EMMA BUNTON – "What Took You So Long?"

This is where it almost ends, being the last time any of the Spice Girls got to number one with an original song. Hindsight is a wonderful thing as WTYSL is wedged between the reality TV machine on one side and the rising superstars of 21st century pop on the other. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this song but at the same time there’s nothing that great about it either.

That said it was a two week runner and the first Spice Girl connected chart topper to manage a second week since Viva Forever. It also marked the end of the Spring of relative stability chart watchers had enjoyed; for WTYSL’s two weeks Shaggy completed his four week lock down of the number two position. When WTYSL shot its bolt it dropped to number nine which was the worst collapse since Blame It On The Weatherman did the same and the first two weeker to suffer such a drop since Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter ten years before.

It should perhaps be noted that although Emma Bunton never topped the charts again (and with the exception of Geri no Spice Girl ever would) she was the last Spice Girl to score a top ten hit when her cover of Downtown made number three in 2006.

Well, I feel safe to sort of suggest then, now that the Bunny has only one more in mind, that the girls basically found more interesting things to do. Some still in musical worlds, some in fashion and general media presence, but all have the control back in their own hands.

Ok, some of us would like to have made top-ten hits but once that ambition is won, and the bank balance affords some security, some people can do what they like.

“Free Me” and, even more, “Maybe”, from the second solo album, were among the finest records any of the Spice Girls were ever involved with. Oh, sure, they were treading a path of obvious retro pastiche that other, more soulful singers (Shara Nelson’s “One Goodbye In Ten”, Gabrielle’s “Give Me Just A Little More Time”) had also trod – but done so fluently, and lovingly – and in a way that just suited Ms Bunton’s voice perfectly.

This: I rather like. Not at all time classic. “inert” is harsh, but…not completely wide of the mark. Unsubstantial, anyway, but gentle and apparently heartfelt too. Kind of superior Heart FM music and no more.

I can definitely stretch to a (6) though.

the opening guitar riff sounds like a variation on ‘Losing my Religion’, before darting off in another direction. I like the chorus (although that reminds me of something else) but the verses are bland, partly because EB’s vocals are so low-key. It runs out of ideas v quickly and would benefit from being shorter

Predictably, I love this.

Two weeks at #1 was probably as much about a weak new release schedule as anything – her biggest week two competition was Janet Jackson’s ‘All For You’, which I believe narrowly held the lead in midweek flashes but ultimately fell back to #3. And yet, I do think it’s the Solo Spice hit that had enough crossover appeal that it could have been a hit – if not necessarily a #1 – for anyone, whereas many of the other solo chart toppers were very much fanbase driven.

It is a laid back song, but I don’t think that’s to its detriment. Emma just isn’t a vocalist or personality who suits the kind of hell-for-leather shouting that typified a Geri solo hit, nor would an Ibiza-style dance anthem a’la I Turn To You have been in her ballpark. Perhaps the verses do lack a little energy, but I think the calm, reasoned delivery is a good fit for the lyric. Rather than play the woman scorned, Emma sounds like she’s quietly laying down the situation to an essentially good-hearted but frustrating partner. In that way, it’s a very grown up pop record, particularly for a Spice Girl. Mel C may have reached a sweet spot with Northern Star, but it took a couple of misfires and a rather all-over-the-place genre mix on her album. Emma hits the ground running, knowing exactly who she was and elegantly moving beyond the limitations of the ‘Baby Spice’ tag.

Alas, the rest of her debut album did play things a little too safe, and subsequent singles performed only modestly. She rallied in 2004-2005 with an unexpected but convincing run of 60s inspired hits that positioned her as a sort of modern day Sandie Shaw a good couple of years before Duffy et al ushered in a wider 60s revival in pop music. She actually has the distinction of being the only Spice Girl whose second solo album outsold the first. ‘Maybe’ should have gotten a lot closer to #1 than it did, but it was a fine record anyway and drew the most admiring notices of her career. Her cover of Astrud Gilberto’s ‘Crickets Sing For AnaMaria’ was an audacious risk that didn’t quite pay off in commercial terms (it got to #15) but remains one of the most interesting post-Spice releases by any of the girls.

The third album could have really solidified her position as an excellent 60s revitalist, it contained some lovely moments including the single All I Need To Know, the Austin Powers-tastic Take Me To Another Town and a faithful cover of Life In Mono by Mono. Sadly, they tried to flog it off the back of Strictly Come Dancing and a middling rendition of ‘Downtown’, which gave her a top 3 single but killed any interest in the album. She seemed to lose interest in the pop game after that, ducking out for a few years to raise a family and segueing into broadcasting. She’s now a warm and engaging host on Heart FM alongside Jamie Theakston. Commercial Radio’s gain is pop’s loss as far as I’m concerned.

8

I love this song! My dad and I were in a Volvo 145, somewhere in Belgium, in the middle of the night in September 2001. We’d driven from Stockholm, our final destination being Canterbury, me leaving home for university in another country. We’d been fighting all the way through Denmark and Germany but somehow managed to bond over this song, there on the dark, deserted roads, listening to Belgian night radio.

We have an annual, week long radio show called roughly “The Music Help” in Sweden where you donate money to a charity by requesting songs. Ever since its start, I’ve requested “What Took You So Long” for my dad, who’s a lorry driver. I always add that I hope he’s safe on the winter roads. They’ve not yet played it (hundreds of thousands of requests come in), but seeing these car metaphors in your review totally made my day. And while I objectively see that this is a rather mediocre pop song, it’s a 10 for me.

Never heard this before last week and my first reaction was that it seemed a little dull – not bad, just dull. But after a second listen last night, I found it stuck in my head for much of the past 24 hours – enough that I’m going to bump my initial 4-5 up to 6/10. I agree with others that it doesn’t sound like a typical UK #1 – more like something that would hang out on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart for months on end.

I knew that all the spice girls bar Ms Beckham had solo number 1, but I’d always mis-remembered that What I Am was Emma’s. That’s an interesting, quirky and hook-filled soig that would have maybe got an 8 – Maybe would have scored even higher. This, however, is just nothing. I cant remember hearing it in the last decade and a half, and don’t anticipate hearing it again.

2

Watched a terrible gameshow about reality TV because my brother in law’s mates were in the audience and quite excited about it.

Host: “Emma, would you ever do Strictly?”

Emma B: “I did do Strictly! I was in the first series, I came third!”

“What I Am” is a fine song (as good as its 1989 follow up, “Circle”? Not quite) , but Emma/Tin Tin Out’s interpretation of it really didn’t do it credit at all, to my mind. Severely disappointing and underwhelming, even, draining even the hints of emotion in the original. (Yes, I realise that those of us who knew and loved the Edie Brickell version were not really its intended audience, but still)

You know what, I think this might have been #1 when Tommy Mack became a man (thanks, Student Radio Conference) which, given I was a few weeks shy of my 20th birthday seems quite appropriate!

#20: Or perhaps that with less weight of expectation upon her, she was free to pursue the music she chose to make, rather than what she/her label/management thought would fit with her public persona?

#22 You might ask what took him so long… Arf arf

She dancing dres in this song…