Type: Lyrics are included with the album, Enhanced CD-ROM
Genre: Rock
Review
Emma Bunton's post-Spice Girls solo debut is the most surprising of the lot, as it moves farther afield from the bubblegummy dance-pop of her former band than Melanie C.'s Northern Star or Geri Halliwell's Schizophonic. The single "What Took You So Long?" opens the album on a gliding cushion of acoustic guitars, dreamy keyboards, and laid-back mid-tempo beats, a mix that underpins nearly the entire album. Even the assertive title track (the hook of which is a cleverly bleeped f-word in the chorus, a deliberate move away from the saccharine Baby Spice image) has the relaxed groove and organic feel of a classic early disco single instead of the canned electronic beats of Hi-NRG dance music. Bunton didn't have the best voice in the Spice Girls (that would be Melanie C., with a special nod to Geri Halliwell for getting by on loudmouthed brassiness), but unlike Victoria Beckham and Mel B, she can genuinely sing, albeit sometimes with a thin reediness that's not quite enough for a song like the gospel-inflected "Sunshine on a Rainy Day." (And the cover of Edie Brickell's "What I Am" only reinforces what a lame song it is.) On the other hand, "Been There, Done That" and the slinky "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" sound like the singles that should have been from the Spice Girls' disappointing last album, unapologetically catchy and well-constructed pop songs in a style that's been a part of pop music since the days of Lesley Gore or the Supremes. A Girl Like Me isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than "not bad." ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide
Ulf Janson (String Conductor), Chris Braide (Arranger), Simon Hale (Brass Arrangement), Andrew Frampton (String Arrangements), Rhett Lawrence (Programming), Ash Howes (Programming), Carl Sturken (Producer), Lawrence Johnson (Vocal Arrangement), Brad Gilderman (Mixing), Ulf Janson (String Arrangements), Rhett Lawrence (Mixing), Rhett Lawrence (Arranger), Rhett Lawrence (Engineer), Jason Bonilla (Engineer), Andrew Frampton (Arranger), Daniel Frampton (Engineer), Ash Howes (Engineer), Tin Tin Out (Producer), Steve Price (Engineer), Mark "Spike" Stent (Mixing), Tin Tin Out (Mixing), Andrew Frampton (Producer), Stefan Boman (String Engineer), Ash Howes (Mixing), Alvin Sweeney (Digital Editing), Nick Ingman (String Arrangements), Al Hemberger (Engineer), Simon Hale (String Arrangements), Evan Rogers (Producer), Ulf Forsberg (Concert Master), Tom Bender (Mixing Assistant), Alvin Sweeney (Engineer), Julian Gallagher (Producer), Ian Ross (Design), Mick Guzauski (Mixing), Chris Laws (Engineer), Terry Richardson (Photography), Rhett Lawrence (Producer), Rhett Lawrence (Guitar), Will Catterson (Engineer), Evan Lloyd (Assistant Engineer), Ruth Rowland (Lettering)
A Girl Like Me is the debut solo album by English pop singer-songwriter Emma Bunton, released in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. The album debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, with 21,500 copies sold in its first week—the highest album debut from a solo Spice Girl. Although initial success was promising, A Girl Like Me fell down the chart quickly. However, singles "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away", and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight" helped the album stay on the UK Albums Chart for several weeks. A Girl Like Me has sold around 125,928 copies in the United Kingdom, becoming the one hundred and forty-seventh best-selling album of 2001 there. It has also sold 500,000 copies worldwide. Lacklustre sales may be partially explained by the fact that the album was not released in Latin America (except in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile) and North America. Although having a low peak in Australia it managed to be certified gold by the ARIA.[1]
