer and they did. From 1996-1998, the Spice Girls ruled the world, selling out concerts and racking up #1 albums and singles. Then, the spice wasn't right for, "Ginger," Geri Halliwell quit the band. This album will go down in history for being one the most sold albums by a female group ever, and it is a shame the spice isn't going strong. But, here is a more in depth look at the songs and what I rate them out of five stars.

1.Wannabe - ***** -If you have not heard this song yet, you do not derserve to know what it is like.
2.Say You'll Be There - ***** - Great up tempo pop.
3.2 Become 1 - ***** - A winter ballad, it sold over 5 million copies worldwide.
4.Love Thing - **** - First of the fillers, hip hop song.
5.Last Time Lover - **** - Another filler, not much going on here, the same as before.

6.Mama - **** - Title says it all, ode to yo mama. Slow ballad.
7.Who Do You Think You Are? - ***** - Another fast pop song, like something Christina Aguilera or Britney would sing back in '99.
8.Something Kinda Funny - **** - Not much of a difference than tracks 4 & 5.
9.Naked - ***** - More of a seductive, dirty song. Slow.
10.If U Can't Dance - ***** - Easily one of the best tracks on the album.