What can I say about these girls that hasn't already been said a thousand times? Nothing, probably, but lack of originality has never bothered them, so why should it bother me? The fact that you clicked on this link means that you're either a fan, or a pervy lech hoping I'll have put links up to those nudey pics of Geri's. In either case, you're likely to be a little disappointed, but then, I was with the album, so it's only fair.

I don't want to go on about the music too much, to be honest, cos there's not a lot to say, really. Wannabe was awful tosh, with cringeworthy lyrics, and those people who have tried to portray it as some proto-feminist social message are quite clearly a danger to themselves who shouldn't be allowed to play unattended. It's trite rubbish with all the social awareness of a Whitesnake track. In fact, less. If this is the zenith of girl power, girls haven't got a chance. The groove is crap too, apart from the main hook maybe.

At least Say you'll be there has a decent funky kind of groove and is easy to like. But the lyrics are, if anything, even worse. They seem to be asking some poor slob who's obviously got the hots for one of them to 'be their friend' in return for which he'll get "everything". Everything except what he really really wants. Why not just tell the poor sucker to bugger off? As for the rest of it, Naked, If U can't dance etc. the best thing you can say about them is that they're derivative pap, but then, you already knew that - its familiarity is the album's major virtue.

What really worries me is that there seems to be an explosion of all-boy/all-girl pap-merchants who sell records on the strength (mainly) of their sex appeal. But then again, it could be worse. We could be living in an era when Dollar, Peters and Lee and Perry Como were all regularly having hits. Let's count our blessings. Long live the Spice Girls!