What's the story?
The Spice Girls are currently leading the "we're back even though we've never really been away" brigade of '90s pop acts - hello Take That and Boyzone, goodbye (again) East 17 and All Saints. Rumour is that's it's Blue's turn next, which will no doubt will see sixth formers across the land reminisce about those halcyon days of 2004 when Guilty was the soundtrack of their lives.
Best bit
But unlike those other pop acts, the Spices five - lest we forget - were a genuine world phenomenon. From Oklahoma to Oslo to Okinawa, Sporty, Baby, Posh, Ginger and Scary were the girls we all identified with (my hair was with Ginger but my heart was with Baby) by making countless home music videos, purchasing platform boots in droves and feeling bursts of feminine pride. Girl Power! Sorry... it had to be said.
Liking
From first unfurl of Wannabe from this Greatest Hits compilation you can feel the sugary pop goodness coursing through your veins, and it continues through Say You'll Be There, 2 Become 1, Spice Up Your Life and Viva Forever.
Not liking
Tunes like Mama, Too Much and Goodbye keep things ticking over nicely but Move Over sounds like a bad Pepsi advert. New songs Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) and Voodoo only emphasise that the girls could have benefited with a dash of No 1 Songwriter Spice and Hit-making Producer Spice.
Perfect for
No one in their right mind would purchase all three previous outings but this combined songbook makes a pretty perfect pop album. If you already have a little Spice in your life buying this is fairly pointless, but this piece of pop history is the ideal gift for your niece, gay nephew or friend who had a sheltered religious upbringing.
Rating
4/5
